Experimental demonstration of quantum continual learning with superconducting qubits
npj Quantum Information, vol. 12
Abstract
Quantum computers may outperform classical computers on machine learning tasks. Yet, quantum learning systems may suffer from catastrophic forgetting, which is widely believed to be an obstacle to achieving continual learning. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of quantum continual learning on a superconducting processor. In particular, we sequentially train a quantum classifier with three tasks, two about identifying real-life images and one on classifying quantum states, and demonstrate its catastrophic forgetting. To overcome this dilemma, we exploit the elastic weight consolidation strategy and show that the quantum classifier can incrementally retain knowledge across three tasks with an average accuracy exceeding 92.3%. Additionally, for sequential tasks involving quantum-engineered data, we demonstrate that the quantum classifier outperforms a classical classifier with a comparable number of parameters. Our results establish a viable strategy for empowering quantum learning systems with adaptability to sequential tasks.
Authors 35
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute · Tsinghua University
Affiliation as printed
Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai, China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Institute of Automation
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Leiden University · Tsinghua University
Affiliation as printed
Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, RA, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Hangzhou, China
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Institute of Physics · Polish Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
International Research Centre MagTop, Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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Affiliation as printed
ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, China
ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Hangzhou, China
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Affiliation as printed
Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, China
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Jie Hao corresponding
Chinese Academy of Sciences · Institute of Automation
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Affiliation as printed
Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, China
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Dong‐Ling Deng corresponding
Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute · Tsinghua University
Affiliation as printed
Center for Quantum Information, IIIS, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, China
Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute, Shanghai, China
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Chao Song corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, China
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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