Explain how quantum computers compute like I am 10

[tracertong]

 

[mrk]

That's not possible in a lot of cases. For example, you type your credit card details into a website to purchase something. The data is transmitted over https (encrypted). That data could be intercepted and then whoever intercepted it has that encrypted data - they can have as many goes at trying to decrypt it as they like.

This is only an issue for standard encryption in today's usage scenarios are paired with a future time whereby quantum computers are commonplace. There are only a handful of massive orgs right now who have quantum computers and they're linear in what they currently are capable of and designed to do. To be able to intercept encrypted internet traffic and then decipher it at an outside location is a long time away and by that time the standard encryption model will also be using quantum encryption as well, it simply has to in order to stay secure. Likely some form of dynamic quantum encryption will see light of day whereby the encryption is intelligent and AI controls its roiling nature so it can never be decrypted in a reasonable amount of time regardless of qubits at the disposal of whatever criminal underworld that happens to be.

If we talk far far into the future where computing power is not even a consideration any more because Moore's Law simply doesn't apply since computers no longer follow a standard model of power and speed, then the people of that future generation will look back at what we use in our time like we look back at the early days of global communications.

With every gradual advancement, there's always going to be cause and effect. Security of our current encrypted data from criminals is one thing we simply won't have to worry about realistically. And for the future, it's not even worth being concerned about as that will adapt to the environment of the time.

 

[NickK]

I founded our organisation’s first team that delivered two working examples - one using quantum annealing and one gated form of quantum computer.
Caused quite a buzz too but I am the least smart member of the team - made up up ex-CERN physicists, post doc maths from oxford, etc etc. With over 200,000 employees - finding that level of maths is harder than you think, as there’s a need to embrace physics, probability theory and be rigorous enough to ensure correctness.

I, like most, understand a little more than the basics but to “play with quantum” needs some appreciation of the raw maths to take the problem an put it into a quantum friendly approach. When I mean play I mean something other than taking the example file and running it

I can understand the raw approaches such as FFT vs the wave function for phase approximation but to the understand how to make that next step is where the smarts come in.

It’s early days but it is accelerating as algorithms to solve or perform better are being published every week.

 

[FoxEye]

Like you're 10, you say?

Well, imagine that a quantum computer was like Fortnight... And subatomic particles are like that one character from Fortnight, and a photon is like a loot box from Fortnight. Ugh, this is going to be difficult isn't it!

 

[RxR]

A tv report months ago stated that China is already using quantum encryption for some of its military communications.

e: Another potential application might be the usual fare of automated intelligent stockmarket gaming on which much current AI is already deployed.

 

[NVP]

Google smashing it: "our chip, which we call Sycamore, performed a computation in 200 seconds that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years"



Clicky

IBM:

Google is off by a factor of almost 1.5 million. That’s 150 million percent, and no, it’s not a typo.

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