AI in Science and Engineering: Kate Smith-Miles

Описание: Towards Trustworthy AI and Quantum Technologies

by Kate Smith-Miles, University of Melbourne

Technologies such as AI and quantum computing promise to transform science, engineering, and society—but bold claims often outpace what these technologies can actually deliver. How do we separate genuine breakthroughs from hype? And what does it take to build technologies we can truly trust?

This lecture explores these questions through one deceptively simple challenge: the travelling salesperson problem (TSP). For decades, the TSP has been held up as a showcase for new technologies for several reasons: it is a computationally challenging problem; it is easy to explain; and it has significant industrial relevance to real‑world logistics. After two decades of effort however, today’s quantum optimization methods still struggle fundamentally with the mathematical structure of the problem, just as neural networks did forty years ago. The gap between promise and reality offers an important lesson about how current quantum technologies are particularly vulnerable to hype, inflated claims, and misplaced expectations while we await true breakthroughs. AI, too, has cycled repeatedly through periods of over‑claiming and subsequent correction—reminding us that such dynamics are not unique to quantum computing but characteristic of rapidly evolving technologies.

In this lecture, I explore how trust and integrity in algorithmic innovation can be strengthened through rigorous performance evaluation and transparent “stress‑testing”. To address these challenges, I introduce Instance Space Analysis, a framework for mapping the strengths and limitations of algorithms across diverse problem instances. This methodology helps distinguish genuine capability from over‑claiming, and offers a blueprint for building trustworthy algorithmic tools. By examining both AI and quantum optimization through this lens, the lecture highlights how scientific integrity can guide innovation beyond the hype cycle.

Details at https://informatics.tuwien.ac.at/news...

00:00:00 Introduction by Gerti Kappel
00:02:43 Lecture by Kate Smith-Miles
01:11:40 Q&A Session