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Proceed With Caution In Your Journey To The Quantum Future
Quantum computing will have a tectonic impact on many industries. Teams will use quantum computing to solve difficult challenges that they would not have been able to solve before.
CB Insights says that quantum computing will reshape artificial intelligence (AI) and transform such sectors as health care and finance. Companies in AI and cloud that don’t use quantum won’t stay in the business. Yet despite all of its power and promise, quantum today is limited.
Current quantum computers can only handle a small number of qubits. These quantum machines are noisy — by which I mean that they can’t run very long calculations without the computation being corrupted. At the same time, large-scale quantum computers are impossible to simulate. If you could simulate a thousand-qubit quantum computer, you wouldn’t need that computer. You could just simulate it and run the same software. But you can’t do that — it’s just too big.
So, how can business unit leaders, CIOs, CTOs or other execs get started with quantum, which is becoming a business necessity, without getting burned? Here are some tips on how to do that.
Calibrate Expectations
Unrealistic expectations about technology can eventually lead to disillusionment. AI has taken off, but as this Scientific American article notes, early AI “exuberance gave way to a slump known as an ‘AI winter,’ when disillusionment set in and funding declined.” Virtual reality, which may be taking off now, has struggled to overcome unrealistic expectations for decades.
Be clear to leadership that quantum won’t solve all of your company’s problems, but explain that it can help with some things. Create a team to understand your most difficult computational problems. Perhaps there are efforts where your company is spending a lot of money on high-performance computing. Explore whether quantum computers could do the job more quickly.
Estimate whether the algorithm you’re trying to run is too big for current quantum computers. Nobody did desktop publishing on the TRS-80. The world had to wait until there was a sufficiently large, high-resolution computer with color to do desktop publishing. Understand that this same kind of maturity curve applies to quantum computing. Financial services firms tell us that they would like a very precise function for option pricing. We respond by showing them how precise they can get with 10-qubit, 50-qubit and 500-qubit computers.
Consider Hybrid Approaches
Some algorithms designed for quantum are compromised due to the limitations of the smaller, noisier quantum computers that exist today. Chemists would like to use a quantum phase estimation algorithm to better understand how molecules interact with one another. But limitations of current quantum computers instead led to the adoption of Variational Quantum Eigensolvers (VQE), which approach the task with fewer qubits and with the help of classical computers.
Don’t assume that all quantum use cases will be 100% quantum. There’s a lot of room for classical and quantum to work together. Classical computers are good at communicating over existing networks, reading data from external storage and performing calculations. A quantum processing unit could do the processing for a classical CPU. There’s a lot of value to splitting the algorithm between classical and quantum. Be prepared to take such a hybrid approach.
Think of it like this. You may have a computer at home that talks with the USB ports and runs the operating system. But you have a graphics processing unit (GPU) that handles the 3D graphics. The CPU and GPU can work together to generate the best experience.
Select a development platform that supports hybrid algorithms. But make sure that the platform is also suitable for the upcoming larger number of qubits and improved performance.
Opt For Cloud-Based Quantum
Some companies are buying quantum computers as in-house resources. That might be a mistake.
Avoid wasting your resources investing in a quantum computer that would be obsolete very soon. Next year’s quantum computer models will have many improvements relative to the ones that are available this year.
Wait until quantum computers are good enough before considering whether you want to bring them in-house. Until then, leverage as-a-service cloud consumption models, which will allow you to essentially rent quantum computing capacity. This will enable you to get started with quantum without getting saddled with one of today’s quantum computers and will also allow you to experiment with quantum computers from different vendors.
Understand That This Is Just The Beginning
The potential applications for and success of many technologies have been greatly underestimated. Years ago, Ethernet inventor Robert Metcalfe predicted the spectacular rise and near-immediate collapse of the internet. Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
These were smart people and pioneers in their fields. But as Abraham Lincoln famously said, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” New applications and use cases often bring technology to life in new and more expansive ways years after the technology is invented. Classical computers, the internet and lasers are all examples of this phenomenon.
When large-scale quantum computers become available, it will expand experimentation. This is when the huge potential for new algorithms and quantum computing use cases will materialize.
Join the quantum revolution, but do it with the understanding of quantum’s current limits. A well-calibrated approach to quantum will better position you to accelerate your quantum work later. It will support your efforts to create game-changing algorithms. And those algorithms will help contribute to the success and flourishment of your business in a quantum world.
The quantum revolution will be huge. As with all revolutions, it doesn’t happen in a day.
This article originally appeared in Forbes
Quantum computing will have a tectonic impact on many industries. Teams will use quantum computing to solve difficult challenges that they would not have been able to solve before.
CB Insights says that quantum computing will reshape artificial intelligence (AI) and transform such sectors as health care and finance. Companies in AI and cloud that don’t use quantum won’t stay in the business. Yet despite all of its power and promise, quantum today is limited.
Current quantum computers can only handle a small number of qubits. These quantum machines are noisy — by which I mean that they can’t run very long calculations without the computation being corrupted. At the same time, large-scale quantum computers are impossible to simulate. If you could simulate a thousand-qubit quantum computer, you wouldn’t need that computer. You could just simulate it and run the same software. But you can’t do that — it’s just too big.
So, how can business unit leaders, CIOs, CTOs or other execs get started with quantum, which is becoming a business necessity, without getting burned? Here are some tips on how to do that.
Calibrate Expectations
Unrealistic expectations about technology can eventually lead to disillusionment. AI has taken off, but as this Scientific American article notes, early AI “exuberance gave way to a slump known as an ‘AI winter,’ when disillusionment set in and funding declined.” Virtual reality, which may be taking off now, has struggled to overcome unrealistic expectations for decades.
Be clear to leadership that quantum won’t solve all of your company’s problems, but explain that it can help with some things. Create a team to understand your most difficult computational problems. Perhaps there are efforts where your company is spending a lot of money on high-performance computing. Explore whether quantum computers could do the job more quickly.
Estimate whether the algorithm you’re trying to run is too big for current quantum computers. Nobody did desktop publishing on the TRS-80. The world had to wait until there was a sufficiently large, high-resolution computer with color to do desktop publishing. Understand that this same kind of maturity curve applies to quantum computing. Financial services firms tell us that they would like a very precise function for option pricing. We respond by showing them how precise they can get with 10-qubit, 50-qubit and 500-qubit computers.
Consider Hybrid Approaches
Some algorithms designed for quantum are compromised due to the limitations of the smaller, noisier quantum computers that exist today. Chemists would like to use a quantum phase estimation algorithm to better understand how molecules interact with one another. But limitations of current quantum computers instead led to the adoption of Variational Quantum Eigensolvers (VQE), which approach the task with fewer qubits and with the help of classical computers.
Don’t assume that all quantum use cases will be 100% quantum. There’s a lot of room for classical and quantum to work together. Classical computers are good at communicating over existing networks, reading data from external storage and performing calculations. A quantum processing unit could do the processing for a classical CPU. There’s a lot of value to splitting the algorithm between classical and quantum. Be prepared to take such a hybrid approach.
Think of it like this. You may have a computer at home that talks with the USB ports and runs the operating system. But you have a graphics processing unit (GPU) that handles the 3D graphics. The CPU and GPU can work together to generate the best experience.
Select a development platform that supports hybrid algorithms. But make sure that the platform is also suitable for the upcoming larger number of qubits and improved performance.
Opt For Cloud-Based Quantum
Some companies are buying quantum computers as in-house resources. That might be a mistake.
Avoid wasting your resources investing in a quantum computer that would be obsolete very soon. Next year’s quantum computer models will have many improvements relative to the ones that are available this year.
Wait until quantum computers are good enough before considering whether you want to bring them in-house. Until then, leverage as-a-service cloud consumption models, which will allow you to essentially rent quantum computing capacity. This will enable you to get started with quantum without getting saddled with one of today’s quantum computers and will also allow you to experiment with quantum computers from different vendors.
Understand That This Is Just The Beginning
The potential applications for and success of many technologies have been greatly underestimated. Years ago, Ethernet inventor Robert Metcalfe predicted the spectacular rise and near-immediate collapse of the internet. Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
These were smart people and pioneers in their fields. But as Abraham Lincoln famously said, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” New applications and use cases often bring technology to life in new and more expansive ways years after the technology is invented. Classical computers, the internet and lasers are all examples of this phenomenon.
When large-scale quantum computers become available, it will expand experimentation. This is when the huge potential for new algorithms and quantum computing use cases will materialize.
Join the quantum revolution, but do it with the understanding of quantum’s current limits. A well-calibrated approach to quantum will better position you to accelerate your quantum work later. It will support your efforts to create game-changing algorithms. And those algorithms will help contribute to the success and flourishment of your business in a quantum world.
The quantum revolution will be huge. As with all revolutions, it doesn’t happen in a day.
This article originally appeared in Forbes
About "The Qubit Guy's Podcast"
Hosted by The Qubit Guy (Yuval Boger, our Chief Marketing Officer), the podcast hosts thought leaders in quantum computing to discuss business and technical questions that impact the quantum computing ecosystem. Our guests provide interesting insights about quantum computer software and algorithm, quantum computer hardware, key applications for quantum computing, market studies of the quantum industry and more.
If you would like to suggest a guest for the podcast, please contact us.
