Communication systems

Communication networks, such as wireless ad hoc or cellular networks, are being increasingly used for computation purposes. Representative examples are over-the-air computing, computing via gossip motivated by sensor networks, holoportation, and interactive communication. When the functions of interest are linear, in special instances, there exist algorithms to efficiently solve the problem.

The advent of large language models (LLMs), whose unprecedented scale necessitates distributed training and inference, has intensified the need for communication/computation-efficient distributed systems. Particularly, training and inference in LLMs rely on non-linear transformations, most prominently, activation functions and attention mechanisms.

In the recent past, it has been established beyond doubt that by leveraging the unique quantum properties of sub-atomic particles, information can yield unparalleled advantages in various disciplines of information processing including computing, communication, cryptography and control. In fact, protocols such as quantum key distribution accomplish tasks hitherto believed impossible. Notably, these protocols have been demonstrated in practice and research is underway to scale them up. We are shaping up towards emergence of a new age in information processing.