Which level of ``quantum computer'' development competition will help deal with climate change and food shortages, break encryption and destroy the Internet, the United States or China first?
Quantum computers that perform calculations using ``qubits'' that can take both ``0'' and ``1'' states, rather than ``bits'' that can only take ``0'' or ``1'' states, use bits They are exponentially more powerful than traditional computers and can do calculations that bits can't. Writer
The World-Changing Race to Develop the Quantum Computer | The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/the-world-changing-race-to-develop-the-quantum-computer?currentPage=all
Quantum computers are expected to perform large-scale calculations that cannot be realized with conventional computers, but there is a problem that everything must be redeveloped, including hardware, software, and programming languages.
A full-fledged quantum computer would crack current encryption protocols and effectively destroy the Internet. Most online communications, such as financial transactions and common text messaging platforms, are protected by cryptographic keys that would take a conventional computer millions of years to crack, but a quantum computer would probably take less than a day to crack them. believed to be decipherable. This day of quantum computer innovation will be expressed as 'Y2Q'.
Years and huge amounts of money have been invested in the race to develop quantum computers, but the current quantum computers are barely functional and are far from technological innovation. Well-known technology companies such as Intel, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon are rushing to manufacture and develop quantum computers.
Quantum computer qubits require precise control, which is still difficult to achieve. But before the upcoming Y2Q, the protocols that protect existing systems must be dismantled and replaced. The Joe Biden administration in the United States has announced that it has started moving toward a new encryption standard with quantum resistance, but its implementation will take more than 10 years and is expected to cost several trillion yen. .
The National Institute of Standards and Technology adopts four encryption algorithms to prepare for quantum computer attacks - GIGAZINE
In anticipation of Y2Q, spy agencies hope to read existing encrypted data. The deadline for upgrading cryptographic technology set by the Biden administration is 2035, but basic quantum computers are expected to appear as early as 2029, and immediate measures are desired.
Google has a laboratory in Santa Barbara, California, USA, and Amazon has announced that it will open a laboratory on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. Not only major high-tech companies but also many start-up companies are trying to make quantum computers, and according to the industry magazine Quantum Insider, more than 600 companies are entering the field of quantum computers. It is believed that $ 30 billion (about 4 trillion yen) is invested in the development of quantum technology worldwide, but many of these are speculative.
Even the most optimistic analysts don't think quantum computing will make meaningful gains in the next five years, with pessimists warning it could take a decade or more. Amidst the swirling interests of companies wanting to profit and nations prioritizing codebreaking, John Martinis, former head of quantum computing at Google, said, ``China is leading the way in terms of making high-quality qubits. It may be said that there is.'
Lu Chao-Yang of the University of Science and Technology of China and others published a paper in Science that claimed their processors solved computational problems millions of times faster than the best supercomputers. He disputed the claim that ``China is making the best qubits,'' and said, ``I think Google is actually leading.'' In other words, although all countries are making steady progress, they are all just beginning to develop innovative technologies.
Hartmut Neven, founder of Google's Quantum Computing Laboratory, responded to Mr. Witt's meeting, saying, ``I think that in 2023 we will be able to make the first fully fault-tolerant qubit in the United States.'' After that, he said that he plans to expand the scale of computing. The processing power of quantum computers could also spur code-breaking and the development of new industrial chemicals to address the problems of climate change and food shortages, but first, getting quantum computers to work is a pressing issue. is.
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