Quantum neural networks get their first hardware test

Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins.

So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with quantum computers now edging into practical use, there is a real possibility that neural networks could tap into distinctly quantum effects and operate in ways that classical machines never could.

So far, however, neural networks have proven far more difficult to run on quantum hardware. ...