Quantum Computing is coming to you faster than you think......

Over the past few months there has been a lot of buzz around Quantum computing with the conversation now shifting from theory to the actual implementation of a working Quantum computer. The behemoths of the computing industry like IBM and Google are racing to build a working Quantum computer which can be deployed in the field to help industry to find solutions to problems which were previously considered unsolvable. This would herald in a new world of Quantum Supremacy, where quantum computer would surpass classical computers and be able to perform computations which a classical computer would never be able to calculate.

However, there are many who feel that this technology will take several years before it becomes useful in any form. The argument is that the current generation of Quantum computers need large amounts of electrical power, large amount of physical space, expensive equipment for control and monitoring and highly capable technicians and scientists in order to pull of even a single computation. Many experts feel that it will be several years before the technology can be miniaturised and be made available in the hands of the common public. Thus the actual impact which quantum computers will have on humanity will ultimately take another decade at the minimum.

But this is not necessarily true.

Most people look at the evolution of quantum computing through the same lens as that of classical computing. In the 1950's and 60's, classical computers used to be the size of small house, used power in the order of megawatts and required teams of experienced scientists in order to do useful calculations. The advent of solid state transistors in the 1970's and 80's miniaturised computing devices and made them available for public use. It was only when the computer entered the homes of the common man, did we begin to see its actual impact.

The desktop computer changed human behaviour forever. Written notes, ledgers etc. gave way to word-processing and accounting software and thus changed the way the common public performed their day-to-day tasks. Further miniaturisation meant that all of us today carry computers in the form of mobile devices in our pockets, further changing the way we interact with the world and each other. These changes in behaviour ultimately ushered in the age of computing, helped humanity reach new heights in terms of technological progress and ultimately changed us forever.

In short, the change began when computing power moved from the lab into the hands of the common man. However, the quantum computer will not follow the same trajectory when it comes to creating its impact on the world. This mostly because of two factors:

1. The kind of problems quantum computer are built to solve
2. The rise of high speed computer networks

The quantum design is geared towards solving complex equations which are composed of a large number of variables. Quantum computers are great at crunching huge amounts of data in a short period of time thanks to the unique property of the quantum bit or qubit. Simply put, unlike a classical bit which can only represent either 0 or 1, a qubit can represent more values depending on the number of quantum states one can control. If you can control 4 quantum states, one can store 4 values simultaneously. Thus a classical bit can control 2^0 values which is either 0 or 1 while a quantum computer can store 2^n values, and therefore the computing power scales exponentially. This power can be used to solve problems in the domain of machine learning, analytics or calculations that build correlations across huge data sets. But this is not the kind of computing which is required at the 'edge' of a network eg. IOT devices or mobile phones. Thus while miniature quantum computers would be great to have, it's not an essential requirement to unleash its power.

The advent of fast computer networks has allowed us to push our computing needs from the edge of the network, back towards a datacenter. When we talk to Alexa or use other services like Uber, the bulk of the computing is done at a datacenter, while your device is mostly used to display the final results of the computation. This in many ways has fundamentally changed the way we design computing systems. No longer is a computer's size or power consumption a major problem, since these requirements can be easily met a datacenter, which are purpose built to house high end electronic equipment and are spread across hundred's of acres of land. These locations also house specialised teams trained to handle this kind of sensitive equipment. In short, we can set up a quantum computer in a datacenter to help us solve difficult computations and pipe those results back to any device which exists at the edge of a computer network.

Quantum computer won't need miniaturisation in order to change humanity, they just need to be small enough to fit in a datacenter. This can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. Possibly, within the next 5 years.

The first step towards any progress is setting clear goals, and we have set big goals for ourselves as a species. Whether it be to conquer the final frontier be a space faring civilization or to find a way to exist in harmony with our current biosphere. Achieving these goals requires us to greatly improve our understanding of our world. Quantum computing holds the promise to help us achieve these lofty goals and propel technological progress into its next epoch.