Xidong Ji

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In my last blog, I was talking about Moore’s Law and how it is running out of steam. A possible solution to replace Moore’s law is quantum computing. Quantum computing does not really exists yet, but major companies (Intel or IBM) are working on developing such a computer. (Intel, 2016) If the development is succesfull, it will be groundbreaking, disrupting many existing technologies that we are currently familiar with. It could even potentially be terrifying if used wrong.

To explain quantum computing in a simple way; imagine a normal computer. It processes bits, that can be either 1 and 0. A quantum computer can have both states at once (qubit). (Wikipedia, 2016) The processing power it will have is enourmous. It could calculate specific algorythms(multi-tasking) in just a fraction of the time a normal processor would. Truly Revolutionary! For more information: Click here (credits to them)

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So what are the implications of a quantum computer?

Hackers can penetrate most of your private information, as if there was no security. Data encryption as we know it would be nearly nullified. (makeuseof.com, 2014) On the other hand: What about the NSA, trying to analyze a lot of data about everyone? It could become really creepy, a world where everything is predictable and privacy would almost be nonexistent. iab-urges-data-encryption

Even the development of artificial intelligence would have a huge boost with many benefits and negatives. It will perhaps be possible that machines become smarter than humans and quantum computing might be a cornerstone to achieve this.
This could be a development that would dramatically change businesses as well, just like the internet did back in the day.

So do we really want to have a quantum computer. The likely answer is yes, but there are many things that need to be considered first in my opinion. For example privacy concerns and security concerns. Eventually I think this will become an essential technology just like we are used to internet nowadays. There will be solutions found for many problems that occur as it has shown over time, but it is important to reflect about the consequences of innovative technologies. It might not be always good.

Sources:

Click to access promise_of_quantum_computing.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing

Quantum Computers: The End of Cryptography?

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Much has changed and over the time the computer chip as we know it is becoming more and more important. With internet of things on the horizon and electronics becoming more and more integrated in our daily lives, it is important that chips continue to improve in performance and size.

So what is Moore’s Law? Moore’s Law is the observation of the number of transistors in a chip doubles every approximately two years. (Wikipedia, 2016) So in short, this “law” is just observations and predictions and dates from 1965. It is remarkable that this is law is accurate for over fifty years.

integrated microchip 40a21d1b_Moores_Law

The reason why Moore’s Law is so important is because it is highly related to the pace of which performance in a chip is being developed. It being used as a guideline for developing better semiconductors (chips) every approximate two years. Many major companies such as Intel and Nvidia have been using this law as a guideline. (Intel.com, 2016)
Moreover, the performance of a chip is also related to the number of transistors a chip has. Also the size of a chip can decrease whenever chips are becoming more powerful. This is really useful for the Internet of Things.

But nowadays it is increasingly difficult to keep up with Moore’s Law since it is becoming more and more costly for companies to develop a smaller die size. Further improvements are increasingly costly and physically harder to implement. Thus the pace of Moore’s Law is slowing down and in a way dying. Intel actually even stepped off the pace set out by this Law. (MIT, 2016)

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So what will be next? If Moore’s law is running out, does this mean the pace of which semiconductors are being developed is going to be halted drastically?

Probably not, I would think. Although highly costly, alternatives could still allow further improvements by using a different material. (Arstechnica.com, 2016) Or a very disruptive innovation, perhaps quantum computing might be a solution.

Sources :
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/07/itrs-roadmap-2021-moores-law/

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/silicon-innovations/moores-law-technology.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601102/intel-puts-the-brakes-on-moores-law/