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So we're diving into AI and quantum computing today, huh?

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Seems like Dr. Kristin Gilkes's talk

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at that Women in Tech conference

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really got people thinking.

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And yeah, I get it.

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It does feel like we're on the edge

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of something really big, game changing even.

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Oh, definitely.

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The potential, when you bring AI

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and quantum computing together, it's huge.

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I mean, we could be looking at solving problems

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we thought were impossible.

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It's funny, right?

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Like everyone hears quantum

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and their mind goes straight to spaceships

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and teleportation, you know, the Marvel stuff.

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But Dr. Gilkes, she made it sound like the reality

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is even wilder.

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For sure.

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It's a completely different way of looking at computing.

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Our everyday computers, they're all ones and zeros.

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Predictable stuff.

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Quantum computing, that's not how it works.

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Yeah, the whole qubit thing,

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my brain kind of stalled out there for a sec.

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So it's not a one or a zero,

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it's both at the same time somehow.

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How does that even?

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Okay, okay, think of a regular bit like a coin, right?

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Heads or tails?

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Can't be both.

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Now, a qubit, imagine that coin spinning in the air

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before it lands.

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It's both possibilities at once, that superposition,

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that not sure state, that's where things get interesting.

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Okay, I think I'm following.

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Yeah.

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But how do you actually use that to, you know,

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solve problems in the real world?

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Dr. Gilkes said something about two two equaling pink.

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She did.

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Yeah.

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Of course, math still works the same way in our world.

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But that statement,

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it gets at what makes quantum computing special.

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It's not just about speed,

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it's finding solutions we wouldn't even think to look for.

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Imagine asking directions right.

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Regular computer, it'll give you the shortest route

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using the roads that exist.

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Quantum computer, it might find a shortcut

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through like the 10th dimension

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and get you there 10 times faster.

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Whoa, okay, that's a lot.

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But let's bring it back down to earth for a minute.

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What kind of problems are we talking about

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actually solving with this stuff?

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Dr. Gilkes, she's really passionate about healthcare, right?

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Yeah.

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Imagine predicting diseases before someone even gets sick

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or treatments tailored to your specific genes.

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So instead of just treating symptoms,

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we're talking about stopping illness altogether.

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Exactly, and it goes beyond healthcare.

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Climate change, how the financial system works,

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even designing new materials.

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These are all areas where quantum computing's power,

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combined with how AI learns,

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could lead to breakthroughs we can barely imagine.

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It's a lot to take in.

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Before we get into specific examples,

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it's worth remembering,

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this isn't some far off sci-fi future, right?

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Dr. Gilkes made it seem like it's a lot closer

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than people think.

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Yeah, she did.

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And that's what makes this so exciting,

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and maybe a little bit, well, intimidating.

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But it's also why we gotta be talking about this now.

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What's at stake, how we can make this tech work

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for everyone.

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Definitely.

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And one thing Dr. Gilkes brought up

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that stuck with me,

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what happens when AI gets as smart as humans,

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this NGI, artificial general intelligence,

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kind of both cool and freaky, right?

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Are we talking helpful robot buddies,

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or are we talking robots taking over the world?

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Dr. Gilkes seemed pretty optimistic about it all, though.

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Yeah, she did.

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And I think a lot of that comes from her focusing

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on the practical stuff,

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how this tech can actually help people not replace them.

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Okay, so less robot apocalypse,

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more like robots solving all the really hard problems.

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Exactly.

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She used this example of a doctor's office, right?

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But the AI has already looked at your charts.

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All your data basically has a diagnosis ready

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before you even walk in the door.

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Think of all the time and energy that would save,

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not to mention catching things early.

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That's kind of wild.

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It'd be like having a whole team of super doctors

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working in the background crunching numbers

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so the human doctor can actually, you know,

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talk to you, figure out the best way to help.

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Right, and it's not just healthcare.

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Think about education.

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Dr. Gilkes was talking about AI creating custom lesson plans,

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adapting to how each student learns best.

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No more one size fits all classrooms.

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Everyone gets a personalized education.

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That would be huge,

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especially for kids who don't learn well in the,

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you know, the typical classroom setup.

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It'd be like having a personal tutor with you all the time.

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And it gets even wilder, right?

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Because you talked about this recursive learning thing.

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So this AI tutor, it's not just adapting to you,

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it's learning from how you learn.

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It's constantly getting better, smarter,

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based on your progress.

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Okay, now that is some next level stuff AI

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that doesn't just know stuff,

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but it actually gets smarter the more it interacts with us.

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Kind of amazing, kind of spooky all at once.

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Definitely brings up some big questions about,

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like what does intelligence even mean anymore, right?

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But Dr. Gilkes point is, this isn't some fixed destiny.

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We get to decide how this goes,

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how to use this tech to make things better for everyone.

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And that brings us to the big question, doesn't it?

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What's our part in all this?

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Because it's easy to get caught up in the,

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whoa, cool gadgets part,

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but these are powerful tools, right?

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Like any tool, they can be used for good,

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or well, not so good.

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Exactly.

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And I think Dr. Gilkes would say,

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the most important thing right now is to learn.

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Stay informed, what's happening with AI, with quantum,

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and to actually talk about it, the ethical stuff.

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It's about understanding how amazing it could be,

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but also the risks,

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making sure we're paying attention as it all develops.

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Very sure.

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And it's not just up to the governments, the big companies.

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It's about having these conversations everywhere,

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in our communities, schools, even at the dinner table.

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This AI quantum future, it's not happening to us.

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It's something we're all gonna be part of.

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That's a good point to,

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I think to wrap up this part of the discussion,

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we've gone from quantum, what is it,

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to AI in the doctor's office, to personalized education.

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It's a lot.

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Barely scratched the surface, really.

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Yeah.

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But hopefully it's given everyone something to think about,

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maybe sparked some curiosity

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to learn more about all this.

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Before we move on though,

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what's stuck with you from all this?

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What about Dr. Gilkes vision of the future got you excited,

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or maybe a little worried, we wanna know.

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It really is amazing to think about, right?

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AI and quantum, changing everything,

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healthcare, education, like you said.

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But I gotta admit, part of me still goes back to,

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well, what about jobs?

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If this stuff can do everything better and faster,

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where does that leave everyone else?

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Million dollar question, right.

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And to her credit, Dr. Gilkes,

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she went right there in her talk.

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But her take on it was interesting.

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She doesn't see AI as a job destroyer,

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more like a job creator.

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Even a multiplier, she said.

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Multiplier, I'm not sure I follow that one.

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So her point was AI, especially with quantum in the mix,

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it'll free us up from all the boring stuff,

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the repetitive tasks that take up so much of our workday.

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Imagine, right, your AI assistant handles scheduling,

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emails, even crunching data for you.

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What does that free you up to do?

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I guess that leaves what, the creative stuff,

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the strategy, the big picture thinking,

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the things humans are still better at, right?

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Algorithms haven't quite figured that out yet.

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Exactly.

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And Dr. Gilkes, she thinks that shift,

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that's where all these new jobs come in, new industries,

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whole new ways of working that we haven't even thought of.

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It's not replacing us, it's like augmenting us,

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helping us do more than we ever could alone.

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So less humans versus machines,

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more like humans with machines working together.

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Exactly.

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And this is where Dr. Gilkes got real,

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that teamwork, it needs trust.

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And that's a whole other can of worms, right?

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How do we, like as a society, learn to trust AI,

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especially as it gets more complicated, more powerful,

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even when we don't get how it makes decisions?

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Right, the big ethical question.

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What happens if AI does something good, gets a good result,

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but we don't understand why?

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How does that work with, you know,

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wanting things to be transparent, accountable?

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Exactly the conversation we need to be having.

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Like right now, Dr. Gilkes was saying AI ethics,

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that can't be an afterthought.

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It needs to be built in from the start,

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part of the foundation of this whole technology.

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So it's not just about teaching AI to be smart,

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it's teaching it to be ethical, to match our values,

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even as those values change and grow.

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100%.

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And that's a conversation everyone needs to be in on.

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Not just the tech people, but philosophers, ethicists,

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artists, even writers.

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We're talking about the moral compass

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of some seriously powerful tools here.

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That's a big responsibility, but it's also, you know,

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a chance to really think about what matters.

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What does it mean to be human?

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What kind of future are we trying to build?

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And that future, like Dr. Gilkes said,

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it's not set in stone, right?

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We've got this chance to get it right,

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to use all this AI, quantum, everything,

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to make things fairer, make the world better, more just.

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But that won't just happen, it takes work.

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We have to pay attention, be involved,

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ask the hard questions.

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And I think that's the perfect place for us to wrap up.

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This has been, well, a lot.

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Mind-blowing stuff, things to really think about.

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If you're anything like me, you're walking away from this,

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both totally pumped about the future,

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but maybe a little overwhelmed by how big it all is.

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It's a lot to process, definitely.

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But that's kind of the exciting part, right?

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We're at this edge,

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about to see some really incredible things,

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and we all get to be part of figuring out what comes next.

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So yeah, keep learning, keep asking those questions,

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keep talking to each other,

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because the future of, well, intelligence,

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whatever that even means anymore,

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it depends on us figuring this out.

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Thanks for being along for the ride, everyone.