Quantum Computing News - A Game-Changer for Industries Worldwide
Quantum computers hold great promise as an upgrade from current computing systems, harnessing quantum physics' peculiar laws to perform multiple calculations at the same time.
Google's 50-qubit computer can complete tasks that would take supercomputers 47 years.
Though quantum computing may still be too early for businesses to fully reap its advantages, forward-looking firms should begin planning now for how best to utilize its potential benefits.
What is Quantum Computing?
Quantum computers use quantum physics principles to perform complex calculations, potentially providing solutions that traditional computers cannot. A quantum computer may even complete calculations in minutes that would take even the world's most powerful supercomputers millennia to accomplish.
Quantum computing may still be decades away, but tech giants, including IBM, Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Intel, as well as many startups, are working toward making it possible. These firms are developing the necessary hardware and software required for quantum computers as well as providing access to them via cloud services.
Researchers looking to build a quantum computer must first create the ideal conditions for quantum particles known as qubits - the building blocks of any computer - which will act as building blocks of the machine. This requires extremely cold temperatures, low electromagnetic interference levels and highly stable experimental setups. Furthermore, new algorithms tailored specifically for quantum systems, as well as software tools designed for quantum computing, must also be created by researchers.
Mikhail Lukin of MIT and co-director of Harvard Quantum Initiative recently announced that his team had made significant strides forward in their effort. Their platform utilizes very cold laser-trapped rubidium atoms as quantum bits or qubits to simulate quantum mechanical processes quickly.
Lukin's team has not only improved the performance of quantum processors, but they have also developed a method for connecting qubits and communicating between them to perform multiple operations at the same time - these two developments together will make it possible to build a quantum computer consisting of many qubits.
As quantum computing enters its mature phase, businesses will use classical machines to narrow the range of possible solutions for financial or logistics problems more rapidly and expediently. Once quantum computing becomes mainstream, businesses should find that it provides faster solutions with better outcomes.
What are the Benefits of Quantum Computing?
JPMorgan Chase and Visa have started to experiment with quantum computers, while others are working with quantum computing startups to develop expertise and identify use cases. Most businesses likely won't build or own their quantum computer in the near term; rather, they will likely purchase access from one or more specialized providers similar to how many firms today access cloud-computing services from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Apps for Work (GOOGL) or Microsoft Azure (MSFT).
Some have expressed fear that quantum computers will be able to crack cryptography, the rules used for safely transmitting data over the Internet. To encrypt a message between two people who have never met before, they must first exchange a secret key that relies on mathematical assumptions that could potentially be breached by quantum computers - prompting concerns that such computers will eventually crack the encryption used for email messages and credit card transactions.
However, other experts remain more hopeful for quantum computing's future. They maintain that, despite their limitations, quantum computers can solve some problems faster than conventional ones; for instance, Google's Frontier supercomputer required millions of years to simulate a physical problem that was difficult to compute on even its fastest computers. By comparison, a quantum computer completed this same task in six seconds!
Quantum computers offer unique properties that allow them to solve some tasks that traditional computers simply can't. For instance, qubits allow a quantum computer to find optimal solutions to complex optimization problems that cannot be tackled using conventional computers alone - providing companies with an opportunity to cut costs, increase revenue and improve competitive positions more effectively.
Quantum computing's primary advantage lies in its capacity to quickly process large volumes of data. This makes quantum computers invaluable tools in industries as diverse as financial services, pharmaceuticals and automotive manufacturing. Furthermore, quantum computers can help accelerate product development processes as well as enhance existing ones by simulating chemical reactions at the molecular level simulation.
What is the Future of Quantum Computing?
Quantum computers have long been considered an abstract idea; now, however, they've emerged as real technologies with the potential to radically transform businesses and society as a whole. Their potential to speed up the development of emerging technologies like electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and biotechnology means we could soon witness an exciting technological renaissance of which we may only just begun to imagine the effects.
Tech giants have taken notice of quantum computing research and its commercialization, investing in research while planning for commercialization. Companies that will emerge victorious in this new era of computing will be those that can harness its power at scale while seamlessly incorporating it into existing digital workflows - these companies should partner with quantum computing experts or hire those possessing knowledge about quantum computing to understand and integrate it.
Though there have been warnings that quantum technology would make encryption standards obsolete and make data theft easier, physicists and engineers have come a long way towards making quantum computers useful. The next milestone expected will be a quantum advantage when quantum computers perform faster, cheaper or with reduced energy than classical ones on problems of commercial importance - the founder of software company Q-CTRL believes the first quantum advantage may arise within five to eight years.
Companies can prepare themselves for the quantum revolution by tracking its development and recognizing ways in which it might help their business. Data centres may begin by assessing their current digital infrastructure and scaling data sets with an eye towards the eventual transition or adoption of quantum computing workflows.
Startup companies offering quantum-ready hardware include IonQ, Oxford Quantum Circuits, QuEra, Rigetti Computing and Canada-based Xanadu Quantum Technologies. Some researchers are also running quantum-specific programming software on supercomputers; Nvidia (NVDA) has collaborated with researchers in order to create quantum-ready software that runs on its GPUs. At the GTC developers conference last month, they showcased this program using AI chips to simulate complex physical systems.
What are the Challenges of Quantum Computing?
Quantum computing promises to revolutionize business by hastening the discovery of lifesaving medicines and faster aircraft construction times, for instance. But before its full potential can be realized, several challenges must first be surmounted.
First and foremost, building a quantum computer requires costly and complicated hardware. While companies like IBM offer cloud quantum computing and a developer kit for quantum application development, access is still not widely accessible as full-scale quantum machines cost millions or even billions of dollars to construct.
Second, quantum computers must be kept extremely cold to avoid errors caused by heat-generated errors and noise, which can make running them expensive and energy-consuming as the technology scales up. However, one strategy could reduce cooling requirements by employing "qubits" that do not interact with each other - potentially improving scalability and performance while decreasing cost.
Physics experts must continue their efforts on quantum error correction and finding ways to manage qubits so they are useful in computing. A qubit can be seen as an information unit that exists simultaneously in two states (on and off). While this allows complex calculations, it also opens the possibility for uncontrolled errors - therefore, physicists need to find ways to control qubits so as not to create uncontrollable errors.
At present, other businesses are beginning to experiment with quantum computing for various uses. Finance institutions are using it to optimize investment portfolios while taking risk assessments into account and optimizing returns on capital; similarly, aviation uses quantum computing for flight scheduling and logistics optimization - according to McKinsey's estimates, the number of organizations employing quantum computing has more than doubled just since 2016.
Engineers and scientists appear close to realizing quantum computing as something useful despite all the negative press it receives. Set aside fears that quantum computing could render current encryption standards obsolete or create the threat of "steal now, crack later", it becomes apparent that quantum computing remains just around the corner as one of those technologies that remain perpetually "just a few years away".
