(Gov.uk) The UK’s emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities could achieve a decisive step-change by adopting current and near-term quantum technologies.
According to a research paper published by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and in collaboration with UK Strategic Command “Quantum Information Processing Landscape 2020: Prospects for UK Defence and Security”, DSTL/TR121783 (PDF, 3.02MB, 144 pages), embracing quantum technology now could lead to the enhanced pace, precision and pre-emption of decision making by military commanders.
Dstl’s report identified commercially available quantum computers – ‘annealers’ – as having the potential to run an important and versatile class of AI software at speeds vastly in excess of normal digital computers. This software is based on an algorithm called a ‘neural net’; a mature and proven method of pattern-matching, which imposes extremely high loads on a classical digital computer architecture. However, the unique properties of a quantum annealer means that it can execute a neural net in one machine cycle instead of thousands or millions.
The report describes how, in the short-term, quantum neural nets could be used to perform Quantum Information Processing (QIP) to search archive, near real and real-time data feeds, automatically looking for features of interest, detecting anomalies and instances of change. This would significantly improve the time, cost and quantity of military data processing, while simultaneously releasing intellectual capacity among operators.
Dstl Forecasts Future Quantum Landscape for UK Defence and Security
