We are stepping into a new age: the digital age. Gone are the times when we had to walk to the store to get food or go to the library to get a book. Gone are the times when we had to send letters to people or physically be in front of them to talk. The next few decades will hold some of the most captivating and enthralling technological breakthroughs we have seen in the history of humanity. I’m here today to talk about the dawn of a most intriguing technology: quantum computing.
On February 24, 2024, I attended the QuantaWatt Quantum Computing Conference at the University of Texas at Dallas. The day started off with Rashmi Varma talking about the future of quantum engineering. One of the main points was that computer transistors will eventually get so small that they will experience tunneling, entanglement, superposition, and other quantum effects. This development can lead to significant improvements in cryptography, modeling protein synthesis and drug interactions, and computer optimization, each of which were explained by experts in the coming panels. It was really interesting to learn that the reason everything isn’t deterministic is because evolution requires some things not to be. Unpredictable events are one of the main things that drive natural selection. Perhaps the most mind boggling fact I took out of this keynote was that after a computer can store more than 280 qubits, it is capable of storing more bits than atoms in the universe. This truly captures the reason why quantum computing is so useful and intriguing.
The first panel was about the current quantum computing landscape and industrial applications, presented by Dr. Andrew Ochoa, Brance Hudzietz, Dr. Chuanwei Zhang, Dr. Liwen Shih, and Dr. Will Oxford. They mentioned that at the moment, the gate oxide layer is 12 atoms thick. The lowering thickness of the gate oxide layer allows for more efficient manipulation of the qubits. There are currently many ways to build quantum computers, including ion traps, photonics, and cold atoms. Trapped-ion quantum computers store qubits in ions and use predictable motion to transfer data. Lasers can also be used to create coupling, or interactions, between the ions, which can allow for entanglement and other quantum properties. When using photonics in quantum computing, photons are used to store qubits and are incredibly efficient because they are very not very susceptible to decoherence, which is when the quantum state of a particle is affected by the environment. Lastly, in cold atom based quantum computing, electromagnetic fields are used to trap atoms that have been cooled to very low temperatures. Scientists can perform quantum operations and store quantum information through manipulation of the trapped atoms.
The second panel I attended was about how to get into the quantum industry and how to educate oneself, presented by Dr. Andrew Ochoa, Dr. Shih, WIlliam Cockerill, and Lalitha Nallmothula. One of the resources that was brought up was Qiskit by IBM, which is an open-source software development kit that allows you to utilize IBM’s quantum systems and hardware from other providers. It was mentioned that there are a lot of newsletters and magazines that talk about the recent developments in quantum computing. The panelists recommended learning how to ask questions to AI because that can give you lots of resources and help you stand out in the job field.
Finally, one of the most interesting and eye-opening sessions I attended was about building quantum resistant cybersecurity algorithms, presented by Dr. Wil Oxford. Currently, AI is able to break one-way encryption keys. The leader in quantum resistant algorithms is post-quantum cryptography. It is capable of developing systems that are safe against classical and quantum computers. As quantum computers are becoming more prevalent and capable, things are becoming less and less secure. Apple iMessages is moving to a post-quantum cryptography based security platform. Another solution is quantum key distribution. It uses the concept of quantum entanglement, which means that when one particle changes state, the other particle changes state. This is useful for detecting interceptions of message and data transmissions. There are several benefits to using quantum technology to keep data secure, but we must also remember that quantum technology has the ability to crack encryption keys and intercept data. We should all start taking extra precautionary measures to protect ourselves.
All in all, this session was an excellent introduction to what is to come in the field of quantum computing and quantum technology. The possibilities of this technology are just beginning to emerge. Humanity can become extremely efficient and intelligent with the use of quantum-based computers. I encourage you to read something about recent developments in this up and coming field because it is going to become something truly profound in the coming decades.
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