Convergence: Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing

CHAPTER 20Quantum Computing's Beautiful Accidents

Christopher Savoie, Founder and CEO, Zapata Computing

“Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.”

—David Gelernter

On an early November day in 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen, professor of Physics in Wurzburg, Bavaria, altered the future of medicine for the better. But not because of what he originally set out to do. In fact, what he actually discovered did not match what he wanted to discover.

While ascertaining whether cathode rays could pass through glass, he noticed an incandescent green light seeping through the black paper-covered tube and projecting onto a fluorescent screen. Intrigued, he continued experimenting to learn more about this strange green light. He eventually found that it could pass through different substances and leave behind visible shadows of solid objects, including human bones. Not knowing what they were, Röntgen called them X-rays. These discoveries eventually changed all of medicine in a profoundly positive—albeit negligently arrived at—way.

I couldn't help but think of Röntgen's breakthrough when the opportunity to be part of this book came along. The discovery of X-rays is only one example of a trend I like to call negligently positive outcomes. Penicillin, Velcro, vulcanized rubber, and insulin are a few other well-known cases of this phenomenon. And, depending on your age, you can throw computers begetting a thriving global gaming industry into the mix. As a scientist myself, I contemplated ...