Quantum assisted Gaussian process regression

Abstract: Gaussian processes (GP) are a widely used model for regression problems in supervised machine learning. Implementation of GP regression typically requires $O(n^3)$ logic gates. We show that the quantum linear systems algorithm [Harrow et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 150502 (2009)] can be applied to Gaussian process regression (GPR), leading to an exponential reduction in computation time in some instances. We show that even in some cases not ideally suited to the quantum linear systems algorithm, a polynomial increase in efficiency still occurs.