Quantum computing sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but Google is using it to explore concepts in artificial intelligence, reports the New York Times.

Google is setting up the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab as part of a joint effort with NASA.

Quantum computing, which uses underpinnings of quantum physics to calculate and solve problems way faster than any conventional computer, might be just the ticket to push "machine learning" further into the mainstream.

Machine learning is all about having computers learn from and act on data, just like you do every day with your brain.

Here's a basic example from Wikipedia: "A machine learning system could be trained on email messages to learn to distinguish between spam and non-spam messages. After learning, it can then be used to classify new email messages into spam and non-spam folders."

This is a more elementary application, however. While there aren't yet any specifics on what Google and NASA will be working on in the AI realm, both entities have reputations for aiming extremely high. We're excited!