Category Archives: Quantum Computer
The promise of quantum-powered AI | by Muhammad Ehsan | Dec, 2023 – Medium
The application of quantum computing to AI has the potential to disrupt a diverse array of industries. Learn why that potential is so promising and how it could affect companies.
Technology history is filled with disruptive pairings cellphones plus wireless internet, for example but the combination of quantum computing and AI might become the most disruptive duo of all.
The major potential of combining quantum computing with AI rests on the formers potential to accelerate the latters capabilities.
Quantum-powered AI could translate into breakthrough solutions for complex problems across a wide range of industries and scientific fields that are beyond the current capabilities of classical computers and traditional AI techniques, said Scott Likens, global AI and innovation technology leader at PwC.
According to Likens, business and IT leaders should have quantum computing and AI developments on their radar today since the pairing offers a number of benefits, including the following:
Organizations hesitant to invest in a single quantum computer should know that there are ways for quantum and classical computing to interact, although combining the processes is still in its early stages.
Businesses will eventually be able to combine quantum and classical approaches for faster computation and analysis for better-optimized solutions, Likens said.
For all the excitement around the AI-quantum computing convergence, the potential pairing holds dangers as well. The integration could lead to many new problems and challenges for business and society.
As AI systems become more capable, their complexity might reach a point where people can no longer understand or control them, which in turn would lead to ethical and safety issues, Likens said. The complexity of quantum systems might also exacerbate the lack of transparency and interpretability in AI algorithms. These issues also contribute to concerns about bias.
Balancing innovation with ethical and security considerations will be crucial as these technologies evolve, he said.
With the rise of businesses seeking value creation in AI, theres a growing trend that workers fear becoming obsolete. AI powered by quantum computing could be another aspect for employees to worry about soon.
Quantum computing and AI could lead to mass unemployment as the systems become more capable than humans across various domains, said Chirag Dekate, vice president analyst at Gartner.
A widespread convergence of quantum computing and AI might be near term as both areas undergo rapid transformation.
Significant recent developments have occurred in underlying quantum computing hardware, algorithms, software, and the infrastructure for interconnecting quantum and classical computers, Likens said.
Newer quantum-inspired algorithms show promise for enhancing predictions, generating new content and better decision-making, and this could translate into advances in important areas, he said. Quantum simulations in healthcare have the potential to speed up drug discovery and analysis using quantum optimization techniques. In addition, quantum AI can benefit areas such as cybersecurity and finance by handling high-dimensional data.
Furthermore, developers are refining the infrastructure that allows both classical and quantum computers to smoothly interact, Likens said.
In the future, quantum computing could potentially be as commonplace as classical computing.
We can look forward to an era where quantum computing is as accessible as our smartphones today to allow us all to make decisions, solve problems and build things in a quantum-native way, Dekate said.
IT leaders should consider the overall value of implementing quantum-powered AI to achieve organizational goals.
Imagine the quantum economy that arises from all of this, Dekate said.
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The promise of quantum-powered AI | by Muhammad Ehsan | Dec, 2023 - Medium
The biggest technology breakthroughs of 2023 – Livescience.com
The technology world moves quickly, which can make it hard to see the bigger picture. But there are three areas that, for me, have stood out in 2023.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been massively hyped. But this year, a lot of the hype seems justified: 2023 was a breakout year for AI. This was the year when ChatGPT the poster child for generative AI was packaged into something that can fit onto your smartphone or laptop. Gemini, Google's answer to OpenAI, began powering services you use on a day-to-day basis. This sort of integration into everyday services and devices was unthinkable five years ago.
This technology has its fair share of downsides, however, as well as unintended consequences that we're only now beginning to realize. For instance, people can no longer tell the difference between real and artificially generated faces which may make deepfakes harder to detect.
And we found out that like humans, ChatGPT can be dishonest when put under pressure. That's especially worrisome because the program was built to be honest.
How ChatGPT learned to lie and cheat in the pursuit of money
Is it just me, or is quantum computing one of those technologies that always seems "five or 10 years away"? But there's no denying the field is making meaningful advancements every few months.
One of the most impressive ones came in December when IBM launched its System Two quantum computer. The launch coincided with the release of a 133-qubit quantum chip, dubbed "Heron" which experts are way more excited about than the 1,000-qubit chip it released at the same time. Why? Because Heron is less noisy than its larger cousin and thus will prove to be a foundational technology for future chips.
IBM's new Heron chip inches us closer to a quantum reality
I remain unconvinced by the "metaverse", but Meta's insistence on pushing us into its digital world (where, until recently, we didn't have legs) touches on a much wider trend. Mixed reality hasn't quite hit the mainstream but it's getting closer.
Apple threw its hat into the ring with its Vision Pro headset, which lets us interact with apps and services using gestures and varying perspectives rather than through a screen.
Augmented reality (AR) has seen real strides, too, and is an area I'm convinced can meaningfully make a difference in the future. Smart glasses are getting more stylish, too just look at Meta's collaboration with Ray-Ban, for example. Ultimately, as the tech matures, these advancements will only serve to further blur the lines between what's real, and what belongs in cyber space for better or worse.
Here's how sonar-enhanced "smart" glasses could protect privacy in this burgeoning mixed reality.
It's also worth mentioning the leaps we've seen in robotics, both big and small, as well as electrical engineering breakthroughs that could give us Star Wars-style laser weapons and the technology to build 6G systems. Regardless of the area, Live Science will be at the forefront covering the biggest technology breakthroughs that matter next year and beyond.
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The biggest technology breakthroughs of 2023 - Livescience.com
Future-Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 – Video – CNET
Speaker 1: From quantum computers to brain implants. There's a lot of companies pushing forward in areas that have previously been the stuff of science fiction. Here's the top, what the future tech trends we'll be keeping an eye on in 2024 with computing at the heart of so much tech, it's no surprise we're kicking off with a technology that could revolutionize the very act of computing itself. Quantum computers IBM recently revealed its quantum system two at 22 feet wide and 12 feet tall. These modular computing units can be linked [00:00:30] together to amplify their power when technology like this becomes mature. Extremely complicated. Problems like those at the forefront of medicine, ecology, economics, and more that are beyond modern computer's ability to solve, could be made solvable by quantum computing. That's why the race is on between players like IBM, Google, Microsoft, and China to create a viable quantum system. Speaker 1: Quantum computing components are very sensitive and need to be isolated from outside forces that might throw [00:01:00] them off. That's why most of the hardware you see in these quantum setups are dedicated to keeping the system extremely cold near absolute zero to preserve the integrity of the system, which is sensitive to things like heat energy. The road to quantum computers is long and full of challenges, but with its transformative potential, we'll definitely be keeping an eye on all the big players in 2024. Another trend to watch is a diverse array of new electric vehicles covering land, air, and sea. [00:01:30] We've seen development of personal EV tolls like the Jetson one, electric trucks like those developed by Tesla and Eide Electric boats like the ARC one, which I got to test drive this year, and electric scooters like the Honda Moto compactor in 2024. I'll be looking forward to hopefully test drive the Aptera solar car, which I got to ride in last year. Speaker 1: More details on Zapata's. Recently announced air scooter and a new boat in development from ARC to name a few. Last, but certainly [00:02:00] not least, we're watching the brain computer interface space. Our team visited Syncro headquarters this year to get a demo of their entro, a device that can be inserted via catheter, therefore bypassing the need for open brain surgery. Syncro has implanted stent hodes in several patients who have used the device to navigate their phones, computers, and beyond using only their thoughts. Elon Musk's Ner link hasn't shied away from open brain surgery, instead developing surgical robots to install its devices. [00:02:30] Neuralink recently announced recruitment for its clinical trials in September of 2023. BlackRock Neurotech, another leading company in this space is preparing its move again, system for a commercial launch as a medical device. It also announced a product its calling neural lace, an ultra thin flexible electrode that claims it could capture much more data than current brain computer interface technology. As always, thanks so much for watching. I'm your host, Jesse Oral. See you next time with the fam.
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Future-Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 - Video - CNET
Scientists think they’ve created the world’s 1st ‘practical’ quantum-secure algorithm – Livescience.com
Scientists think they've created the first practical cryptographic algorithm that could protect data and communications from quantum computers.
However, other experts in the field remain skeptical, saying algorithms backed by a cutting-edge U.S.-government-funded lab have a better chance of being used widely.
Cryptography tools, like WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption, protect data like messages sent between two people by scrambling it into a secret code that only a unique digital key can unlock. If hackers intercept an encrypted message, all they'll see is jumbled-up nonsense. The hacker could try to guess the cryptographic key and decipher the message, but it would take the most powerful supercomputer millions of years to try every possible combination which these machines would perform one at a time.
Quantum computers, on the other hand, can perform several calculations at once. They aren't powerful enough to break cryptography yet, but scientists plan to develop increasingly powerful machines that could one day bypass this essential security layer within seconds.
Now, researchers say they've developed the most efficient quantum-safe proposal to date, based on existing so-called verifiable random function (VRF) technology, which they dub "LaV." They described their research in a paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, published Nov. 14 in the Cryptology ePrint Archive, a cryptology research preprint database.
VRF takes a series of inputs, computes them, and churns out a random number that can be cryptographically verified to be random. It's usually an add-on to encryption that boosts the security of digital platforms. It's an essential part of WhatsApp's key transparency protocol, as well as some blockchain systems.
But LaV is a quantum-safe version of VRF. Unlike its predecessor, it could theoretically provide end-to-end security from quantum computers, said lead researcher Muhammed Esgin, an information technology lecturer at Monash University in Australia.
Related link: Chinese researchers to send an 'uncrackable' quantum message to space
"Our algorithm is designed to withstand theoretical and practical attacks even by large-scale quantum computers (that can break today's classical cryptographic algorithms)," Esgin told Live Science in an email. "So it can protect against today's supercomputers as well as tomorrow's powerful quantum computers."
LaV can be accessed through the open-source platform GitLab. Its creators claim it's a practical solution, as opposed to four candidates backed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which has been hunting for a quantum encryption protocol for years. However, some experts disagree.
LaV may not be the best solution to the impending quantum threat, Edward Parker, a physical scientist with The RAND Corporation, told Live Science.
"There are several existing quantum-secure cryptography algorithms that already exist," he said, and NIST is standardizing these tools, "essentially giving those four algorithms the U.S. government's stamp of approval for widespread use."
"It's widely expected that these four algorithms will become the backbone of future quantum-secure cryptography, rather than LaV or any of the dozens of other quantum-secure algorithms that have been proposed," he added. "The four algorithms that NIST selected have undergone several years of very careful vetting, and we can be very confident that they are indeed secure."
Jonathan Katz, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), also backsNIST's efforts. "The cryptography research community has been working on quantum-safe algorithms for well over two decades, and the NIST post-quantum cryptography standardization effort began in 2017," he told Live Science in an email.
However, Parker added that "it's certainly possible that LaV may be somewhat more efficient than other quantum-secure algorithms."
Vlatko Vedral, a professor of quantum information science at the University of Oxford, told Live Science he suspects LaV may not be the first algorithm of its type, though it may be the first released publicly.
"The industry is getting closer and closer to making a large-scale quantum computer, and it is only natural that various protections against its negative uses are being explored," Vedral said. "Code making and code breaking have always been locked into an arms race against each other."
Experts warn quantum computers are overhyped and far away – Fudzilla
Neither dead nor alive yet
While quantum computing companies have said their machines could be doing amazing things in just a few years, some top experts say they don't believe the hype.
Meta's AI boss, Yann LeCun, made a splash after saying quantum computers are not that great. Speaking at a media event to mark ten years of Meta's AI team, he said the technology is "a fascinating scientific topic". Still, he was unsure of "the possibility of actually making useful quantum computers."
LeCun is not a quantum computing expert; other big names in the field also raise doubts. Oskar Painter, head of quantum hardware for Amazon Web Services, says there is a "tremendous amount of hype" in the industry right now and "it can be hard to tell the hopeful from the hopeless."
A big problem for today's quantum computers is that they make many mistakes. Some have said these so-called "noisy intermediate-scale quantum" (NISQ) machines could still work well. But Painter says that's not likely, and quantum error-correction tricks will be needed to make practical quantum computers.
The main idea is to spread information over unreliable qubits to make "logical qubits." But this could need as many as 1,000 dodgy qubits for each good one. Some have said that quantum error correction could be impossible, but that's not popular. Either way, making these tricks work at the size and speed needed is a long way off, Painter says.
"Given the remaining technical challenges in making a fault-tolerant quantum computer that can run billions of gates over thousands of qubits, it's hard to say when it will happen, but I would guess at least ten years away," he said.
In May, top Microsoft boffin Matthias Troyer penned a paper saying that quantum computers could only do better than regular computers in a few areas.
"We discovered over the last ten years that many things people have suggested don't work. And then we found some straightforward reasons for that."
The main point of quantum computing is to solve problems much faster than regular computers, but how much quicker depends. There are two things where quantum tricks seem to give a tremendous speed up, said Troyer.
One is breaking big numbers into smaller ones, which could crack the codes that keep the Internet safe. The other is copying quantum systems, which could help with chemistry and materials.
Quantum tricks have been suggested for optimisation, drug design, and fluid dynamics. But the speed-ups don't always work out--sometimes they are only a bit faster, meaning the time it takes the quantum trick to solve a problem is the square root of the time taken by the normal one.
Troyer says these speed-ups can quickly disappear because of the enormous amount of work quantum computers need. Running a qubit is much more complicated and slower than flipping a switch. This means that for more minor problems, an average computer will always be faster, and the point where the quantum computer takes the lead depends on how fast the normal one gets more challenging.
Troyer and his mates compared a single Nvidia A100 GPU against a made-up future fault-tolerant quantum computer with 10,000 "logical qubits" and gate times much faster than today's machines.
They found that a quantum trick with a bit of a speed-up would have to run for hundreds or thousands of years before it could beat a normal one on problems significant enough to matter.
Troyer said quantum computers will only work on small-data problems with huge speed-ups. "All the rest is nice theory but will not be useful," he said.
All this is pouring cold water on the idea that Quantum computers will be here soon or that the Internet is in danger of having its codes broken by thieves or spooks using the technology.
It would appear that, for now, the cat is still only potentially dead or alive.
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Experts warn quantum computers are overhyped and far away - Fudzilla
Quantum Computers Begin to Measure Up | Research & Technology | Dec 2023 – Photonics.com
WAKO, Japan, Dec. 27, 2023 Much of the progress so far in quantum computing has been done on so-called gate-based quantum computers. These devices use physical components, most notably superconducting circuits, to host and control the qubits. The approach bears similarity to conventional, device-based classical computers. The two computing architectures are thus relatively compatible and could be used together in hybrid. Furthermore, future quantum computers could be fabricated by harnessing existing technologies used to fabricate conventional computers.
But the Optical Quantum Computing Research Team at the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing has been taking a very different approach. Instead of optimizing gate-based quantum computers, Atsushi Sakaguchi, Jun-ichi Yoshikawa and team leader Akira Furusawa have been developing measurement-based quantum computing.
Measurement-based quantum computers process information in a complex quantum state known as a cluster state, which consists of three (or more) qubits linked together by a non-classical phenomenon called entanglement.
Measurement-based quantum computers work by making a measurement on the first qubit in the cluster state. The outcome of this measurement determines what measurement to perform on the second entangled qubit, a process called feedforward. This then determines how to measure the third. In this way, any quantum gate or circuit can be implemented through the appropriate choice of the series of measurements.
Importantly, measurement-based quantum computation offers programmability in optical systems. We can change the operation by just changing the measurement, said Sakaguchi. This is much easier than changing the hardware, as gated-based systems require in optical systems.
But feedforward is essential. Feedforward is a control methodology in which we feed the measurement results to a different part of the system as a form of control, Sakaguchi said. In measurement-based quantum computation, feedforward is used to compensate for the inherent randomness in quantum measurements. Without feedforward operations, measurement-based quantum computation becomes probabilistic, while practical quantum computing will need to be deterministic.
The Optical Quantum Computing Research Team and their co-workers from The University of Tokyo, Palack University in the Czech Republic, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales, Australia have now demonstrated a more advanced form of feedforward: nonlinear feedforward. Nonlinear feedforward is required to implement the full range of potential gates in optics-based quantum computers.
Optical quantum computers use qubits made of wave packets of light. At other institutions, some of the current RIKEN team had previously constructed the large optical cluster states needed for measurement-based quantum computation. Linear feedforward has also been achieved to construct simple gate operations, but more advanced gates need nonlinear feedforward.
A theory for practical implementation of nonlinear quadrature measurement was proposed in 2016.3 But this approach presented two major practical difficulties: generating a special ancillary state (which the team achieved in 20214) and performing a nonlinear feedforward operation.
The key advantages of this nonlinear feedforward technique are its speed and flexibility. The process needs to be fast enough that the output can be synchronized with the optical quantum state.
Now that we have shown that we can perform nonlinear feedforward, we want to apply it to actual measurement-based quantum computation and quantum error correction using our previously developed system, Sakaguchi said. And we hope to be able to increase the higher speed of our nonlinear feedforward for high-speed optical quantum computation.
But the key message is that, although superconducting circuit-based approaches may be more popular, optical systems are a promising candidate for quantum-computer hardware, he added.
The research was published in Nature Communications (www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39195-w).
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Quantum Computers Begin to Measure Up | Research & Technology | Dec 2023 - Photonics.com
Inside the world of quantum computing at Sci-Tech Daresbury – Business Live
Daresbury was best known as the birthplace of Lewis Carroll - but now in the world of science it's known for pioneering technology that could solve many of the world's key problems.
Sci-Tech Daresbury is a pioneering innovation campus that's long been home to dozens of hi-tech companies, and is known for its concrete tower that's visible from miles around.
Now it's leading the way in quantum computing, a technology that scientists hope could lead to exciting scientific discoveries in areas from cancer treatments to climate change. And this isn't a Carroll-esque Through the Looking-Glass. fantasy - it's happening now.
Just a few weeks ago, Innovation Minister Michelle Donelan cut the ribbon on an advanced quantum computer research and development site run by PsiQuantum in what is the Silicon Valley start-up's first such facility outside the US.
As we've discovered on the latest Northern Agenda podcast, Quantum computing harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers. It was described by former Science Minister George Freeman as "one of the five transformational technologies in which the UK is a global leader".
Quantum computers are potentially vastly more powerful than even the most sophisticated supercomputers, so could perform calculations in minutes that a regular computer might take years to perform.
Although still largely experimental, the Holy Grail of those working in the industry is to construct one which is commercially viable and could be put into widespread use.
Hear more about Sci-Tech Daresbury on The Northern Agenda podcast
And as two experts based at the site tell The Northern Agenda this week, quantum computing is already being put to use at Daresbury solving real world problems.
Dr Peter Waggett, UK director of research at IBM Research Europe, says his team at Daresbury has been working with AstraZeneca on using quantum computing to speed up and improve the discovery of new medicines.
He says his team are "now at the stage where we're actually starting to run some of these simulations for real on quantum computers".
And Dr Waggett adds: "So all of the big problems that society is facing, whether it's climate change, whether it's drug discovery, all of those things, there are elements of those that are really well suited to quantum computing. And that's what we're looking to bring to it.
"It's not straightforward. But we are seeing a vast improvement in the capability of these quantum computers, such that we're seeing this quantum advantage starting to come a lot quicker than anybody predicted."
Project Violet, a scheme to develop Sci-Tech Daresbury as a world-class location for high-tech business and leading-edge science, has had millions of pounds of backing from the Liverpool City Region combined authority.
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And it recently got planning approval for an expansion plan which would deliver a further 80,000 square feet of prime real estate.
Dr Katherine Royse, director of the Hartree Centre, a high performance computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence research facility based at Daresbury, says her team look at emerging technologies and translate them into things that can solve challenges facing key industries.
She tells the podcast her team has been using quantum computing to aid research into a specific type of breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ, the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast.
"And it's a very difficult one to spot when you're looking at histology," she says. "So what quantum is starting to show in proof of concept is not just work out whether it's cancer or not cancer, but start to be able to subdivide the types of cancer.
"So when somebody has breast cancer, it's not just breast cancer, there's about 12 to 16 different types, approximately. So knowing exactly what type somebody has, and being able to personalize their treatment is really, really important. So that's something that we're starting to see that we can do.
"And one of the things that we looked at together was around if we had quantum during Covid-19 during the first outbreak, could we have picked drugs that would have helped with the treatment of Covid-19, better and more accurately. And that is definitely something that again, in proof of concept we've been able to do.
"So we're not saying that the process is faster, what we're saying is, we can take the machine learning part of the workflow out of a classical computer, put it into a quantum computer, run it, put it back into a classical computer, and we are finding that it is picking much better the types of molecules ie the types of drugs that are going to work better."
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Inside the world of quantum computing at Sci-Tech Daresbury - Business Live
MicroAlgo Developed QSDLT to Provide a More Secure Foundation for Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency Systems – Investing.com Canada
MicroAlgo Inc. (MLGO) (the "Company" or "MicroAlgo"), today announced the quantum shield distributed ledger technology (QSDLT), designed to provide a stronger, more secure foundation for and other cryptocurrency systems.
In traditional blockchain systems, security relies heavily on cryptographic algorithms based on public key cyphers. However, the emergence of quantum computers threatens this system. Quantum computers can solve problems in a relatively short period of time that current conventional computers cannot handle, including some widely used cryptographic algorithms.
Specifically, the emergence of quantum computers could crack current systems based on RSA and elliptic curve encryption algorithms. This means that private keys and transaction data could be easily accessed by quantum computers, jeopardizing the security of the entire blockchain system. To counter this threat, the research and development of QSDLT have become particularly urgent.
To protect the Bitcoin system from the threat of quantum computers, MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT was created as an innovative solution. The goal of QSDLT is to build a strong shield for the Bitcoin system by integrating quantum security, which is not just a simple upgrade to the traditional blockchain system, but a revolutionary change to the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.
MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT employs a series of advanced cryptographic algorithms, particularly those that combat quantum algorithms, to ensure that Bitcoin transactions and user identities are fully protected. Its core is to provide a security framework that is resistant to quantum computing threats, incorporating quantum security into DLT to provide stronger protection for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Its design principles include countering attacks from quantum algorithms, achieving invariance, reducing transaction costs, enabling decentralization and increasing transparency. The introduction of this technology marks the next stage in the evolution of the Bitcoin system.
Anti-quantum algorithm defence mechanism: One of the core aspects of MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT is its robust anti-quantum algorithm defence mechanism. Cryptographic algorithms used in traditional blockchain systems, such as RSA and elliptic curve encryption algorithms, may be threatened by quantum computer attacks in the future. To address this challenge, QSDLT employs well-thought-out cryptographic algorithms that are more resilient to quantum computer attacks. This ensures that QSDLT will be able to keep Bitcoin transactions secure and tamper-proof in the face of the rise of quantum computers.
Invariance and transparency: QSDLT focuses on maintaining the invariance of the blockchain, meaning that once a transaction is confirmed and added to the blockchain, it cannot be tampered with. This is one of the fundamental characteristics of the blockchain and is critical to ensuring the trustworthiness of the Bitcoin system. Meanwhile, MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT promotes transparency through the decentralized nature of the blockchain. Every participant is able to view and verify the history of transactions, thus enhancing overall traceability and openness.
Post-quantum distributed ledger technology (PQDLT): MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT technology focuses not only on anti-quantum algorithm defense, but also places itself in a broader technological context to form PQDLT. this denotes the convergence of QSDLT with innovations in the fields of machine learning, deep learning, 6G, and the quantum internet, laying the groundwork for the future of the digital economy. The concept of PQDLT aims to achieve comprehensive security for the Bitcoin system and to facilitate the development of a digital financial system.
Reduced costs: QSDLT effectively reduces the cost of Bitcoin transactions by employing carefully optimized algorithms and technologies. This feature not only makes the Bitcoin network more accessible, but also provides a lower barrier to participation in Bitcoin transactions for a broader group of users. Lowering the cost will help facilitate mass adoption of Bitcoin and drive broader adoption in the digital currency space.
Highly scalable: MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT is highly scalable with future growth needs in mind in its basic concept. This allows QSDLT to adapt to the increasing size of the Bitcoin network's user base and to be flexible enough to meet the growing demands of digital finance. High scalability is one of the key factors that make QSDLT a trusted infrastructure.
MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT is more than a simple upgrade to the traditional blockchain. It is an update to combat the threat of quantum computing. Its key features, including anti-quantum algorithmic defence mechanisms, invariance and transparency, cost reduction, PQDLT, and high scalability, combine to create a robust and flexible security framework.
MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT provides the Bitcoin system with a robust defence against quantum algorithms with its strong anti-quantum algorithmic capabilities, making transactions secure and tamper-proof. At the same time, QSDLT maintains the basic principles of the blockchain, enhancing overall trustworthiness through invariance and transparency. Reduced transaction costs make the Bitcoin network more attractive, further driving mass adoption of the digital currency. As the threat of quantum computing emerges, the emergence of MicroAlgo Inc.'s QSDLT marks the dawn of a new era of Bitcoin security. The basic concepts and key features of QSDLT present a blueprint for the future of digital finance, an innovation that will open up more possibilities for the digital economy, ensure that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency systems remain secure and trustworthy in the quantum era, and lead the way for a vibrant future of digital finance. the future of digital finance.
Quantum Leaps Ahead: Anticipating the Hottest Trends in Quantum Computing for 2024 – Medium
As we stand on the precipice of a new year, the quantum computing landscape is poised for a thrilling transformation. The possibilities seem endless, and the buzz around quantum technologies is reaching fever pitch. Join me in this exhilarating journey as we don our quantum goggles and peer into the quantum crystal ball to anticipate the hottest trends that 2024 has in store for us.
Get ready for jaw-dropping moments as quantum computing showcases its prowess with more compelling demonstrations of quantum advantage. In 2024, were likely to witness practical applications that leave us wide-eyed from optimizations in supply chain management to groundbreaking advances in drug discovery. Its not just theory anymore; quantum is gearing up to show the world what it can truly accomplish.
Hold on to your qubits because the quantum cloud is about to rain innovation! Expect major players to dive headfirst into offering quantum computing as a service. This means that even if you dont have a quantum computer humming in your basement, you can still harness the computational magic of quantum mechanics through the cloud. Accessibility meets quantum its a match made in qubit heaven.
Imagine a world where classical machine learning meets its quantum counterpart. Well, that world is knocking on our digital doorstep. In 2024, quantum machine learning is set to steal the limelight, promising unparalleled speed-ups in processing complex datasets. From optimization problems to AI enhancements, quantum machine learning is the backstage pass to the next generation of computational marvels.
As quantum computers gain more horsepower, they also pose a threat to traditional cryptographic
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Quantum Leaps Ahead: Anticipating the Hottest Trends in Quantum Computing for 2024 - Medium
Quantum Computing Is Coming Faster Than You Think – Forbes
The IBM Quantum data center in Poughkeepsie, NY.
IBM
It seems for every proponent for quantum computing there is also a detractor. The detractors often refer to quantum computing as a science project, hype, a hoax, even a failed cause. If you look back through the history of the technology industry, it is littered with technologies that failed for various technical or business reasons. So, there is reason to be skeptical. However, there are just as many technologies that went on to chart the future direction of innovation because of major advancements that enabled the technology. Some have even had a similar level, if not more, of skepticism and of being a science project - technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a concept that had been theorized about long before the development of the first silicon transistor, but it wasnt until the past decade that it became a reality through advancements in silicon technology, processing architectures, and deep learning techniques. Similarly, quantum computing technology is real now and is on the verge of that breakout over the next decade.
Even describing the concept of quantum computing is not easy. Classical computers use bits to represent a one (on state) or zero (off state), while quantum computers use qubits that can represent multiple states through superposition and links with other qubits through entanglement. The result is a computer that scales exponentially in terms of compute capacity. While this makes quantum computers ideally suited for large mathematical models, they are not suited for handling the simple overhead tasks associated with computing. As a result, quantum computing is better positioned as a new accelerator technology, similar to a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Digital Signal Processor (DSP), or Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), but on a much larger scale in terms of computing performance. However, quantum computers require specialized control logic and memory because of the unique compute architecture on which quantum computing is based. Large refrigeration units are also required because they operate at near absolute zero, meaning zero degrees Kelvin or -273.15 degrees Celsius.
Quantum computing also faces two major challenges accuracy and scaling. Errors are introduced through both the stability (or lack thereof) of qubits and potential interference from other qubits. Maintaining stability or lifespan of a qubit in a superposition state is challenging and may be limited to a few milliseconds or microseconds. Additionally, qubits can interfere with neighboring qubits. As a result, error suppression, correction, and mitigation techniques are being developed to work both individually and together to increase computation accuracy. Error suppression does front-end processing based on the knowledge of the system and circuits to offset potential errors, such as making alterations to the pulses that control the qubits. Error mitigation corrects errors in postprocessing based on a noise model. Error correction, on the other hand, requires many additional qubits, to correct errors during execution. While error correction may be the most effective way to eliminate errors, it comes at a significant cost. However, with error suppression and mitigation, quantum computing still allows for processing at a level that cannot be easily accomplished even on the largest classical supercomputers.
Scaling quantum computers is also a significant challenge. While there are several different quantum solutions, many do not use standard CMOS manufacturing processes, which means they do not scale with the advanced semiconductor processes used for other high-end processors or accelerators. Additionally, the entire system needs to scale with the number of qubits, which means more wires connecting each individual qubit to the control logic, plus the associated cooling elements. If you look at current quantum computers when they are not in a refrigerator, they look more like a jumble of tubes and wires than a silicon-based system. Scaling these systems is not an easy task.
If quantum computing is so fraught with challenges, the natural question is why do I think that we are on the cusp of major advances in quantum computing? One of the reasons is the level of investment in quantum computing. The benefits of having a single computer that can outperform many supercomputers is so valuable that the scientific community, technology industry, governments, and enterprises are investing billions into the development and use of quantum computing. This includes industry leaders like Alibaba, Amazon, IBM, Intel, Google, Honeywell, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Toshiba among many other companies. Likewise, the US Government has a National Quantum Initiative to accelerate quantum research and development for the economic and national security of the United States. A key example of this investment is evident walking through the IBM quantum data center in Poughkeepsie, New York, which I had the opportunity to tour earlier this year.
Another reason is the continued advancements being made in quantum computing is improvements in quantum chips, control logic, systems, and software. These advancements are especially true of the development tools for error mitigation, suppression, and correction. As an example, IBM holds the lead in quantum scaling with the 433-qubit Osprey processor introduced in 2022 and is slated to introduce the 1,121-qubit Condor processor later this year. If you consider IBMs quantum processor roadmap, the number of qubits will increase by approximately 2-3x every year. IBM is also networking quantum computers together to further increase the qubit capacity. IBM has stated that it has a goal of 100,000 qubit systems by 2033. Industry and academia are already working on practical applications with current quantum computers. This development will accelerate as qubit capacity increases in the latter half of this decade.
The final reason, and the one I believe will be critical to the next step in quantum computing, is artificial intelligence (AI). Thus far, the focus has been integrating classical computers with quantum computers. However, AI holds the potential to both improve the capabilities and performance of quantum computers and being improved by quantum computers but the work in this area is just beginning.
When and how will quantum computing become available for practical applications? With thousands of universities, research organizations, and enterprises already learning and experimenting with quantum computing, the answer is now, for some limited applications. As published in the scientific journal Nature, IBM partnered with US Berkley to demonstrate the ability of quantum computers with just 127 qubits to outperform classical computers in material modeling. However, IBM believes that the 100k qubit capacity level will drive an inflection point for the industry. With quantum systems networked together, this threshold is rapidly approaching.
How the quantum computing industry will take shape is a little easier to predict. Because of the high investment in the supporting systems and infrastructure to support the systems, quantum computing is likely to be a cloud service provided by the leading hyperscalers and/or technology providers for the vast majority of the market at least in the foreseeable future. There will be some university and enterprise installations, but these are likely to be few and far between.
Given the amount of quantum computing investment, advancements, and activity, the industry is set for a dynamic change, similar to that caused by AI increased performance, functionality, and intelligence. This also comes with the same challenges presented by AI, such as security, as outlined in the recent Quantum Safe Cryptography article. But just like AI, quantum computing is coming. You might say that quantum computing is where AI was in 2015, fascinating but not widely utilized. Fast forward just five years and AI was being integrated into almost every platform and application. In just five years, quantum computing could take computing and humanity to a new level of knowledge and understanding.
The author and members of the Tirias Research staff do not hold equity positions in any of the companies mentioned. Tirias Research tracks and consults for companies throughout the electronics ecosystem from semiconductors to systems and sensors to the cloud. Tirias Research has consulted for IBM, Intel Microsoft, Nvidia, Toshiba, and companies throughout the quantum computing ecosystem.
Jim is a principal analyst and partner at TIRIAS Research, a high-tech research and advisory firm consisting of experienced analysts. Jim has over 30 years of technical and business experience with leading high-tech companies including Intel, Motorola, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, and General Dynamics Space Systems. Jim focuses on the market inflection points where new technology, usage models and business models collide to drive innovation and growth.
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Quantum Computing Is Coming Faster Than You Think - Forbes