June 18, 2023 • 

Back in May, Jensen Huang, the CEO at Nvidia, said he sees ChatGPT as an “iPhone moment” for AI.

A few weeks back, Elon Musk gave an interview to CNBC where he pronounced that Tesla will have its “ChatGPT moment” with full self-driving cars.

Which raises the question: Is a “ChaptGPT moment” coming for quantum computing?

RECENT QUANTUM COMPUTING BREAKTHROUGHS

The New York Times just printed an article this past week with this headline: Quantum Computing Advance Begins New Era, IBM Says. Here’s an excerpt:

“Quantum computers today are small in computational scope — the chip inside your smartphone contains billions of transistors, while the most powerful quantum computer contains a few hundred of the quantum equivalent of a transistor. They are also unreliable. If you run the same calculation over and over, they will most likely churn out different answers each time.

“But with their intrinsic ability to consider many possibilities at once, quantum computers do not have to be very large to tackle certain prickly problems of computation, and on Wednesday, IBM researchers announced that they had devised a method to manage the unreliability in a way that would lead to reliable, useful answers.”

Elaborating on this IBM announcement, The Independent wrote: Major breakthrough could soon allow us to actually use quantum computers, scientists say. Here’s a portion of that story:

“For years, quantum computing experts have been hopeful that the technology could allow for entirely new kinds of calculations, which might be useful across battery research, medicines and more. But the current versions are given to a host of problems, including the fact that they are prone to errors, which disturb the quantum bits.

“Quantum computers need to be able to fix those errors more quickly than they accumulate. But even the best quantum computers have struggled to do so, meaning that practical use of the technology has remained beyond our grasp.

“New research from IBM showed that those errors could be mitigated, however, and a quantum computer could be used in ways that a classical computer could not. As such, the results ‘herald further opportunities for quantum processors to emulate physical systems that are far beyond the reach of conventional computers,’ scientists away from the research say.”

Meanwhile, also this past week, CNET reported that Intel Enters the Quantum Computing Horse Race With 12-Qubit Chip, writing:

“Intel has built a quantum processor called Tunnel Falls that it will offer to research labs hoping to make the revolutionary computing technology practical.

“The Tunnel Falls processor, announced Thursday, houses 12 of the fundamental data processing elements called qubits. It’s a major step in the chipmaker’s attempt to develop quantum computing hardware it hopes will eventually surpass rivals.

“Intel, unlike most of its rivals, makes its qubits from individual electrons housed in computer chips that are cousins to those that power millions of PCs. The company is lagging behind. Rivals like IBM, Google, Quantinuum and IonQ have been offering quantum computers for years, but Intel believes tying its fortunes to conventional chip technology will ultimately enable faster progress.

“‘To me, it’s natural to use the tools already developed rather than having to develop new tools,’ said Jim Clarke, director of quantum computing hardware at Intel Labs. Intel makes its own quantum computing chips at its D1 fab in Oregon.”

One more. PHYS.org wrote:New technique in error-prone quantum computing makes classical computers sweat:

“Despite steady improvements in quantum computers, they’re still noisy and error-prone, which leads to questionable or wrong answers. Scientists predict that they won’t truly outcompete today’s ‘classical’ supercomputers for at least five or 10 years, until researchers can adequately correct the errors that bedevil entangled quantum bits, or qubits.

“But a new study shows that even lacking good error correction, there are ways to mitigate errors that could make quantum computers useful today.”

CYBERSECURITY FEARS ABOUT QUANTUM COMPUTING

This topic is of special interest to cybersecurity professionals, since many experts believe that the cybersecurity industry will be dramatically altered once most current encryption technologies are defeated with quantum computers. I have written on this topic several times before.

For example, earlier this year: Quantum Computers: What Is Q-Day? And What’s the Solution?

Also, from last summer: Where Next for Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity?

I wrote:This article describes how to prepare now for a post-quantum world.

“Here’s an excerpt: ‘So how does a business become post-quantum-prepared? Firstly, do not wait until NIST issues its standard. The time to become post-quantum-prepared is now. Begin by determining what data is most likely to be sought out by cyber criminals. …

“‘Keeping the amount of important/vulnerable data in mind, a strategy should be developed to address the business’s priorities for using quantum resistant encryption. Next, develop your priorities for quantum-resistant encryption while making a plan to upgrade your infrastructure for the next several years.’”

Here’s a helpful video on the topic from Physics Girl entitled “Quantum Cryptography Explained”:

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yes, there are many moving parts in these new technologies, so knowing when we will have a “ChaptGPT moment” for quantum computing is almost impossible to predict. And yet, Q-Day is coming — likely in this decade, and the U.S. faces global competition on these topics.

Case in point, see this 2023 article from The Diplomat: The China-US Quantum Race.

Here’s how it ends: “Significant technical hurdles continue to slow progress toward a world in which quantum technologies upend traditional understandings of national security, economic prosperity, and everyday life. Nevertheless, the United States should not wait to reaffirm its position as a QIS leader. The quantum race is one the U.S. cannot afford to lose.”

Sounds like we need another “ChaptGPT moment” — and it may be coming sooner than we expect for quantum computing.

Daniel J. Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist, keynote speaker and author.