Researchers want to revolutionise AI by combining Quantum computers and Neural Networks – Fanatical Futurist by International Keynote Speaker Matthew Griffin

A new research project led by researchers at the Heriot-Watt University in the US aims to harness the power of quantum computers, computers that can operate over 100 million times faster than today's computers, to build a new type of "Quantum Neural Network" that the researchers say could usher in the next generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the first generation of Quantum Artificial Intelligence (QAI) – a type of AI that could have mind blowing implications for almost every industry on Earth. "My colleagues and I instead hope to build the first dedicated neural network computer, using the latest'quantum' technology rather than AI software as it's done today," wrote Michael Hartmann, a professor the university who's leading the research, in a new essay for The Conversation. "By combining these two branches of computing, we hope to produce a breakthrough which leads to AI that operates at unprecedented speed, automatically making very complex decisions in a very short time." A neural network is a type of machine learning algorithm loosely modelled on the human brain that learns from examples in order to deal with new inputs, while quantum computers take advantage of subatomic particles that can exist in more than one state at a time to circumvent the limitations of old-fashioned binary computers that helps them operate hundreds of millions times faster than today's traditional silicon based logical computer systems. By combining the two, Hartmann believes, his team will be able to jump-start a new era in AI research that could manage extraordinarily complex problems like directing traffic flow for an entire city in real-time.