The quantum computer and AI?

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What's you opinion on the quantum computer?

Do you think it will integrate with AI and be the link to reproduce
something akin to the human brain?

-- Janine Naimoli, December 15, 2000

Answers

As Sir Roger Penrose puts it across, "there could conceivably be some relation between the 'oneness' of consciousness and quantum parallelism". According to quantum theory, different alternatives at the quantum level are allowed to coexist in linear superposition! Thus a single quantum state could in principle consist of large number of different activities, all occurring simultaneously. A quantum computer in theory using quantum parallelism may be made use of to perform large number of simultaneous calculations required for AI.

According to Deutsch's analysis, quantum computers cannot be used to perform non-algorithmic operations(i.e. things beyond the power of a Turing machine), but can, in certain very contrived situations, achieve a greater speed, in the sense of complexity theory, than a standard Turing machine.

Simple parallel machines have utmost the power of Turing machines but cannot emulate consciousness of the brain. Looking beyond quantum computing in order to account for non-algorithmic phenomena of consciousness is one approach to AI.

-- KS Madhavan, December 11, 2005