How to Explain Quantum Computing (and Robots) to a Kid
BY ANDREW MOSEMAN
A powerful way to sharpen one’s communication skills is to explain something complicated—quantum computing and its potential to accelerate the field of robotics, for example—to a child. John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics and the Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair for Caltech’s Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, recently did just this on the YouTube channel The Quantum Kid, where a physics-loving 9-year-old engages in surprisingly profound conversations with professional scientists.
For the episode “Can Quantum Computers Make Robots Smarter?” Preskill appears alongside UC Berkeley roboticist Ken Goldberg to chat with Kai Moskvitch. Kai hosts the show along with his mother, theoretical physicist and science communicator Katia Moskvitch.
Goldberg lays out some of the most profound challenges for a robot moving through and interacting with the physical world, particularly the uncertainties that can arise from a robot’s limitations in computer vision or mobility. Preskill explains the added degrees of inevitable uncertainty that arise in quantum mechanics, but he also illustrates how quantum computing could help to create machines that can move and grab more like us:
“I don’t see any reason in principle why we couldn’t have robots eventually that actually have quantum computers inside. There are a lot of practical problems we have to solve, but in the nearer term, I think your second scenario is the more likely one: that our robots will be communicating over the cloud with quantum computers.”
“Now, as you suggested, one way to do that is to actually have quantum communication between the robot and the cloud, sending what we call quantum information back and forth, but that’s more difficult. What’s probably going to happen before that is we’ll send ordinary information to the quantum computer, and it will be able to do faster certain computations that’ll help the robot decide what to do next.”
The Quantum Kid channel has more than 100,000 subscribers and has become a primary way for many parents to introduce their own children to the quantum realm. Visit The Quantum Kid YouTube channel for more such videos or read an article about the channel and its impact at Ars Technica. A full list of Preskill’s talks can be found on his website.
