Riccardocloud

No ratings yet.

Quantum what?

Classical computers exploit the properties of transistors to perform calculations, the same transistors that follow Moore’s law; yes, we know them. What is interesting is that transistors can work on binary information, the famous bits that can be equal to the values 0 and 1, true and false, on and off. All hardware works through these ridiculous simple operations, but on an enormous scale. Quantum computers, on the other hand, exploit the quantum properties of particular circuits (called quantum circuits) to process information that is significantly greater than that of normal transistors. But how does it do that, and what are quantum properties?

While we certainly do not wish to presume to be able to effectively simplify such a complex subject, I will do my best to explain what a “quantum-bit” (qubit) is. On paper, the qubit, like the bit, can return two pieces of information when it is read: 0 and 1. However, thanks to the qubits’ ability to assume an infinite number of states before measurement and the possibility of them influencing each other (so-called quantum entanglement), the quantum circuit can perform considerably more complex algorithms using less energy and less physical space than a traditional supercomputer (a computer with an immense number of CPUs).

Feel confused? Then we are on track.

Quantum computing does not share many (if not any) aspects with the physics behind computers as we know them today. Hence, a quantum computer operates following a non-classical computation model: while traditional models (supercomputers) are based on “classical” representations of computational memory, a quantum computation can transform memory into an overlap of several states (0,1) of a classical type (Sher, 2021). In traditional computing, four bits can be in 2^4 different configurations, 16 of which only one can be used simultaneously. Conversely, qubits find themselves in a special subatomic state called “superposition, ” enabling them to simultaneously be in all of those 16 configurations. More interestingly, with each extra qubit, the number of configurations grows exponentially, meaning that, for instance, 18 of them can already store a value of 262.144 (2^18) configurations. 64 regular bits can equally represent this huge number (2^64=18,446,744,073,709,600,000 combinations). To compute such information load would take an average computer approximately 400 years. This means that quantum computers could process problems that are essentially impossible for “classical” computers (O’Neill, 2021)

The incredible state of quantum computing today

All the world’s major superpowers are active in the quest for quantum computing, particularly the United States, Europe and China. Today, the leading private players in this race to exploit the quanta are Google and IBM. In 2021, IBM unveiled the largest quantum computer currently in existence, the 127-qubit Eagle. The U.S. multinational has also declared that it may be able to break the hitherto unimaginable barrier of 1000 qubits in a single processor by 2023, effectively establishing technological supremacy in the field (Chow et al., 2022).

What about the EU?

The European Union has included the development of quantum computing technologies among the strategic objectives of the European Digital Decade. Since June 2019, all 27 EU states have signed the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Declaration (The European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Initiative, 2022).

The common goal is to build a shared communication network between all quantum computers in Europe to ensure an incredible development of technological competitiveness worldwide and, above all, unprecedented cyber security. The target year is 2027. The EuroQCI is at the heart of the latest European cyber security strategy and will strengthen the protection of government institutions, data centres, hospitals, power grids, and other strategic entities. Delving into the subject and being prepared to face these challenges is an excellent opportunity for young Europeans who want to specialise in innovative areas (The European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Initiative, 2022).

What will we use it for?

Quantum computation can be used in various fields that require high computing power, which is unattainable by classical supercomputers. Some of these applications can be cryptography, search problems in non-indexed databases and machine learning. Quantum technology is one of the most electrifying scientific challenges of the new millennium. We will witness a change in the computing paradigm we haven’t seen since the 1970s with the commercial spread of the first personal computers. Soon, the ability to execute incredibly complex programmes in a short time will be within reach of more and more people. Those who are far-sighted enough to anticipate this epochal change by getting ahead of the curve by acquiring collateral skills in quantum computing will be able to exploit a powerful lever to enhance their careers or invent new business opportunities.

References

Chow, J., Dial, O., & Gambetta, J. (2022, February 16). IBM Quantum breaks the 100‑qubit processor barrier. IBM Research Blog. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://research.ibm.com/blog/127-qubit-quantum-processor-eagle?lnk=ushpv18nf2

O’Neill, P. H. (2021, November 8). The US is worried that hackers are stealing data today so quantum computers can crack it in a decade. MIT Technology Review.

Sher, A. (2021, November 18). What is quantum computing? AlifBey. https://alifbey.tech/en/what-is-quantum-computing/The European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Initiative. (2022, October 12). Shaping Europe’s Digital Future. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-quantum-communication-infrastructure-euroqci

4/5 (1)

Investigation into the potential of artificial intelligence in the digital age | Epthinktank | European Parliament

Writing something regarding the future is like writing a promise; it calls you to some responsibilities because if you know today what tomorrow will be like, you will probably also have to do something.

Please think of how much things changed when we went from muscle power alone for agriculture, for the economy, and for all the work of our ancestors to the industrial revolution, which transformed the entire agricultural-craft-commercial system into a grand, efficient, modern system, characterized by the widespread use of machines driven by mechanical power and the use of new energy sources. It all happened unexpectedly, harshly, and shockingly in a few decades.

But soon, we began to realize that something special was happening in the course of our history and our future. Then, a few decades later, an incredible, unique, crazy thing happened, anticipated by very few who in the 1970s and 1980s, were boasting things in favor of “computers” that would do everything, but even they were wrong!

It happened that computers did nothing; it was the man who did something incredible; he managed to build his second dimension of life, the immaterial dimension, with which he could share thoughts, words, images, sounds, videos … thanks to the invention of what today is more a way of life than a mass of wires and devices, I am talking about the invention and daily use of the Internet.

With the immaterial dimension, humanity immediately projected himself into his new future, into a second dimension parallel to the material one, dimensions that would never have touched each other and that, at the speed of light, the immaterial one would allow him to hire hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of “partners,” of like-minded people, to share progress with them, to innovate together, to build together, to progress together.

The digital age was born, but today, in 2022, we are still facing a new great, immense step, which this time will take us into a future so unimaginable that perhaps we can only … dream.

From a technical, logical, scientific point of view, I believe that our future and what will happen in the coming decades is “simply” the union of what we have done up to now, the association of the two dimensions, the material dimension, made by our thousands of years of experience, battles, achievements, discoveries in physical, material life and the immaterial dimension, possible thanks to the digitization of our works, our thoughts of our problems and our goals.

The union of these two dimensions will lead us to an extraordinarily accelerated life, in which we will have total control of DATA, and this will mean that we will be able to manage what was considered unmanageable; for example, we will be able to remedy any defect in our DNA, disease as we know it today will not exist within a maximum of 40 years, everything we can manage with data we will manage, and this will allow us to give much more space to everything else, our emotions, our physicality, our creativity.

We will live extraordinarily well and spend time figuring out who we are.

So let me dream, let me wake up in… Berlin, on the morning of September 26th, 2058: I am 57 years old, I have a black beard, even my hair will be raven black, because the night before I had decided, the color of my skin, my hair and more, I can choose when I want, it is just a matter of data managed by my home machine learning system.

I wake up and taste my delicious coffee; I still love coffee; it reminds me of my youth; although now coffee is free of harmful elements, it has a basic PH, and I can drink as many as I want. I think of my son, and he answers me we don’t need physical devices to connect us; miniaturized sensing (chips under the skin) is cheap and convenient even for managing this personal data, and we combine it with our bodies as mobile.

I dress in cotton and classic materials, but I always decide their color and shape with thought.

I don’t leave the house to start working; the concept of work has changed a lot; I have already worked at night completing a project thanks to a couple of ideas that came to me while I was resting; I leave the house to think about my friends, who can’t find a new tennis racket, I have a lot of time to myself, but I also know that I can’t stay disconnected, during a game of tennis, while sleeping, I could always be called by my colleagues, a problem at robotics might require my creativity, the only natural human resource to solve the most delicate problems.

For lunch, I choose a new restaurant with traditional velvet chairs and briarwood tables; I go in and kiss the entrance cruet, which will allow the chef to isolate my DNA and set up the robotics in the kitchen so that it can cook whatever I ask for but in a way that helps my body and does not counteract my genetics.

I must travel to Rome; I leave at 2 p.m. with the first HyperLoop by 3 p.m. I am in Rome, where I cross the city in seconds; a little nostalgic about the absence of traffic lights and drivers, but the advantage of being able to move quickly and safely even in the city I appreciate too much.

Around 5 p.m. I go to a café to relax, fall asleep, and continue a chess game left unfinished with Hal 10000, a cognitive robot, fantastic and usable even during sleepy times. At 6 p.m. I go for Berlin, where my clinic awaits me at 7 p.m. for a complete check of my vitals, at my home, with a fireplace burning with fire and wood but emitting neither smoke nor pollutants.

At 8 p.m., I asked Jarvis, my personal assistant, to prepare dinner for me as I had enjoyed it at Frederick’s birthday party (a fellow student of mine 50 years ago). He has all my personal information. He will arrange it for me (he will use as many as 23 different vendors from Berlin, transportation is by the usual food drone corridors).

The evening has come, and it’s time to relax; I call, again with the thought, two friends, and we go on our rounds of caring for the city’s homeless people. The modernity of society has not solved certain situations. Still, it has made them less complicated for those who want to manage them: the poor have homes, food, and everything they need to survive, but some are miserable, they don’t work, they can’t find satisfaction, they don’t want to have relationships with machines, and they don’t have any with humans. Those who can help should do that; talking to them is an excellent way to start.

This is how I see our future, where human relationships will be central, much stronger than they are today.

Everything else … wi11 b3 d0n3 8y a mach1n3333… 1010101110000010100100

Quantum computing: a revolution… of everything.

16