Scientists create new device able to ‘generate all possible futures’

Scientists have claimed to do something which only seemed to be sci-fi; creating a computer that generates a superposition of all possible futures the computer could experience.

Researchers from Griffith University and Nanyang Technological University have built a quantum computer that produces a superposition of all the possible futures, a technology that can help futuristic artificial intelligence learn much faster than it can today.

The team implemented a specially devised photonic quantum information processor in which the potential future outcomes of a decision process are represented by the locations of the photons (quantum particles of light). They then showed that the state of the quantum device was a superposition of multiple potential futures, weighted by their probability of occurrence, explained Phys.org.

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At present, the quantum computer created can hold two superpositions of 16 different possibilities simultaneously. The quantum device also uses less memory than a classical computer would, which means that it can outperform the classical systems at certain tasks too, reported Futurism.

“It is very much reminiscent of classical computers in the 1960s,” researcher Geoff Pryde said. “Just as few could imagine the many uses of classical computers in the 1960s, we are still very much in the dark about what quantum computers can do.”

Currently, artificial intelligence learns by analyzing example after example and by looking at different patterns. The team behind the quantum computer believes that their quantum superpositions can greatly enhance this AI learning process.

“Our approach is to synthesize a quantum superposition of all possible futures for each bias,” said scientist Farzad Ghafari. “By interfering these superpositions with each other, we can completely avoid looking at each possible future individually.”