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Hi there. Quantum computing is best understood as an arms race. The UK is taking that literally (see The Big Story below) with its Defence Ministry announcing a partnership this week with a quantum upstart that is showing promise.
It is joined by the US, France and China in a high-stakes competition to lead on this paradigm-shifting technology. And add the UAE to that list — the country is building?the Middle East's first quantum computer ?and is also laying the security?groundwork for a post-quantum future . Because despite the many ways this warp-speed problem-solving machine may save the world, it also poses a serious security threat.
"Bad actors could be hacking and saving encrypted data sets now to decrypt years later when quantum computers make it possible," the Future Today Institute, a forecasting firm, warned earlier this year. We are a pre-quantum society now, but if post-quantum is achieved - and it is only a matter of time - we will find ourselves living in a wildly different future.
Be well.
Kelsey Warner, Future Editor
The Big Story
In brief?| Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday it will work with UK tech firm Orca Computing to?investigate using quantum technology in defence . Quantum computing can perform computations and tasks at a much faster speed than is possible with classical computers. While the technology has not yet been scaled to be used commercially, the field is advancing rapidly and the race is on among nations to be first and best.
Quoted?| "Our partnership with the MoD gives us the type of hands-on, close interaction working with real hardware which will help us to jointly discover new applications of this revolutionary new technology." - Richard Murray, chief executive of Orca Computing.
Why it matters?| Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise global industry. Quantum computers are being applied to tackle the world's biggest unanswered questions and most intractable challenges. For example, in health care, quantum computers will "help simulate chemical reactions to speed up drug discovery and predict how proteins will fold in the body, supporting the development of protein-based therapies. In finance, quantum calculations will be used to improve forecasts and probability models, enhancing both the speed and accuracy of recommendations", according to the Future Today Institute. But the field also poses major cybersecurity threats, with encrypted information very vulnerable to being decrypted. A counter-effort is underway for this post-quantum future but the implications - and consequences - are immense.
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Future in Focus
Well-connected?| SpaceX?successfully launched the Egyptian telecoms satellite ?Nilesat 301 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, replacing predecessor Nilesat 201 and offering better internet access, a win for a country with less than three-quarters of its population connected, according to the World Bank.
Sign of the times?| As the tech industry confronts uncertainty after a long run of optimism, venture capital funding in the Middle East and North Africa?was a mixed bag last month , according to new data from Wamda.
Digging into the details?| Airbus is confident it can create a hydrogen-powered plane within the next 15 years. Under?a new agreement with budget-carrier Wizz Air , the plane-maker will explore what the shift to hydrogen will mean exactly for airlines.
Predicting the future | Signal or noise??The charging cord racket is coming to an end — at least in the EU, which signed a new agreement this week to mandate a universal charging cord for most handheld electronic devices across its 27-member bloc. Starting from autumn 2024, products sold in the EU such as smartphones, e-readers and tablets will need to use a common USB Type-C cable.
This is noise.?What about *wireless charging*? This agreement, if it is to achieve its stated aim of cutting down on electronic and plastic waste, is a latecomer. While many electronics companies have started building USB-C sockets into their devices, Apple has been a holdout. Will this new agreement force the Cupertino company to change its ways or spur it to move faster on port-less tech?
In Case You Missed It
An?experimental cancer drug ?appears to have cured every single patient taking part in a small trial conducted in the US.
More than 46,000 people reported?losing a combined $1 billion in cryptocurrency fraud ?since the start of 2021, according to a new report.
And?one small step for interoperability : you can now join a Zoom call from Microsoft Teams and vice versa.