Analysis Quantum computing has been a decade away for over a decade now, but according to industry experts, it may be the secret to curbing AI's insatiable appetite.

With each passing month, larger, more parameter-dense models emerge and the scope of AI implementations expands in tandem. This year alone, hyperscalers like Meta plan to deploy hundreds of thousands of accelerators. Even still OpenAI founder Sam Altman is convinced that we will need exponentially more computation if we are to further develop AI.

So it should come as no surprise that OpenAI, with its latest hire, would hedge its bets on quantum computing if it can't. Last week, the AI juggernaut added Ben Bartlett, a former quantum systems architect at PsiQuantum to its ranks.

We reached out to Open AI to find out more about what Bartlett will be doing at the AI trendsetter, and have not heard back. But his bio offers some hints as much of his research has focused on the intersection of quantum physics, machine learning and nanophotonics, and "basically consists of me designing little racetracks for photons that trick them into doing useful calculations"