Quantum computer could have predicted Trump’s surprise election

A person watching the 2016 US election coverage on TV and marking the results on a map

Quantum computers saw it coming

Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images

Predicting the outcome of a general election is a challenge. But combining quantum computing with neural network technology could improve forecasts, according to a new study that used just such a network to model the 2016 US presidential elections.

“Using this application is a way of demonstrating the potential of these new sorts of algorithms, and the kind of problems that quantum computing might be able to assist with in the future,” says Michael Brett, CEO of data analytics company QX Branch, which conducted the study. Quantum …