The development of Quantum Cat, an art work utilizing quantum computing, was a massive collaborative project initiated by Jeroen van der Most. As a key contributor, my role involved generating the text for the piece using GPT-3, a task that presented its own set of challenges. While the Spirit Machine project had the ability to react in real-time to a vast array of unique topics, Quantum Cat was limited to five categories, requiring the creation of 200 texts per topic without repetition.

To overcome this obstacle, I employed a creative technique to generate effective GPT-3 prompts: I essentially created a prompt generator. This involved sampling hundreds of relevant topics and instructing GPT-3 to impersonate the famous philosopher Socrates in feline form. By doing so, I was able to generate high quality texts in which feline Socrates offered its own reflections on various societal topics from a feline perspective.

Quantum Cat itself is a revolutionary art work, being the first of its kind to utilize quantum computing. It is a digital being created through the measurement of the states of electrons in a quantum computer, resulting in a stream of random data that determines the movements and opinions of the cat. This data is influenced by Dutch Twitter discussions, with the cat offering its thoughts on topics being discussed in real-time. For example, if freedom of speech is being debated on Twitter, it is likely that Quantum Cat will provide its own ethical reflections on the subject. Or, if tweets about the economy are dominating the conversation, the cat may offer insights on the balance between economic concerns and the environment. Overall, Quantum Cat represents a bold foray into the world of quantum computing and social media.

The artwork was exhibited at various places in the Netherlands and also the CES 2023 in Las Vegas.