As many of you know, in the fall of 2019, Google and IBM began to wage a real confrontation with each other: when Google representatives declared their "quantum superiority" due to the successful completion of quantum computing, IBM unexpectedly took up the baton, demonstrating the ability of their new supercomputer to perform calculations almost with the same speed and much more precision than Google's quantum computer. This was not the first time someone questioned quantum computing. Last year, Michel Dyakonov, a theoretical physicist at the University of Montpellier in France, proposed many theoretical reasons why practical quantum supercomputers will never be built. So how do you know who is right and who is wrong?
Why is the creation of supercomputers at risk?
The quantum computer is an extremely useful invention in the creation of the artificial intelligence of the future, new methods of cryptography, and even new types of batteries. Despite all the versatility of its application, the device may never work in full force. To such little encouraging conclusions came the French researcher Michel Dyakonov, who for many years worked on the implementation of quantum computing. The scientist believes that due to the inevitability of random errors in device hardware, truly useful quantum computers are unlikely to ever be built.
In order to understand why the creation of new generation supercomputers may be in jeopardy, we first need to understand the principles of operation of this computing device. According to an article published on theconversation.com, modern computers operate on the principle of binary code when storing data, while already created quantum devices use a system of quantum bits or qubits.
Qubits have special properties: they can exist in superposition, being both zero and one, while being entangled with each other even if they are at a considerable distance from each other. Such unusual behavior is not associated with the world of classical physics, since the superposition instantly disappears when the experimenter interacts with the quantum state.
Thanks to superposition, a quantum computer with 100 qubits can simultaneously represent 2,100 solutions. For some tasks, this exponential parallelism can be used to create a huge advantage in computational speed. However, there is another, narrower approach to quantum computing, in which qubits are used to speed up optimization problems. For example, Canada-based D-Wave Systems has built optimization systems that use qubits for this very purpose, although some critics argue that the resulting systems perform no better than classical computers.
Quantum computers from D-Wave Systems.
Promotional video:
Despite this, companies and countries are investing huge sums of money in quantum computing. It is known that China has built a new quantum research center worth 10 billion US dollars, and the European Union has developed a master plan for quantum research worth 1 billion euros or 1.1 billion dollars. The new United States National Quantum Initiative Act provides for $ 1.2 billion in quantum information development over a five-year period.
The ability to crack encryption algorithms is a powerful motivating factor for many countries around the world. Thus, knowledge of the enemy's encryption systems could give a huge advantage in intelligence, while at the same time promoting new fundamental research in the field of physics, since modern experimental systems have at their disposal only less than 100 qubits. To achieve useful computational performance in a supercomputer, we will probably need machines with hundreds of thousands of qubits. In order for the devices to function correctly, they must fix all small random errors in the software. In a quantum computer, such errors occur due to imperfect circuit elements and the interaction of qubits with their environment. For these reasons, qubits can lose coherence in literally a split second,which may lead to erroneous results from the computer.
In other words, although quantum supercomputers have a right to exist, the correctness of their calculations can be a big question. And what do you think, will a person one day be able to subjugate quantum technologies?
Author: Daria Eletskaya
