Quantum Computers and Applied Mathematics at Brown University

My host at Brown University was the fascinating Basilis Gidas whom I first met in Rio in 2018. Basilis has had a remarkable career, taking him from electrical and mechanical engineering through quantum field theory to many areas of applied mathematics. In the context of AI, Basilis told me about a well-known passage in Plato—new to me—expressing concern that reliance on writing (new technology at the time) would weaken human memory. Overall, Basilis thinks that the most creative aspects of mathematics will remain human. I had a wonderful and very intense time in Providence, where I gave an applied mathematics colloquium on my work on quantum computing. During my visit, I met and talked with quite a few mathematicians, chemists, physicists, computer scientists, and an economist Oded Navon. Regarding quantum computation, I heard many excellent new questions about my point of view (I have collected earlier questions in this post), and learned about topics in chemistry and physics closely…