Dr. Krysta Svore, Dr. Chetan Nayak and Dr. Matthias Troyer took the proverbial quantum leap and made quantum computing much more attainable. But best of all, they explain it all in a video that requires no prior knowledge of quantum mechanics here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSHmygPQukQ.
Key takeaways from Microsoft´s video:
- Quantum computing relies on quantum bits, so called “qubits”.
- Qubits used to be inherently unstable and prone to errors.
- Dr. Krysta Svore and her fellow scientists found a solution that enables small, fast and controllable qubits.
As Zulfi Alam explains in the video, Quantum machines using this technology can do complex simulations in chemistry and materials. Stunning fact: The results are so accurate that there is no more need for lab experiments.
Summing up, the main takeaway is that quantum computing has just become significantly more attainable.
Not just for history buffs: The genius namesake of Microsoft´s quantum chip
Ettore Majorana and Vincent van Gogh both fell victim to a grave misjudgment of themselves.
Vincent van Gogh , self-portrait
A brave new world if we get it right the first time
The claim that quantum computing is not and will not be of much use for anything is unfounded. There has never been a shortage of similar misconceptions about the potential of new technologies. IBM chairman Thomas Watson allegedly said in 1943 that there would only be “a world market for perhaps five computers”.
Benefits abound
Quantum computing has the potential of many more beneficial uses:
In a3D Printing it can be used for enabling real time correction of manufacturing defects before they actually happen.
- It can also enhance cyber resilience and keep sensitive data protected against hackers.
- It can improve the performance and longevity of batteries for electric cars and other products.
- It can accelerate machine learning and improving AI systems or creating more advanced AI models.
- It can help to solve complex riddles in other areas of science and technology in no time. Riddles that could not be solved with today´s super computers even in several years of computing time.
The same team created a new kind of semiconductor acting as a superconductor, the topological core. This makes it possible to put millions of qubits on a single chip. It also solves the noise problem that creates errors in qubits.
In the Majorana 1 chip, every single atom also is a new state of matter.
In case you wondered how Microsoft´s quantum chip got its name, you may look up the biography of Ettore Majorana. Ettore was a scientist focusing on nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. His peers considered him as a first among equals on the same level as Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.
Ettore´s battle with his own demons reportedly led him to believe that his life was useless. He therefore wrote to a friend that he had decided to commit suicide.He couldn´t have been more wrong about this. But he shared this fallacy with Vincent van Gogh. The famous painter thought that “he had failed, as a man and as an artist.” Whether Ettore Majorana did indeed commit suicide is still the subject of speculation today. He disappeared at the young age of 32 without a trace.
Does quantum computing entail new risks?
The technological breakthroughs we are experiencing today are accelerating. And this happens at a speed that most would have dismissed as impossible until recently. Will these seminal changes also entail risks? Of course they will but the greatest risk for mankind remains mankind itself. And this risk is not rooted in technological progress, but in technophobia. The fear of the perceived dangers of new technologies has always been a rewarding topic for the media. The old adage that “bad news sell” still holds true. It is this fear that led to calls for a “moratorium” of AI research and development.
Last but not least it is this fear that also drives over-regulation of new technologies. If we do not educate ourselves about the huge potential of quantum machines, they might be considered as “high risk quantum systems”. This would come at a price that no sound economy will want to pay: stifling innovation.
The potential of quantum computing can hardly be overrated. Dr. Krysta Svore and her team make it achievable and provide insights into their work that we can all understand. And they are doing this in an exciting manner that should ultimately silence even the most ardent naysayers. Skeptics were quick to point out that Microsoft did not present a new marketable product that has real world applications . Also, challenges in quantum computing still abound. Even so, experts in this field give reason to believe that commercial uses may soon be within reach.
Now you may argue that in the wrong hands, quantum computing might become the most powerful tool of destruction. Admittedly, you may indeed have a point with that. But stifling innovation has never been an good way of dealing with risks. Instead, we need to make sure that anyone wishing to use quantum computing for harmful purposes will not get hold of it and/or will not achieve the aims pursued with it. How this can be done will hopefully be subject to a discussion that will be guided by science and the application of legal tools that are already at our disposal.