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Quantum computing: the future of IT

The revolution of technology

Theoretically proposed more than 40 years ago, in recent years it has advanced exponentially: companies and universities have developed processors, computers, programming languages, and algorithms that are already changing the way we work.

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Quantum computing: meaning, origin, and applications

Quantum computers will open new possibilities for us. This change of technology exploits the laws of quantum mechanics to encode information (in the form of quantum bits or qubits) and process it in a different way than is done with today's computers.

With applications such as AI, the development of molecules, simulation and process optimization, or cybersecurity, quantum computing is emerging as a technology that will transform what we can do with computers.

Quantum computing, thanks to the principles of quantum mechanics, makes it possible to tackle and solve problems that, until now, were impossible, and is destined to transform the fields of mathematics, research, and cybersecurity.

Surely at some time, even if it was in a photograph, you have seen a mechanical calculator, one of those that only added up and worked without electricity. Let's think of them as super simple computers. Mechanical calculators, with the use of electricity, improved their efficiency (they made calculations by moving wheels and similar gears, but faster) and gained some functionality such as the possibility of multiplication. With the advent of electronic computers, a paradigm shift occurred. The most internal part of the computers we use is still basically a calculating machine that adds up very fast, but it is clear that doing it differently led us to a "computing revolution" that transformed the world as we knew it. A similar situation exists with quantum computing.

It's important to be clear that quantum computing will not replace the current one in all its aspects, in fact, quantum computers need "classical" computers to be able to work and produce results. However, quantum computing will be complementary in all those cases where it really provides a substantial advantage (sometimes called quantum advantage).

What is its origin?

The first contributions on quantum computing are attributed to physicists Paul Benioff and Richard Feynman, in the early 1980s. They pioneered the idea of applying some of the principles of quantum mechanics to computing. Although it would take 30 years to create the first quantum computer, Benioff designed the first quantum computer in 1981, based on the Turing machine.  

After more than 15 years of theoretical progress, in 1998 researchers at MIT managed to propagate the first cubit and create the first two-cubit quantum computer. In 2011, the company D-Wave Systems sold the first commercial quantum computer, and at the end of 2022 IBM presented Osprey, a 433-cubit quantum processor.

Year 1981

The first quantum computer is designed.

Year 1998

The first quantum computer is created.

Year 2011

The first commercial quantum computer is sold.

Year 2022

A 433-cubit quantum processor is presented.

Differences with traditional computing

View of a bit icon as a concept of quantum computing

Binary computing and quantum computing use two different paradigms. Classical computing (binary) is basically a very sophisticated calculator that carries out arithmetic (addition, subtraction...) and logical (OR, AND, NOT) operations on the data (bits), sequentially.

Quantum computing is based on a paradigm where statistics and probability are the basic tools for carrying out calculations. For this reason, the search for solutions to optimization problems, that with classical computers can be very expensive to find, are more efficient with quantum computers.

Unfortunately, current quantum computers are very sensitive to temperature conditions and interferences of all kinds, so can only be had under very specific conditions.

Uses and applications of quantum computing

Quantum computing is here to stay and, although it is in a very early and immature stage, it's true that it's already starting to offer useful advantages. The most significant has been to provide a new way of thinking. Looking at problems with another perspective is already leading us to find how to better tackle and solve some calculations (with quantum inspired computing).

Among the applications of quantum computing are the following:

  1. Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
    Machine learning is one of these especially interesting areas for quantum computing, as both are based on probabilistic processes.

  2. Cryptography and cybersecurity
    A large part of the encryption algorithms that we use on a daily basis are based on how expensive a certain mathematical operation is in classical computers (the factorization of very large numbers), but for quantum computers it is much easier and faster. This has led us to completely rethink cybersecurity in all its aspects and companies such as Google or Meta are already using some PQC (post-quantum cryptography) algorithms to be more secure against future quantum computers.

  3. Design of materials, molecules, and medicine
    In order to design or simulate a molecule it's necessary to make many calculations of all the quantum interactions that occur in it. With a classical supercomputer, it is barely possible to simulate molecules of a few atoms. With quantum computing, the correlation is enormous and much more complex molecules can be handled.

  4. Simulations
    Simulations, especially those that can be equated with physical or chemical processes, are great candidates for processing with quantum computers that, in essence, tend to behave like a physical system.

  5. Climate study
    Another field related to physics, which also requires the use of a large amount of data, such as that of climate, will also benefit from quantum computing, which will make it possible to develop models that, for example, help to study the effects of climate change.                                  
  6. Investment, logistics, and transport
    Areas, in general, where there are a large amount of options in which we want to know which is the best (optimization) is another of the areas that can be greatly enhanced by exploiting the distinctive features of quantum mechanics through quantum computing.

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