Chapter 6

TherewasapalpableairofexcitementintheWaldorfAstoriaHotel’sStarlightRoof.Itwassothickyoucouldslicethroughitwithaknife.TheroomhadfilledupandtherewasabankofTVcamerasfromthemajorbroadcasterslinedupatthebackoftheauditoriumlikeafiringsquad.Thelensesoftheroboticcamerasandthehugelong-rangemicrophoneswereaimedatcenterstage.Someofthecamerasweregoingthroughanintricateputer-controlleddanceroutineofautomaticpanning,swoopingandzooming.

Themembersoftheaudiencehadtiredofadmiringtheornatechandeliers,appraisingtheintricateartworkontheceilingandperusingtheiritineraries.Theyhadhadenoughoffiddlingwiththeirtranslationmachinesorgawkingattherobotsworkingtheisles.Athousandwhispers,murmurs,tête-à-têtesandpoliteconversationscoalesced.

ProfessorYaowaswaitinginthewingsbackstage.OntheoppositesideatstagerightstoodWendyBruckheimer,flowingredhairlitupgloriouslybytheharshstagelights.Asmallorientalmanwithwhatcouldonlybedescribedasminimalistfeatureswascarryingoutfinalchecksonthepresentationequipment.Theprofessoronlyhadafewslidestoshowanyway,sothechancesoftechnicalglitcheswerelowtozero.Thepowerofthebreakthroughwouldspeakforitself.ThemanwaswearingablackWorldTechnologyForumT-shirtandill-fittingChinoslacks.TherewassomethingvaguelyfamiliarabouttheslightstoopingpostureofhisneckbutProfessorYaowasfocusedonthepresentationathand.

WendyBruckheimerwasshufflingdeftlythroughasmalldeckofflashcards.TheprofessorhadstillnotrecoveredfromthecasualwayshehadinformedhimofDr.Joplin’sdeath.Asthoughitwasonesmallglitchinanotherwiseperfectlyorganizedevent.Theshowhadtogoon.PoorDr.Joplin.Hehadbeenoneoftherichestmeninacademiawithseveralmercialpatentsunderhisbelt,amanwhosatontheboardsofseveralhighprofilecorporations.Yet,hehadbeengenerouswithhismoneyandhisknowledge,offeringgrantsandscholarshipstostudentsfrompoorbackgroundswhohaddedicatedthemselvestothepursuitofexcellenceinvariousareasofputerscience.

WhathadtheMITprofessorknownthathadgothimkilledanddidtheprofessorknowhewasgoingtodie?Andwhyhadthedaughterdisappearedwithoutatrace?SomethingthatBruckheimer,everpractical,conjecturedsuggestedeitherherguiltortheguiltofpartiesatMITworkinginconcertwiththedaughter.Butwhatkindofsixteenyear-oldwithahealthytrustfundwouldmurderherownfatherformoremoney?

Joltedfromhisreveriebyafemalevoiceannouncing:“Thesessionwillstartintwominutes”indulcettones.Handel’sMessiahstartedblaringoutoverthemusicsystem,whichdistributedthemaestro’sworkbyshiftingcolumnsofairaroundtheroom.

Thetechnicianjumpedoffthestageandheadedback,throughtheaisle,tothebankofelevatorsatthebackoftheroom.OneoftheTVcameraspannedinhisdirectionandthemantiltedhisheadandattemptedtoshieldhisfacewithhislefthand.Foramanthatsmall,hismovementsweresmoothandassuredbutsomehowalientotheenvironment.OnceagainProfessorYaohadafeelingofdéjàvu.Therewassomethingaboutthefluidityoftheman’smovementsthatremindedhimofsomethinghehadseenbefore.Buthecouldn’tforthelifeofhimrememberwhatitwas.Asherackedhisbraintomaketheassociation,Handelfadedintothebackgroundandtheroomfellsilent.Youcouldhearapindrop,butallProfessorYaocouldregisterwasthemildpumpingofhisownheart.

WendyBruckheimerstrolledpurposefullytocenterstage.Afewadmirersclappedspontaneously,applaudinghershapelylegsmorethananything.Therewassomethinggazelle-likeaboutthewayherlongslenderlegsmoved.Andthosetransparentshoes,thatgavetheillusionthatshewasfloatingonair,onlyservedtoenhancetheeffect.AsfarasWesterntastewent,WendyBruckheimersurewasabeautifulwoman.Andsheobviouslyhadbrains,apowerfulbination.Shetookherplacebeforethelectern.

LadiesandGentlemen,theWorldTechnologyForumisproudtopresentthissession’sspeakerProfessorYaoGuoChuen,HeadofTsinghuaUniversity’sworld-renownedArtificialIntelligenceandNanotechnologyCentre.WeareveryluckytohaveProfessorYaothisyear,ashedoesn’tnormallytakepublicspeakingengagements.

ProfessorYaoispre-eminentinhisfield,oneoftheworld’sleadingmindsoncognitiveintelligenceandnanotechnology.HeisalsoaleadingauthorityonVirtualandArtificialRealitiesandisknownasthearchitectofNewChina’smysteriousvirtualrealitynetwork.Thelatter,Imustadd,isjustarumor.TheNewChinagovernmentcontinuestoremindusthatnosuchthingexists.LadiesandGentlemen,pleasejoinmeinextendingawarmweletoProfessorYaoGuoChuen.

Athunderingroundofapplauseastheprofessorwalkedoutontothestageandintothepowerfulspotlights.WendyBruckheimerapplaudedhimtooandretreatedgracefullytothebackofthestage.ProfessorYaogaveheranodofthanksandturnedtofacetheaudience,instinctivelyadjustinghisbifocals.Anytraceofnervousnesswasnowgone.Thiswashismomentandhewascaughtupinit.Atthebackoftheroom,belowtheglareofthepowerfulcameralights,theprofessorcouldmakeoutthemulti-coloredlogosofthemajorbroadcastnetworks.

WendyBruckheimerhadinformedhimthathistalkwasbeingbroadcastlivetoanaudienceofapproximatelyfivebillionpeoplearoundtheworld.ProfessorJoplinhadpulleditoffashehadpromiseddespitethefactthattheChineseprofessorhadrepeatedlyrefusedtogivehimahintonthisgroundbreakingdiscoverythattheworldneededtoknowabout.Joplinhaddoneitpurelyoutoftrustandrespect.

WendyBruckheimerhadalsoadvisedhimthatonaccountofthehugelaymanaudiencewatchingoutsidetheauditoriumheshouldkeephisspeechasunscientificaspossible.Shewouldarrangeforscientificandtechnicalpaperstobedistributedtotheaudienceandthemajorjournalsafterthesession.Tomorrow,hethought,thestocksofArtificialIntelligence,QuantumComputingandNanotechnologypaniesweregoingtogothroughtheroof,especiallytheonesinChina.

Theapplausedieddown.AthousandpairsofeyesweretraineduponhimandfivebillionmorethroughthebiasedlensesoftheTVcameras.ProfessorYaoclearedhisthroattomildmicrophonenoiseandbeganinformalMandarin,simultaneouslytranslatedbythepersonaltranslationsystemsovertheaudiosystem.

LadiesandGentlemen,itisanhonourtobeherebeforethisdistinguishedroomoffellowacademicsandotherswithaninterestintheexcitingworldofArtificialIntelligence.IamgoingtomakethefirstpartofthissessionasbriefaspossibleasIanticipatethatyouaregoingtohavelotsofquestionsforme.Iwilltrymybesttoanswerthosequestions.

Thetopicofmytalktodayis“QuantumComputing:abreakthroughinArtificialIntelligence”asitsaysinyouritineraries.It’saboutthebiggestbreakthroughininformationtechnologytheworldhaseverseen.Thisisabreakthroughthatushersinaneweraofputing,enrichesbyordersofmagnitudetherelationshipbetweenhumansandputers.Wehavecreatedtheworld’sfirstself-sustaining,evolutionaryquantumputerprocessor.Infact“we”isthewrongwordtouseasyouwilldiscoverlater.

Gaspsandmurmursrolledthroughtheaudience.

“Butthat’simpossible,”shoutedaboldvoicefromtheaudience.

“Themostpowerfulquantumputeravailabletodayboastsonlyonehundredquantumbits,that’snotnearlyenoughtomakequantumputersstartreplacingsiliconputersanytimesoon,”conjecturedanother.ProfessorYaoignoredthedissent.

First,forthebenefitofourtelevisionandcyberspaceaudiences,Iwouldliketobrieflyexplainthepremiseofquantumputing.ThesiliconprocessorsthatcurrentlypowerthePCsinyourhomesandofficesaremadeupoftinytransistorsthatswitchonandoffrepresentingthebinarynumbersof1and0,thelanguageinwhichputersspeak.Untilrecently,increasesinspeedandperformanceofthoseprocessorshavebeenachievedprincipallybysqueezingsmallertransistorsintotheprocessor.Electricitytravelsfasterinasmallertransistorresultinginfasterprocessors.Thisandotherenhancementsresultinadoublingofputingpowereverytwoyears,anindustryphenomenonreferredtoasMoore’sLaw.

Well,Moore’sLawisingtoanendandnanotechnologyisbeginningtousherinaneweraofevensmallertransistorsandfurtheringthepenetrationofpersonalsuperputersintohouseholdsaroundtheworld.Yet,evenwithalltheseadvancementsinhardware,wehaveyettoseesoftwarekeepupwiththesetrends.Inparticular,wehavebeenunabletoseetheemergenceofatrueartificialintelligence.Yes,wehaveintrusiondetection,scenarioanalysisandstocktradingAIsbutthesearejustalgorithmsgoingthroughthemotionsofapredefinedsetofrulesandprocedures.NoAIhassofarsuccessfullyclaimedtobepletelyselfevolvingand,dareIsay,tohaveaconscience.Thatisuntilrecently.

WeatTsinghuaUniversityinBeijing,oneoftheleadinguniversitiesinthewholeofNewChina,havelongbelievedthatquantumneuralnetworkswerethekeytocreatingreallyintelligentsoftware,softwarewithaconsciousness.Whyquantumputing?Becauseeventhoughputingpowerisnotapre-requisiteforputerintelligence,itdoesspeeduptheevolutionaryprocesswhichcantakeaverylongtimeontoday’shardware.

AgainImustapologizetomyfriendsinacademiathatforthebenefitofcasualviewersImustexplainquicklywhyquantumputingisgoingtochangetheputinglandscapeforever,puttingsuperputersoneverydesktop.Imentionedearlierthattoday’sputersandconsolesuseprocessorsthatsqueezemanytinytransistorsintoasmallarea.TheprocessorinyourPCathomehasaboutfivehundredbilliontransistors,eachofwhichissotinytensofthousandsofthemcanfitonthewidthofahumanhair.Wearetalkingaboutthewidthofahumanhair,notthelength.

Nowifyouarethinkingthat’ssmall,Quantumputinggoesevensmallerandusestheverybuildingblocksofmatter,subatomicparticlessuchaselectrons,ionsandphotonsastransistors.Inthequantumworld,suchtransistorsareknownasquantumbitsorqubits.Whyusethesemicroscopicparticlesastransistors?Theparticlespossesscertainbehaviorsthatcannotonlybeusedtorepresentthe1sand0sofputerspeakbuttoalsotoperformplexcalculationsordersofmagnitudefasterthananyoftoday’sputers.Again,letmebrieflyoutlinethespecificbehaviorsthatallowforthisnewerainputing.

Atomicparticleshavetwodistinctandoppositespinorientationsthatcaneachrepresentthe1sanda0sofbinarylanguage.Thisallowstheparticletoeffectivelybehaveasatransistor.Onceaparticleisisolatedfromitsenvironment,itentersthestrangequantumstatewerefertoassuperposition,whichmeansitisinbothorientationsatonceandcanrepresentamixof1sand0s.Thisallowsastringofparticlesinthisstateofsuperpositiontosimultaneouslyrepresenteverypossiblebinationof1sand0s.Aquantumputercanthereforeprocessallthenumbersthatrepresentpossiblesolutionstoaprobleminasingleoperation.Today’sputerswouldhavetogothrougheachpossiblesolutiononeaftertheother.

Twoparticlesinsuperpositioncanbeeentangledwhentheyeintocontact.Entanglementmeansthatoneormoreoftheirpropertiesbeelinkedevenwhentheparticlesareseparated.Ifoneoftheparticlesisknockedoutofsuperpositionintoadefinitestate(a1or0asdescribedearlier),theotherparticle,nomatterhowfaraway,itcouldbeontheothersideoftheuniverse,alsoleavessuperpositionatthesamemomentintimeandassumesthesamestate.Sinceentanglementallowsdistantparticlestosharethesamestateiteffectivelyallowsforteleportationofstates,orinthebinarysenseteleportationofvalues,evenacrossspace.

Understandingthesestrangebehaviorsofparticles,superposition,entanglement,teleportationiskeytounderstandinghowweachievedthebreakthroughIamabouttodescribe.

Sohowdidwecreateaconsciousartificialintelligence?Weborrowedfromnanotechnology,neuralnetworks,quantumphysicsandcognitivesciences.Firstlet’sstartwiththehardware.Thekeyontheprocessorsidewasthecreationofathreedimensionalsiliconarrayofembeddedsubatomicparticleslikewedescribedearlier.Thearrayisbasedonamodificationofthequantumdotdesignwhichhasresultedinastable100qubitquantumputerthegentlemanmentionedearlier.Thisuptillrecentlyhasbeenthecutting-edgeofquantumputing.Wellladiesandgentlemen;Iampleasedtoannouncethatwehavecreatedaquantumneuralnetworkprocessorwithonebillionqubits.

ProfessorYaopausedforeffectasanunintelligiblehumrippledthroughouttheauditoriumandpracticallyeveryscientistintheaudiencespontaneouslybegantoderideProfessorYao’slaststatement.Thesoundofdissentgrewincreasinglylouder.Therewassporadiclaughter,criesofderisionandridicule.Theprofessorwasgrowingimpatient.Theneedtoeducatethenon-technicalviewerswasmakingthisdifficult.Andtimewasoftheessence.Anyminutenow,agentsofthePLAcouldebustingoutfromtheescalators,leadinghimtocertaindeathbackinNewChina.Wouldn’ttheseacademicslethimjustfinishhistalk?Allwouldbeeclearwhenhewasfinished,whentheyexperiencedthepowerofthesystemhecalledBlackJadeforthemselves.

“Surelythisisatranslationerror.Aonebillionqubitquantumputerwithathree-dimensionalneuroprocessor?YoucreatedsuchaputerinyourlabatTsinghua?”askedadistinguishedlooking,white-hairedmanintheaudiencesarcastically.

“Yes.”

Theaudienceeruptedintolaughter.

“That’sallwellandgoodProfessorYaobutevenifweweretobelievethatoutrageousclaim,howonearthdidyougetthosequbitstomunicatewitheachother?”themanasked.ProfessorYaohadnotcountedontheseconstantinterruptionsbutwasdeterminedtomakehispoint.

“Thesamewayyou’vebeendoingitforthelasttwodecades.Weusemultipledynamicbusesofconnectedqubitstoconnectdomainsofquantummemory,”ProfessorYaorespondedimpatiently.

“Andhowdoyoumanagetheproblemsthathavedoggedtheindustryuptillnow,theproblemsofdecoherence,thefactthattheparticlesmaychangestateassoonastheyareobservedduetoenvironmentalnoiseandotherfactors?Andwhatabouterrorcorrectionandtheproblemsofinterconnectionasyouscaleuptoyourimaginaryonebillionqubits?”

“CanIaskaboutyourbackground?”ProfessorYaoaskedpolitely,interruptingthepealsoflaughterrollingthroughtheaudienceandfixingthewhite-hairedmanwithhismostintensestare.

“ProfessorCollinSandwood,headofTheCentreforQuantumComputation,CambridgeUniversity.”

“ThatmeansthatyouarefamiliarwiththecurrentapproachestosolvingtheproblemsyouhighlightsoIdon’tneedtogointothosespecifics.Let’sjustsaythatwehaven’treinventedthewheelhere.Thekeyisintheapproachwehavetaken,”explainedProfessorYao.

“Andwhatapproachmightthatbe?”

ProfessorYaocouldn’thelpbutnoticethehintofarroganceandsarcasmthattheCambridgeprofessor’sEnglishaccenthadtakenon.Hecontinuedwithhistalk,hisvoicestrugglingtoriseabovethedin.

Weknewwecouldn’teffectivelybuildapracticalquantumchipbyreinventingthewheelsowefedthemechanicsofprovenquantumputingapproachesaroundtheworldintoaheuristicsoftwareprogramandletitdotheassemblyusingthelatestnanotechnology.Ourquantumchipwasbuiltbyanartificialintelligence,morespecificallyaneuralartificialintelligencenetwork.TheAIsimplygotbetteratbuildingthechipaftercountlessfailuresanddeadends.TheAIstumbleduponthedesignofthechipwhenwefedittheparametersofearlymillenniumquantumputingworkattheUniversityofWisconsin.Thesoftwarestartedworkingwithtwo-dimensionalarraysandthenscaleduptothreedimensions.WelettheAIbuildtheprocessor.Wefiguredifhumanshavefailedtodosooverthelastthreedecadesorso,whynotgivemachinesandsoftwareatry.

Materialsusedweresilicon,chemically-alteredsilicongermaniumandunalteredsilicongermaniumtoformaquantumdotlatticethatallowedindividualelectronstomovepreciselyinanydirectionthroughthearray,includingthequantumbuses.EachlayerwaspainstakinglyassembledbytheAIusingthelatestinsiliconchipfabricationandnanotechnologyassemblyanddisassemblytechnology.AsIsaidearlier,wehavenotreinventedanywheels.ErrorcorrectionforexamplewassolvedbythesoftwareusingavariationoftheUnitedStatesNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology’spyramidhierarchyofqubitsthatusestheteleportationbehaviorofentangledparticlesatkeyintervalstochecktheaccuracyofreturnedvalues.Asignificantportionoftheonebillionqubitsareusedinthisregardbuttheresultisstillthefastestputerinhumanexistence.

Iseethatsomeofyouarenoddinginrecognitionofthefactthatallthisisperfectlyplausible.Theprincipleshavebeenprovenbyothersandarewelldocumented.Thefactofthematteristhehardwareisnottheinterestingpieceofthepuzzle.Iamnotheretotalkaboutthehardware.IamheretotalkaboutBlackJade,themostadvancedpieceofsoftwaretheworldhaseverseen.Theworld’sfirsttrueartificialintelligence.

Onthehardwareside,wehavethemostpowerfulputerinexistencetoday.Itusesachipandsoftwarewhichisessentiallyaquantumneuralnetworkinabox.Onthesoftwaresidewhatdowehave?Well,cognitivesciencetheoriesaboundonhowtocreateatrueartificialintelligence;onethatpassestheTuringtestandcanpersuadeanyinterrogatorthatithasaconsciousness.

Ourapproachisbasedonasomewhatdatedtheory,postulatedmorethantwodecadesagoinfact,byRobertHecht-Nielsen.Hewasthefirsttoarticulatethatallaspectsofhumancognitionarederivedfromaspecifictypeofknowledgeandasingleinformationprocessingoperationreferredtoasconfabulation.Iwon’tgotoomuchintothatherebutthegististhatifyoubuildheuristicneuralnetworksoftwarethatcanconfabulateandgiveitvastamountsofaccumulatedknowledgeorganizedinmuchthesamewaythatthehumanbrainorganizesknowledge,youendupwithanartificialintelligencethatisjustasconsciousasyouandI.TheAIineffectlearnsviaanintricatesystemofrecognizingpatternsinrelevantdata,bothpermanentandemergingknowledge–patternrecognition.

Thereweremoremurmursamongtheattendeeswhowerelookingateachother,furrowingtheirbrows,andmentallygoingthroughthelogicofwhattheprofessorwassaying.Afewpeopleintheaudiencestartedapplaudingbutthesoundwasbarelyaudibleabovethedin.Theaudience,prisingsomeofthebestmindsoftheworld,hadbeguntoseetheinherentplausibilityofwhathewassaying,despitethelackofdetails.Andthelackofproof.TheywerebeginningtoseethatthediminutiveChineseprofessorwouldeawayfromtheWorldTechnologyForumasoneoffinestscientistsoftheirgeneration.

Finally,beforeItakequestionsI’dliketoshowyouaslideofourprototypequantumprocessorafteroneday,oneweek,onemonthandsixmonthsofevolution.FinallyI’dlikeyoualltomeetBlackJade,thefirstAIrunningonourquantumneuralnetwork.ThelastslidewastakenjustafewdaysbeforeIleftNewChinatobehere.Thealgorithmsusedareincredible,beyondanythingthatishumanlypossible.InfactBlackJadeisthesameAIthatbuiltthequantumprocessorsoitactuallyknowsthingsaboutitsprocessorenvironmentthatweitscreatorswillprobablyneverknow.Itissimplybeyondourcapabilities.

Therewasmoreapplausefromtheaudience.Theairwasthickwithexcitement.Phonecallswerebeingmadetolabsaroundtheworld.Inhibitionshadbeendroppedandintenseconversationswerenowbeingcarriedoutaroundtheroom.Journalistsweretypingawayfranticallyonsatellite-enabledpersonalconsoles.TVcameraswerepanningandzoomingaway.

Theprofessorreachedintohispocketforthedisccontainingtheslide.Hishandcameawayempty.Thediscwasmissing.Hadheunwittinglyplaceditintheprojectoralready?Hedidn’tthinkso.Hepressedtheopenbuttonontheprojectorbutthedischolderslidoutempty.Hefeltaroundinhisotherpockets.

Therewassomethingstickyonhisindexfinger.Itmusthaveefromtheprojector.Therewasaslighttingleatthetipofhisfinger.Itstartedtotraveluphisarm.Whatdidhedowiththemini-disc?Thenoutofthebluehissynapsesfiredintherightbinationandithithim.Thetechnician.Henowrememberedclearlywherehe’dseenhim.ItwasatatopsecreteventinShanghai.HerecalledthinkingaloudtooneofthePLAgeneralshowamansosmallgottobeacceptedinthePeople’sLiberationArmy.Thegeneralhadsaidsomethingabouthimbeinganationaltreasure.Hewassomekindofsupernaturalfreak.

ProfessorYaostruggledtofocushiseyesonthebackoftheroom.Thesmallmanwasstandingthere,staringstraightathim.Wasthatalookofrecognitionfromhiskiller?ThetinglehadnowturnedintonumbnesstravelingrapidlyuphisarmandProfessorYaoknewthathewouldbedeadinseconds.HethankedthegodsthathehadtakentheprecautionofleavinginstructionswithhisresearchassistantLiJin.Whatawaytodie.Heregrettedthathewouldneverseethefruitsofhislabor.Nevertheless,hethankedthegodsforallthehoursspentwiththeAI.Teachingittheimportantthingsitneededtoknow.Thosehourswereworththeentiresixty-eightyearsofhislife.LiJin,ifIamnotbackbyFridaymorningIwantyoutoreleaseBlackJadeintocyberspace.ThenIwantyoutoremovethequantumneuroprocessoranddestroyit.

HehadgrownattachedtotheentityhecalledBlackJade,theentitythatresidedinthefirstputertoeverbepoweredbyanevolutionaryneuroprocessor.Hehadgrowntorespectitsomnipotence,thesheerbreadthanddepthofitsknowledge.Onebillionterabytesofdata,weighed,digestedandgracefullyregurgitatedbetterthananyhumancould.

BlackJadewashisbabyandwouldliveonineternityincyberspace.Theworldwouldbuilditsownversionsbuttherewouldbenothingliketheoriginal,whichpossessedmoreknowledgethananysuccessorcouldeverhopetohave.AndwithcyberspaceembodyingtheentirecanonofhumanknowledgeandBlackJade’sabilitytoalterthefabricofthematrixtosuititsownpurposes,ProfessorYaowoulddieasatisfiedman.Hehadlefthismarkontheworld,amarkthatwouldresonateuntiltheendoftime.

AsProfessorYao’sheartstoppedbeatingandhisbodyfellkamikazepilot-liketothedais,heprayedtoGodthathisresearchassistant,thesmartbutstrong-willedstudentLiJin,wouldheedhisinstructions.

LiJin,ifIamnotbackbyFridaymorningIwantyoutoreleaseBlackJadeintocyberspace.ThenIwantyoutoremovethequantumneuroprocessoranddestroyit.

ThelastthingProfessorYaosawweretheshapelylegsandhigh-heeledshoesofWendyBruckheimerrunningtowardshimashislifeslippedaway.