Abstract

For the last 60 years, the world of computing has been dominated by binary bits representing the intersection of information and mathematics. We have constantly pushed the boundaries of computation in this paradigm, with innovations in semiconductors reducing energy or increasing performance to enable more sophisticated calculations.

Now, working at the intersection of information and biology, artificial intelligence advances and permeates through ever more applications affecting business and science. Powerful models are now emerging that evolve AI from discrimination to creation, enabling AI to create in new domains. They are trained without the need for annotated data and generalize to a variety of tasks with relatively efficient re-training. These models are defining an inflection point in AI.

Finally, we are witnessing the growth of a new computing paradigm combining physics and information—quantum computing. It has the potential to solve problems out of reach for even the most powerful supercomputers.

We marvel at the power of each of these computing technologies, but we haven’t fully grasped their most profound implication, one that we will see this decade when we witness their convergence. The result will be the creation of unseen computational power accelerating the rate of scientific discovery. In this lecture, we will reflect on the future of computing and the implications of this convergence of technologies for science, business, and society.

Biography

Dr. Darío Gil is IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research. He is a technology and business leader, responsible for IBM Research, one of the world’s largest and most influential corporate research labs. Dr. Gil leads the technology roadmap and the technical community of IBM, directing innovation strategies in areas including hybrid cloud, AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, and exploratory science. He is also responsible for IBM's intellectual property strategy and business.

Dr. Gil is a globally recognized leader of the quantum computing industry. Under his leadership, IBM was the first company in the world to build programmable quantum computers and make them universally available through the cloud.

Dr. Gil is a member of the National Science Board of the United States, and the boards of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), New York Academy of Sciences, New York Hall of Science, and Research! America. He serves on the President’s Research Council of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), and the MIT School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council.

Hosted by the College of Engineering and the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.