Quantum Computing: A world turned upside-down
I was reading an article recently inspired by Michio Kaku, a world leader in ‘string theory’, talking about the new world of quantum computing. In short, it seems quantum computing is going to have a major impact on every aspect of our lives, from defence to medicine and business.
Here are a few facts for those like me pretty unfamiliar with the area, which explain the basics:
“Digital computers work with ‘bits’, noughts and ones, ‘a very crude approximation of reality’. But quantum computers use the qubit – the state of an atom – as a unit of computation.”
“In 2019 Google reported that its 53-qubit Sycamore computer could solve in 200 seconds a mathematical problem that would take the fastest digital computer 10,000 years to finish. Last year, IBM unveiled a 433-qubit quantum computer. The 1,121-qubit follow-up is due any day, and it hopes to have a 4,000-qubit version working by 2025.”
“Everything from batteries to vaccines is currently invented, effectively, by trial and error: but if you can accurately simulate chemical reactions, you don’t need bubbling flasks. The secrets of everything from human ageing to photosynthesis (a near 100 per cent efficient quantum process that, Kaku reminds us in tones of wonder, takes place at room temperature) can be unlocked.”
“The century-old Haber Process for making fertiliser out of atmospheric nitrogen has made it possible to feed billions who would not otherwise be alive today, but it consumes fully 2 per cent of all the world’s energy. Quantum computing could give us the ability to ‘fix’ nitrogen without the huge temperatures and pressures required – ushering in a new green revolution. […] Kaku envisions quantum computers sniffing out cancer ‘years to decades before tumours form’ with routine ‘liquid biopsies’ performed by a ‘smart toilet’ in your home.”
“In the medical domain, quantum computers will be able to analyse how drugs work at a molecular level, model and test new ones without ever going near a patient.”
“When quantum computers give the development of AI a hyper-speed boost, the first thing that they’ll do along the way is to make it possible to break by ‘brute force’ (i.e. sheer computational welly) every form of encryption on the planet. So, potentially, goodbye to all military and civilian secrets, not to mention the secure transactions on which the entire global financial system depends.”
It’s worth thinking about the impact on your sector and business model of a world perhaps only 10 years hence, powered by quantum computers. ‘A world turned upside down’ warrants some forward thinking.