Take it from Niels Bohr: “Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.” Much the same may be said of quantum technologies, a promising — and increasingly crucial — application of that theory.
Last week, Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced a major advancement in the field. Its quantum chip, called Willow, performed a calculation in less than five minutes that might take a regular (or “classical”) computer 10 septillion years, “a number that vastly exceeds the age of the universe,” says Hartmut Neven, manager of Google’s quantum lab. He further mused that the result “lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse.”
Whatever one makes of that latter theory (evidence TBD), the company’s progress is striking. Quantum computers encode data in units called qubits — analogous to “bits” in traditional parlance — that can take advantage of subatomic oddities to generate potentially enormous computational power. Since achieving a previous milestone, in 2019, Google has doubled the number of qubits on its chip while exponentially reducing its error rate. Other big companies, including International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp., are also moving ahead quickly. A functional quantum computer, long theorized, now looks plausible within the next decade or so.
That could have significant benefits societywide. By simulating molecular interactions, quantum computers could one day dramatically accelerate drug discovery and lead to more effective treatments. By solving complex optimization problems, they could make logistics and transportation systems more efficient, thereby boosting growth and slashing pollution. Climate and weather modeling might become more accurate, batteries more effective, digital communications more secure. Luminous other possibilities await experimentation.
Quantum technology more broadly — which includes communications, computing and sensing — is advancing rapidly. For militaries and intelligence agencies, the race to dominate this new field is already heated. Quantum sensing may enhance reconnaissance and surveillance systems while providing an alternative to GPS for navigation or positioning. Quantum communications could harden sensitive electronic networks. A quantum computer could (in theory) accelerate development of autonomous weapons or provide unimpeded access to an adversary’s encrypted files.
