Published by EMIR Research, image from Forbes.
A quantum computer is an advanced developing computer technology that could be a game-changer in the high-tech era.
It could be used to resolve very complex problems across many different industries and applications such as finance, transportation, chemicals, and cybersecurity – in which that classical computer is unable to do.
According to the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, the field of quantum computing started in the 1980s. It was then discovered that certain computational problems could be tackled more efficiently with quantum algorithms than with their classical counterparts.
By 2025, experts predict that the enterprise quantum computing market will reach US$2.2 billion (RM9.54 billion), up from US$39.2 million (RM170.01 million) in 2017.
With its incredible potential that could open doors to a new computing era, researchers and big industry leaders from all over the world like IBM and Google are spending extensive resources on discovering this future of technology.
Such a breakthrough could lead to new drug designs and discoveries, advances in chemistry and data science, aerospace designing, weather predictions and natural-language processing.
But bear in mind that quantum computers are not intended to replace classical computers. Instead, they are expected to carry some benefits over a classical computer so it could be used to solve complex problems that are beyond the capabilities of a classical computer.
Honeywell, a manufacturing and technology company in the United States made a major announcement that it will soon launch the world’s most powerful quantum computer.
The company has also partnered with JPMorgan Chase to develop quantum algorithms using Honeywell’s quantum computer, aiming at tackling complex scientific and business challenges in the financial services industry.
What makes the quantum computer better than the classical computer?
In brief, every quantum computer has a ‘qubit’ that enables it to process a multitude of inputs simultaneously.
This qubit, which cannot be found in a classical computer, allows the quantum computer to consider a lot more information at once, perform trillions of calculations per second and evaluate many outcomes simultaneously.
And also, these tasks can be done at much lesser energy consumption.
Mind-blowing, right?
Which areas does quantum computing excel in?
Quantum computing is believed to be a great solution for optimisation problems, such as figuring out the best way to schedule flights at an airport.
Another example is to determine the best delivery routes for the courier services to deliver customer’s parcels, which can be thousands of them in a day, especially during the peak season like Eid al-Fitr.
Next is precision medicine in the healthcare industry, where doctors can understand in more detail regarding their patient’s disease and provide effective treatments while accounting for patient characteristics across age, race, gender, genetic makeup and more.
Another key application is in drug discovery. Usually, in discovering new kinds of drugs, pharmaceutical companies will take about 5 to 10 years from initial idea to market approval, and it would cost them billions of dollars.
However, by incorporating the whole process of drug discovery with quantum computing, the costs and time taken to make the discovery could be shorter and cheaper, but still, be able to provide cures for a range of diseases.
In the same token, researchers from Penn State College of Engineering believe that quantum machine learning, an emerging field that combines machine learning and quantum physics, could speed up the possible treatments for COVID-19.
“This approach works when enough chemical compounds are available in the pipeline (the set of drug candidates that a pharmaceutical company has under discovery or development), but unfortunately this is not true for COVID-19.
This project will explore quantum machine learning to unlock new capabilities in drug discovery by generating complex compounds quickly,” said Ghosh, one of the research team.
Will it produce jobs?
Tech experts agreed that there is a chance where the tech industry could see an uptick in demand for jobs related to quantum computing, especially in the area of finance, aerospace, healthcare as well as logistics and supply chain.
Herman Collins, CEO of a recruiting agency for the quantum-computing ecosystem, StrategicQC understands that advanced quantum expertise is rare at the moment.
Owing to that, a candidate with a degree in the area that is related to quantum computing like quantum physics, physics theory, math or computer science would be a good start.
He also added that “a focus on machine learning or artificial intelligence would be excellent as part of an augmented dynamic quantum skill set.”
Indeed, quantum computing could one day revolutionise certain aspects of computing and open up a new world of technological possibilities.
However, tech experts pointed out that there are several hurdles to overcome before it is able see a practical application, most notably its ability to produce reliable and repeatable results.
Nevertheless, even though a true quantum computer is still not a reality, realising it is achievable, given that great progress is underway by many giant tech companies.
Perhaps, in 4-5 years more, a quantum computer is going to be from something fantasy to reality, also from something theoretical to practical.
What is for sure – it is on its way to having a real impact on the world.
Nurafifah Mohammad Suhaimi is Research Assistant at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
