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Frame from Lisp at the Frontier of Computation, by Robert Smith at Rigetti Computing Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Lisp at the Frontier of Computation, by Robert Smith at Rigetti Computing

Arthur Gleckler
Talks
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this talk2 months2017–2019 score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Recommended as a real-world case of Lisp in a cutting-edge industry, applied to quantum hardware.

Robert Smith of Rigetti Computing talks at a Bay Area Lisp and Scheme meetup about using Common Lisp for quantum computing. He covers the technical, sociological and psychological sides of working across disciplines.

“About the application of Lisp on quantum hardware.” (HN, 2018)

3 recommendations · 3 citations · Talks · intermediate · partly dated

6 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@robertkrahn01 Dec 2017 Recommends
on HN thread An Interactive Introduction to Quantum Computing
Interesting in this regard might also be the talk that Robert Smith of Rigetti Computing recently gave: [this video] Apart from praising Common Lisp he describes how they are building an assembler-like language for quantum computing. The HN thread: [link]
Talk on using Common Lisp and building an assembler-like language for quantum computing.
@reikonomusha Jan 2018 Recommends
on HN thread The Era of Quantum Computing Is Here. Outlook: Cloudy
Rigetti Quantum Computing [0] is a YC startup that actually manufactures real quantum computers that are accessible through Forest. There are a couple neat videos about the tech. [1,2] You can access the service through a Python API [3]. Disclaimer: I work there. [0] [link] [1] “Lisp at the Frontier of Computation” [this video] [2] Rigetti talk at QIP 2017 [link] [3] [link]
One of a couple of neat videos about Rigetti's quantum tech.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@reikonomusha Feb 2018 Cites it
on HN thread What Made Lisp Different (2002)
Rigetti Quantum Computing is a relatively recent YC startup that happens to use Common Lisp for building out their quantum programming language, compiler, and simulator stack. For those tasks, it has been an excellent choice, especially given the hugely exploratory and rapidly evolving space. Rigetti hosted one of the Lisp meetups to talk about their use of Lisp and it was recorded in a talk "Lisp at the Frontier of Computation" [0]. [0] [this video] (Disclaimer: I'm the speaker in the video.)
Speaker's own talk on Rigetti using Common Lisp for its quantum stack.
@reikonomusha Jul 2018 Cites it
on HN thread Ask HN: Who is using Common Lisp?
Rigetti Computing [1] uses it for a variety of their projects, including their high-performance quantum computer simulator called the QVM [2], and their quantum compiler. Some of their use of Lisp has been presented in more detail at the European Lisp Symposium. You can see it in the Cutting Edge section of the proceedings [3]. [1] [link] [2] [this video] [3] [link]
Cited as source about Rigetti's QVM simulator written in Lisp.

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