(Of course) algorithms beat gamers at solving quantum control problems

TL;DR

This paper discusses how numerical algorithms outperform human gamers in solving quantum control problems, highlighting that player solutions can serve as useful seeds or guides for optimization algorithms.

Contribution

The paper clarifies the role of human players in quantum control problem-solving and emphasizes their utility in improving numerical optimization methods.

Findings

Algorithms outperform gamers in quantum control tasks.

Player solutions can seed or guide numerical algorithms.

Human players do not solve the problems to high accuracy.

Abstract

Dries Sels and Allan Gr{\o}nlund have demonstrated numerical algorithms that outperform the players of our Quantum Moves game and they call the conclusions of our article Exploring the Quantum Speed Limit with Computer Games, Nature, 532, 210 (2016)] 'untenable'. Sels and Gr{\o}nlund ignore that our article already emphasizes that the players do not solve the quantum optimization challenge to any desired accuracy. Our key finding is that player solutions can be employed either as seeds for numerical optimization algorithms or as guidance towards low-dimensional representations of the solutions.