Hartmut Neven

Hartmut Neven studied Physics and Economics in Brazil, Köln, Paris, Tübingen and Jerusalem. He wrote his Master thesis on a neuronal model of object recognition at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics under Valentino Braitenberg. In 1996 he received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Institute for Neuroinformatics at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, for a thesis on "Dynamics for vision-guided autonomous mobile robots" written under the tutelage of Christoph von der Malsburg. He received a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Germany’s most prestigious scholarship foundation.

In 1998 Neven became research professor of computer science at the University of Southern California at the Laboratory for Biological and Computational Vision. In 2003 he returned as the head of the Laboratory for Human-Machine Interfaces at USC's Information Sciences Institute.

Neven co-founded two companies, Eyematic for which he served as CTO and Neven Vision which he initially led as CEO. At Eyematic he developed face recognition technology and real-time facial feature analysis for avatar animation.{{cite news |work=Animation Magazine |title=Seal of Excellence Winners |url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/seal_of_excellence/seal_of_excellence_july_02.html |access-date=2008-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213154253/http://www.animationmagazine.net/seal_of_excellence/seal_of_excellence_july_02.html |archive-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead }} Teams led by Neven have repeatedly won top scores in government sponsored tests designed to determine the most accurate face recognition software.{{Cite web |url=http://www.frvt.org/ |title=Face Recognition Vendor Test |access-date=2008-04-13 |archive-date=2018-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928042125/http://www.frvt.org/ |url-status=dead }} Face filters, now ubiquitous on mobile phones, were launched for the first time by Neven Vision on the networks of NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone Japan in 2003.

Neven Vision also pioneered mobile visual search for camera phones.{{cite news |work=Wired Magazine |title=Phones That Get in Your Face |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/start.html?pg=12}}

{{cite news |work=The Feature |title=Hyperlinking the World |url=http://www.thefeaturearchives.com/101341.html |access-date=2008-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174358/http://www.thefeaturearchives.com/101341.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }} Neven Vision was acquired by Google in 2006.{{cite news |work=The New York Times |title=The Route From Research to Start-Up|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/business/18edge.html?_r=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/F/Flanigan,%20James&oref=slogin | first=James | last=Flanigan | date=2007-01-18 | accessdate=2010-05-04}}

At Google he managed teams responsible for advancing Google's visual search technologies. His team launched Google Goggles{{cite news |work=USA Today |title=Google can sort digital photos on face value |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-09-16-picasa-google_N.htm | first=Jefferson | last=Graham | date=2008-09-17 | accessdate=2010-05-04}}{{cite news |work=CNET News |title=Google begins blurring faces in Street View |url=http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2009/12/machine-learning-with-quantum.html}}{{cite news |work=Google Labs |title=Google Goggles |url=http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/#dc=gh0gg}}{{cite news |work=Google Blog |title=A new landmark in computer vision |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-landmark-in-computer-vision.html}} now Google Lens. The concept of adversarial patterns originated in his group when he tasked Christian Szegedy with a project to modify the pixel inputs of a deep neural network to lower the activity of select output nodes.{{cite arXiv | eprint=1312.6199 | last1=Szegedy | first1=Christian | last2=Zaremba | first2=Wojciech | last3=Sutskever | first3=Ilya | last4=Bruna | first4=Joan | last5=Erhan | first5=Dumitru | last6=Goodfellow | first6=Ian | last7=Fergus | first7=Rob | title=Intriguing properties of neural networks | year=2013 | class=cs.CV }} The motivation was to use this technique for object localization which did not work out. But the idea gave rise to the fields of adversarial learning and DeepDream art. In 2013 his optical character recognition team won the ICDAR Robust Reading Competition by a wide margin[http://www.cv-foundation.org/openaccess/content_iccv_2013/papers/Bissacco_PhotoOCR_Reading_Text_2013_ICCV_paper.pdf PhotoOCR: Reading Text in Uncontrolled Conditions] and in 2014 the object recognition team won the ImageNet challenge.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cs.unc.edu/~wliu/papers/GoogLeNet.pdf |title=Going Deeper with Convolutions |access-date=2019-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805234245/https://www.cs.unc.edu/~wliu/papers/GoogLeNet.pdf |archive-date=2019-08-05 |url-status=dead }}

Neven was a co-founder of the Google Glass project. His team completed the first prototype, codenamed Ant, in 2011.

In 2006 Neven started to explore the application of quantum computing to hard combinatorial problems arising in machine learning. In collaboration with D-Wave Systems he developed the first image recognition system based on quantum algorithms. It was demonstrated at SuperComputing07.{{cite news |work=CNET News|title=D-Wave's quantum computer ready for latest demo |url=http://www.news.com/D-Waves-quantum-computer-ready-for-latest-demo/2100-1010_3-6217842.html}} At NIPS 2009 his team demonstrated the first binary classifier trained on a quantum processor.{{cite news |work=New Scientist |title=Google demonstrates quantum computer image search |url= https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18272-google-demonstrates-quantum-computer-image-search.html}}{{cite news |work=Physics Today |title=Google exploring quantum computing algorithms |url=http://blogs.physicstoday.org/newspicks/2009/12/google-exploring-quantum-compu.html |access-date=2010-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918012632/http://blogs.physicstoday.org/newspicks/2009/12/google-exploring-quantum-compu.html |archive-date=2011-09-18 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |work=Google Research Blog |title=Machine Learning with Quantum Algorithms |url= http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2009/12/machine-learning-with-quantum.html}}

In 2012 together with Pete Worden at NASA Ames he founded the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In 2014 he invited John M. Martinis and his group at UC Santa Barbara to join the lab to start a fabrication facility for superconducting quantum processors. The Quantum Artificial Intelligence team performed the first experimental demonstration of a scalable simulation of a molecule.{{cite journal | url=https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.031007 | doi=10.1103/PhysRevX.6.031007 | title=Scalable Quantum Simulation of Molecular Energies | year=2016 | last1=O'Malley | first1=P. J. J. | last2=Babbush | first2=R. | last3=Kivlichan | first3=I. D. | last4=Romero | first4=J. | last5=McClean | first5=J. R. | last6=Barends | first6=R. | last7=Kelly | first7=J. | last8=Roushan | first8=P. | last9=Tranter | first9=A. | last10=Ding | first10=N. | last11=Campbell | first11=B. | last12=Chen | first12=Y. | last13=Chen | first13=Z. | last14=Chiaro | first14=B. | last15=Dunsworth | first15=A. | last16=Fowler | first16=A. G. | last17=Jeffrey | first17=E. | last18=Lucero | first18=E. | last19=Megrant | first19=A. | last20=Mutus | first20=J. Y. | last21=Neeley | first21=M. | last22=Neill | first22=C. | last23=Quintana | first23=C. | last24=Sank | first24=D. | last25=Vainsencher | first25=A. | last26=Wenner | first26=J. | last27=White | first27=T. C. | last28=Coveney | first28=P. V. | last29=Love | first29=P. J. | last30=Neven | first30=H. | journal=Physical Review X | volume=6 | issue=3 | page=031007 | s2cid=4884151 | display-authors=1 | arxiv=1512.06860 | bibcode=2016PhRvX...6c1007O }}

In 2016 the team formulated an experiment to demonstrate quantum supremacy.{{cite journal | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-018-0124-x | doi=10.1038/s41567-018-0124-x | title=Characterizing quantum supremacy in near-term devices | year=2018 | last1=Boixo | first1=Sergio | last2=Isakov | first2=Sergei V. | last3=Smelyanskiy | first3=Vadim N. | last4=Babbush | first4=Ryan | last5=Ding | first5=Nan | last6=Jiang | first6=Zhang | last7=Bremner | first7=Michael J. | last8=Martinis | first8=John M. | last9=Neven | first9=Hartmut | journal=Nature Physics | volume=14 | issue=6 | pages=595–600 | arxiv=1608.00263 | bibcode=2018NatPh..14..595B | s2cid=256713071 }} Quantum supremacy was then declared by Google in October 2019.{{Cite journal|title=Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor|date=23 October 2019|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1666-5|language=en|last1=Arute|first1=Frank|last2=Arya|first2=Kunal|last3=Babbush|first3=Ryan|last4=Bacon|first4=Dave|last5=Bardin|first5=Joseph C.|last6=Barends|first6=Rami|last7=Biswas|first7=Rupak|last8=Boixo|first8=Sergio|last9=Brandao|first9=Fernando G. S. L.|last10=Buell|first10=David A.|last11=Burkett|first11=Brian|last12=Chen|first12=Yu|last13=Chen|first13=Zijun|last14=Chiaro|first14=Ben|last15=Collins|first15=Roberto|last16=Courtney|first16=William|last17=Dunsworth|first17=Andrew|last18=Farhi|first18=Edward|last19=Foxen|first19=Brooks|last20=Fowler|first20=Austin|last21=Gidney|first21=Craig|last22=Giustina|first22=Marissa|last23=Graff|first23=Rob|last24=Guerin|first24=Keith|last25=Habegger|first25=Steve|last26=Harrigan|first26=Matthew P.|last27=Hartmann|first27=Michael J.|last28=Ho|first28=Alan|last29=Hoffmann|first29=Markus|last30=Huang|first30=Trent|volume=574|issue=7779|pages=505–510|pmid=31645734|arxiv=1910.11333|bibcode=2019Natur.574..505A|s2cid=204836822|display-authors=29}}

In 2023 Quantum AI researchers demonstrated that quantum error correction works in practice by showing for the first time that the error of a logical qubit decreases when increasing the number of physical qubits it is composed of.{{cite journal

|title= Our progress toward quantum error correction| url=https://blog.google/inside-google/message-ceo/our-progress-toward-quantum-error-correction/ |journal=The Keyword | date=22 February 2023 }}{{cite journal | title=Suppressing quantum errors by scaling a surface code logical qubit | year=2023 | journal=Nature | doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05434-1 | last1=Acharya | first1=Rajeev | last2=Aleiner | first2=Igor | last3=Allen | first3=Richard | last4=Andersen | first4=Trond I. | last5=Ansmann | first5=Markus | last6=Arute | first6=Frank | last7=Arya | first7=Kunal | last8=Asfaw | first8=Abraham | last9=Atalaya | first9=Juan | last10=Babbush | first10=Ryan | last11=Bacon | first11=Dave | last12=Bardin | first12=Joseph C. | last13=Basso | first13=Joao | last14=Bengtsson | first14=Andreas | last15=Boixo | first15=Sergio | last16=Bortoli | first16=Gina | last17=Bourassa | first17=Alexandre | last18=Bovaird | first18=Jenna | last19=Brill | first19=Leon | last20=Broughton | first20=Michael | last21=Buckley | first21=Bob B. | last22=Buell | first22=David A. | last23=Burger | first23=Tim | last24=Burkett | first24=Brian | last25=Bushnell | first25=Nicholas | last26=Chen | first26=Yu | last27=Chen | first27=Zijun | last28=Chiaro | first28=Ben | last29=Cogan | first29=Josh | last30=Collins | first30=Roberto | volume=614 | issue=7949 | pages=676–681 | pmid=36813892 | pmc=9946823 | bibcode=2023Natur.614..676G | display-authors=1 }}

Google’s quantum processors have been used to study the physics of quantum many body states that otherwise are challenging to prepare in a laboratory such as time crystals,{{cite journal | title=Time Crystals | year=2022 | journal=Nature | volume=601 | issue=7894 | pages=531–536 | doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04257-w | last1=Mi | first1=Xiao | last2=Ippoliti | first2=Matteo | last3=Quintana | first3=Chris | last4=Greene | first4=Ami | last5=Chen | first5=Zijun | last6=Gross | first6=Jonathan | last7=Arute | first7=Frank | last8=Arya | first8=Kunal | last9=Atalaya | first9=Juan | last10=Babbush | first10=Ryan | last11=Bardin | first11=Joseph C. | last12=Basso | first12=Joao | last13=Bengtsson | first13=Andreas | last14=Bilmes | first14=Alexander | last15=Bourassa | first15=Alexandre | last16=Brill | first16=Leon | last17=Broughton | first17=Michael | last18=Buckley | first18=Bob B. | last19=Buell | first19=David A. | last20=Burkett | first20=Brian | last21=Bushnell | first21=Nicholas | last22=Chiaro | first22=Benjamin | last23=Collins | first23=Roberto | last24=Courtney | first24=William | last25=Debroy | first25=Dripto | last26=Demura | first26=Sean | last27=Derk | first27=Alan R. | last28=Dunsworth | first28=Andrew | last29=Eppens | first29=Daniel | last30=Erickson | first30=Catherine | pmid=34847568 | pmc=8791837 | display-authors=1 | arxiv=2107.13571 }} traversable wormholes

{{cite news |work=Google Research Blog

|title= Making a Dual of a Traversable Wormhole with a Quantum Computer|url=https://blog.research.google/2022/11/making-traversable-wormhole-with.html }}{{cite journal | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05424-3| title=Traversable wormhole dynamics on a quantum processor

| year=2022 | journal=Nature | doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05424-3

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| first1=Daniel |author-link=Daniel L. Jafferis

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| first8=Maria |author-link8=Maria Spiropulu

| volume=612

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and non-Abelian anyons.{{cite news |work=Google Research Blog

|title= The world's first braiding of non-Abelian anyons|url=https://blog.research.google/2023/06/the-worlds-first-braiding-of-non.html?m=1 }}{{cite journal | title=Non-Abelian braiding of graph vertices in a superconducting processor | year=2023 | journal=Nature | doi=10.1038/s41586-023-05954-4 | last1=Andersen | first1=T. I. | last2=Lensky | first2=Y. D. | last3=Kechedzhi | first3=K. | last4=Drozdov | first4=I. K. | last5=Bengtsson | first5=A. | last6=Hong | first6=S. | last7=Morvan | first7=A. | last8=Mi | first8=X. | last9=Opremcak | first9=A. | last10=Acharya | first10=R. | last11=Allen | first11=R. | last12=Ansmann | first12=M. | last13=Arute | first13=F. | last14=Arya | first14=K. | last15=Asfaw | first15=A. | last16=Atalaya | first16=J. | last17=Babbush | first17=R. | last18=Bacon | first18=D. | last19=Bardin | first19=J. C. | last20=Bortoli | first20=G. | last21=Bourassa | first21=A. | last22=Bovaird | first22=J. | last23=Brill | first23=L. | last24=Broughton | first24=M. | last25=Buckley | first25=B. B. | last26=Buell | first26=D. A. | last27=Burger | first27=T. | last28=Burkett | first28=B. | last29=Bushnell | first29=N. | last30=Chen | first30=Z. | volume=618 | issue=7964 | pages=264–269 | pmid=37169834 | pmc=10247379 | bibcode=2023Natur.618..264G | display-authors=1 | arxiv=2210.10255 }}

The observation that quantum computers are gaining computational power at a doubly exponential rate is called "Neven's law".{{cite web|url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/does-nevens-law-describe-quantum-computings-rise-20190618/|title=Does Neven's Law Describe Quantum Computing's Rise?|last=Hartnett|first=Kevin|date=2019-06-18|work=Quanta Magazine}}

Hartmut Neven was named as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People of 2020.[https://www.fastcompany.com/90525415/most-creative-people-2020-hartmut-neven Google scientist Hartmut Neven coined the term ‘Quantum AI.’] Citing Neven: "It’s not one company versus another, but rather, humankind versus nature — or humankind with nature."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2708a5fc-f5f7-11e9-9ef3-eca8fc8f2d65|title=Google quantum breakthrough will help solve 'impossible problems'|last=|first=|date=Oct 24, 2019|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-28}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• [http://techtalks.tv/talks/54457/ Keynote Presentation at the International Conference on Machine Learning ICML 2011 on Google Goggles and Machine Learning with Quantum Algorithms]
• [http://videolectures.net/opt08_neven_tabcwt/ NIPS Video Lecture: Training a Binary Classifier with the Quantum Adiabatic Algorithm]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I56UugZ_8DI Google Tech Talk Series on Quantum Computing]
• [https://arxiv.org/find/all/1/all:+AND+Hartmut+Neven/0/1/0/all/0/1 Preprints of Hartmut Neven on arxiv.org]
• [http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/google-und-nasa-praesentieren-ihren-quantencomputer-a-1066838.html Der Spiegel: Google und Nasa präsentieren Quantencomputer]

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Category:German artificial intelligence researchers

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Category:German computer scientists

Category:Living people

Category:1964 births