Quantum creativity with James Wootton
In this episode, Sebastian Hassinger welcomes back James Wootton, now Chief Science Officer at Moth Quantum, for a fascinating conversation about quantum computing's role in creative applications. This is a return visit from James, having appeared on episode 2, this time to talk about his exciting new role. Previously at IBM Quantum, James has been a pioneer in exploring unconventional applications of quantum computing, particularly in gaming, art, and creative industries.
Key Topics
Origins of James's Quantum Journey
- Started in Arosa, Switzerland (coincidentally where Schrödinger developed his wave equation)
- Initially skeptical about commercial applications of his quantum error correction research
- Created "Decodoku" (a play on "decoder" and "Sudoku"), a puzzle game to gamify quantum error correction in 2016
- The same year IBM put a 5 qubit machine on the cloud, creating a paradigm shift in accessibility
Quantum Gaming Innovations
- Developed what may be the first quantum computing game
- Created "Hello Quantum," a mobile educational game
- Developed "Quantum Blur," a tool that encodes images in quantum states, allowing users to see how quantum gates affect images
- Used quantum computing for procedural generation in games, including terrain generation for Minecraft-like environments
Quantum Art and Creativity
- Collaborated with a classical painter who has used Quantum Blur as his main artistic tool for five years
- Explored using quantum computing for music generation
- Investigated language generation using the DiscoCat framework
Moth Quantum
- James joined Moth Quantum as Chief Science Officer
- The company focuses on bringing quantum computing to creative industries
- Their approach recognizes that in creative fields, "usefulness" can mean bringing something unique rather than just superior performance
- Aims to build expertise with current quantum technologies to be ready when fault tolerance enables quantum advantage
- At the beginning of May, 2025, Moth collaborated with musical artist ILA on a project called "Infinite Remix," using quantum computing in the creation of an exciting new musical creation tool.
Creators and Guests
Guest
James Wootton
Misusing quantum computers for fun and/or science. Spock at Moth Quantum. Two Ts and no Es. All nonsense here is my own doing