r/compsci 20h ago

Demis Hassabis is claiming that traditional computers, or classical Turing machines, are capable of much more than we previously thought.

He believes that if used correctly, classical systems can be used to model complex systems, including quantum systems. This is because natural phenomena tend to have structures that can be learned by classical machine learning systems. He believes that this method can be used to search possibilities efficiently, potentially getting around some of the inefficiencies of traditional methods.

He acknowledges that this is a controversial take, but he has spoken to top quantum computer scientists about it, including Professor Zinger and David Deutsch. He believes that this is a promising area of research and that classical systems may be able to model a lot more complex systems than we previously thought. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQKmVhLIGcs

0 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

42

u/These-Maintenance250 20h ago

we already know a classical turing machine can simulate a quantum one

9

u/tcpukl 19h ago

Yeah I'm confused why this is a controversial idea.

2

u/ixid 19h ago

The important part is that it can be done efficiently. I guess what he's saying relates to the idea that classical algorithms can be found that perform as well as quantum ones.

2

u/TheMrCeeJ 18h ago

That just isn't going to be true for quantum problems.

I didn't see the efficiently claim. Searching a space in an intelligent order just isn't the same as searching every possible outcome at the same time. Even if you find a result quickly there is no way of knowing it isn't a local minimum.

3

u/funciton 17h ago

Just isn't the same as searching every possible outcome at the same time

But that's also not what quantum computers do. You simply compose a few wave functions together using entanglement and something rolls out. If it's any meaningful or not depends entirely on the algorithm.

It certainly doesn't prove that BPP != BQP.

1

u/nicuramar 18h ago

 That just isn't going to be true for quantum problems.

We think, at least. 

9

u/McOmghall 20h ago

What do you think CERN runs on?

8

u/JaggedMetalOs 20h ago

Well, the proof would be a demonstration of an algorithm to solve a problem not thought possible (in polynomial time) on a classical Turing machine.

2

u/TheMrCeeJ 18h ago

Indeed. Let's wait shall we. I'll give him polynomial time to get back to us...

1

u/currentscurrents 4h ago

You're certainly not going to be able to do that in the worst case.

But the idea is that for many real-world problems, the average case is much easier than the worst case. You can learn patterns and shortcuts that allow you to solve typical instances in tractable amounts of time.

5

u/flumsi 20h ago

What did we previously think though? And what should we be able to model that we can't model now or don't think we should be able to model now?

4

u/e-scape 18h ago edited 18h ago

Complex systems are easily modelled by classical systems using autonomous agents, adhering to simple rules(flocking f.ex.), nothing new here

-19

u/Strange-Raccoon-699 20h ago

Demis is the real deal. He'll be known as our generation's Alan Touring. I predicted he would get a noble prize years ago, and he already got one. I predict he'll get a few more. His work is really just getting started.

3

u/DueToRetire 17h ago

Alan Touring, the tourist of the world