Quantum computing + AI + agents = AGI?

<p>What happens when you combine frontier AI, agentic systems, and quantum computing?</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of NEXT with John Koetsier, we chat with Mykola Maksymenko, co-founder and CTO of Haiqu, about how AI agents are dramatically accelerating quantum research and potentially scientific discovery as a whole.</p><p><br></p><p>Maksymenko shares how an AI system was able to reconstruct months of his own PhD research in a fraction of the time, even identifying a bug in one of his formulas. </p><p><br></p><p>He also discusses experiments involving genomics, molecular simulation, quantum chemistry, and condensed matter physics.</p><p><br></p><p>The bigger question: do we really need to wait for fault-tolerant quantum computers with hundreds or thousands of logical qubits before quantum computing becomes useful?</p><p><br></p><p>Maksymenko argues that useful quantum applications are already emerging today, particularly when AI agents help scientists discover algorithms, orchestrate workflows, and handle the complexity of working with noisy quantum hardware.</p><p><br></p><p>We also explore the risks of increasingly capable AI systems, scientific guardrails, quantum utility versus quantum supremacy, and what happens when researchers can test ideas in a weekend that previously might have required months or years.</p><p><br></p><p>Topics include:</p><p>• Agentic AI for scientific research</p><p>• Quantum utility vs. quantum supremacy</p><p>• AI-assisted genomics</p><p>• Quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics</p><p>• Automating quantum software workflows</p><p>• AI as a scientific collaborator and educator</p><p>• The risks and guardrails of frontier AI</p><p>• Why scientific discovery could accelerate dramatically</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>00:00 — “I think AGI is here” </p><p>00:40 — Meet Mykola Maksymenko </p><p>01:01 — Why a quantum physicist started experimenting with genomics </p><p>02:18 — Reproducing years of research with AI and quantum computing </p><p>03:07 — The convergence of AI, agents, and quantum computers </p><p>04:26 — Are we entering the singularity? </p><p>04:45 — AI reconstructs six months of PhD research </p><p>05:28 — The risks of AI-assisted genomics and scientific discovery </p><p>06:46 — Pandora’s box and the race for frontier AI </p><p>07:02 — What researchers are doing with the technology now </p><p>08:29 — Can quantum computers already do useful work? </p><p>09:21 — From quantum supremacy to quantum utility </p><p>11:06 — Molecular dynamics and quantum chemistry </p><p>12:12 — The minimum viable product of quantum computing </p><p>13:00 — Why Haiku moved deeper into agentic AI </p><p>13:30 — How much faster can AI make scientific research? </p><p>15:47 — AI as a scientist’s educator and collaborator </p><p>16:51 — Running research experiments over a weekend </p><p>17:16 — What happens next for AI + quantum computing </p><p>17:38 — How AI agents operate quantum computers </p><p>18:59 — Closing thoughts</p>