Quantum Computing 101, with D-Wave's Vern Brownell | Big Think

Vern Brownell explains the basics of quantum computing and how D-Wave's systems differ from classical computers.

Quantum Computing 101, with D-Wave's Vern Brownell Watch the newest video from Big Think: bigth.ink/NewVideo Join Big Think Edge for exclusive videos: bigth.ink/Edge ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you work, do you often use a computer? If the answer is yes, then the specific answer is: you use a classical computer. That is what your machine is considered today as humanity is on the brink of the quantum computing age. Big Think interviewed Vern Brownell, the CEO of D-Wave, at Exponential Finance, presented by Singularity University & CNBC. D-Wave is a quantum computing technology company. Its clients include NASA and Google which jointly purchased a D-Wave Two computer to build a “Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab” to develop machine learning. How close are we to personal quantum computers? Well, we’re still stuck with classical computers, and they're not going away any time soon. But Brownell’s life’s work is dedicated to moving to quantum computer-classical computer hybrids. Imagine using a machine powered by atoms and molecules that processes data exceptionally faster than any silicon-based computer. Brownell explains what else we have to look forward to: “I see quantum computing as another set of tools, another resource, set of resources for scientists, researchers, computer scientists, programmers to develop and enhance some of these capabilities to really change the world in a much better way than we’re able to today with classical computing. It’s not a replacement for classical computing. It will be used in what I would call hybrid approach where you’re going to see both the capability that’s already been built in high performance computing and other types of computing markets working very closely with quantum computing resources.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERN BROWNELL: Vern Brownell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of D-Wave, a quantum computing company. He joined D-Wave from Egenera, a company he founded and at which he held various executive roles including CEO. Egenera was a pioneer of infrastructure virtualization and today is a global leader in converged infrastructure and cloud management software. Prior to his tenure at Egenera, Mr. Brownell served as the Chief Technology Officer at Goldman Sachs. He holds an MBA degree from Anna Maria College and a BEng. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT BIG THINK: Smarter Faster™ Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content -- with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster. S​ubscribe to learn from top minds like these daily. Get actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers & doers. Our experts are either di