The Week in Quantum Computing - July 10th
Issue #143
The Week in Quantum Computing. Brought to you by Sergio Gago (@piratecto).
Quick Recap
In June 15th we echoed IBM’s advantage claim. But ever since a handful (or more!) papers have been published destroying that claim (oh the young!) One great example: Efficient tensor network simulation of IBM’s Eagle kicked Ising experiment where they have basically designed a tensor network to model the Eagle chip and beat IBM’s earlier claim.
Now, this week Google claims quantum advantage and 47 years advantage over classical yada-yada computation. (This time I won’t even link the general media articles, only Google’s paper).
From their abstract:
“We report Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) experiments where we identify distinct phases driven by the interplay between quantum dynamics and noise. Using cross-entropy benchmarking, we observe phase boundaries which can define the computational complexity of noisy quantum evolution. We conclude by presenting an RCS experiment with 70 qubits at 24 cycles. We estimate the computational cost against improved classical methods and demonstrate that our experiment is beyond the capabilities of existing classical supercomputers.”
Or has it has been reported in the news: “Google’s 70 Qubit Sycamore does computations where a classical computer would take 47 years” (47, 2 months and 12 days to be precise). What they did not claim though is: “Why on earth a computer would spend even a second on that computation!”.
I will just end with one sentence from the paper:
“finding practical applications for near-term noisy quantum processors still remains as an outstanding challenge. The experiments reported here provide direct insights on how quantum dynamics interacts with noise.”
So in summary: Both IBM’s and Google’s achievements are fantastic. They work specially on the noise area and scalability. But neither is even close to do anything useful with a Quantum Computer. These are baby steps (yes, baby steps no matter what the mass media claims say). Very necessary and exciting. But hold your benchmarking horses and don’t worry about your passwords. They are still safe (unless you keep them on a sticky note in your screen).
What else has happened this week? BMW and Zapata test integrating Generative AI with Quantum (hint: It is not quantum!). Vodafone and SandboxAQ join forces on making their networks quantum secure, as well as HSBC working on that together with Quantinuum. And Quantagonia has raised €4.3M from Tensor Ventures. Finally, a great paper by Microsoft researchers tries to shed light on the path for advantage and the problems required for it. Really worth a read. Specifically this quote is a blow:
we identify likely dead ends in the maze of applications. A large range of problem areas with quadratic quantum speedups, such as many current machine learning training approaches, accelerating drug design and protein folding with Grover’s algorithm, speeding up Monte Carlo simulations through quantum walks, as well as more traditional scientific computing simulations including the solution of many non-linear systems of equations, such as fluid dynamics in the turbulent regime, weather, and climate simulations will not achieve quantum advantage with current quantum algorithms in the foreseeable future. We also conclude that the identified I/O limits constrain the performance of quantum computing for big data problems, unstructured linear systems, and database search based on Grover’s algorithm such that a speedup is unlikely in those cases.
The Week in Quantum Computing
Quantum computing could get boost from discovery of Q-silicon
Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered a new distinct form of silicon called Q-silicon which, among other interesting properties, is ferromagnetic at room temperature. The findings could lead to advances in quantum computing, including the creation of a spin qubit quantum computer that is based on controlling the spin of an electron.
Link: https://ift.tt/rEDFeog
July 02, 2023 at 10:30AM
Quantagonia Secures 4.3 Million Euros in Funding to Accelerate Quantum Computing Innovation
Quantagonia, a firm focused on quantum computing software, has successfully completed its seed fundraising led by Tensor Ventures, thereby increasing its total funding to 4.3 million euros.
Link: https://ift.tt/RiBOj0v
July 04, 2023 at 09:30AM
Paper :Disentangling Hype from Practicality: On Realistically Achieving Quantum Advantage
Quantum computers offer a new paradigm of computing with the potential to vastly outperform any imagineable classical computer. This has caused a gold rush towards new quantum algorithms and hardware. In light of the growing expectations and hype surrounding quantum computing we ask the question which are the promising applications to realize quantum advantage. We argue that small data problems and quantum algorithms with super-quadratic speedups are essential to make quantum computers useful in practice. With these guidelines one can separate promising applications for quantum computing from those where classical solutions should be pursued. While most of the proposed quantum algorithms and applications do not achieve the necessary speedups to be considered practical, we already see a huge potential in material science and chemistry. We expect further applications to be developed based on our guidelines..
Link: https://ift.tt/JF5qC3H
July 04, 2023 at 06:30PM
Google Quantum Computer Is '47 Years' Faster Than #1 Supercomputer
Progress towards fully capable and practical quantum computers isn't slowing down, and researchers from Google are the latest to announce a significant step forward in the capabilities of today's machines.
Link: https://ift.tt/eFckQ67
July 05, 2023 at 08:30AM
Paper: Efficient tensor network simulation of IBM's kicked Ising experiment
We report an accurate, memory and time efficient classical simulation of a 127-qubit kicked Ising quantum system on the heavy-hexagon lattice. A simulation of this system on a quantum processor was recently performed using noise mitigation techniques to enhance accuracy (Nature volume 618, p. 500-505 (2023)). Here we show that, by adopting a tensor network approach that reflects the qubit connectivity of the device, we can perform a classical simulation that is significantly more accurate than the results obtained from the quantum device in the verifiable regime and comparable to the quantum simulation results for larger depths. The tensor network approach used will likely have broader applications for simulating the dynamics of quantum systems with tree-like correlations.
Link: https://ift.tt/vkuUmCw
July 05, 2023 at 08:30AM
Quantum Computing On A Commodore 64 In 200 Lines Of BASIC
The term ‘quantum computer’ gets usually tossed around in the context of hyper-advanced, state-of-the-art computing devices, but much as how a 19th century mechanical computer, a discrete computer created from individual transistors, and a human being are all computers, the important quantifier
Link: https://ift.tt/tCvdxnA
July 05, 2023 at 09:30AM
HSBC Tests Quantum Tech in London to Guard Against Future Hacks
(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc will become the first British bank to test an advanced data-security system being run by UK telecom giant BT Group Plc, Amazon.com Inc.’s AWS cloud and Japan’s Toshiba Corp.
So-called quantum key distribution is a type of cyber defense that financial institutions think could help protect trillions of dollars of transactions from increasingly sophisticated hackers in the future.
Link: https://ift.tt/Q2pbGO8
July 05, 2023 at 09:30AM
Vodafone tests Quantum-safe business network with upgraded smartphones
The quantum risk is part of the ever-evolving security threat landscape that Vodafone is working on with technology partners and industry body, the GSMA. Together, they are exploring quantum-safe defenses to help protect customers, governments, and society at large from any future threat.
Emma Smith, Vodafone’s Cyber Security Director, explained: “On one hand quantum computing has the potential to rapidly solve ultra-complex problems in key areas such as healthcare, but on the other it could undermine today’s cryptography. Among a raft of initiatives designed to anticipate and safeguard against future threats, Vodafone joined forces with SandboxAQ (a spin-off from Alphabet) to conduct a proof-of-concept test for a quantum safe Virtual Private Network (VPN) – a type of network used by millions of workers to securely access company systems via their devices.
Link: https://ift.tt/c3vKuXr
July 05, 2023 at 08:30PM
The future of medical research lies in quantum computing
The technology is bound to accelerate drug discovery, enhance accuracy of diagnostics, and transform the way patient care is done.
For instance, quantum algorithms and simulations enable researchers to analyse vast chemical processes and hence predict molecular behaviour much more faster and accurately.
Link: https://ift.tt/Abv5tNC
July 06, 2023 at 10:30AM
BMW Zapata and MIT Test Quantum-Inspired Generative AI in Production
Zapata Computing's Generator-Enhanced Optimization (GEO) technique was put to the test, conducting approximately one million optimization runs in a series of simulations. These trials were run on Zapata’s Orquestra software platform, comparing the efficiency and performance of GEO against various algorithms and problem configurations. The study’s results demonstrated that GEO outperformed even state-of-the-art solvers in minimizing assembly line idle time while meeting monthly vehicle production targets.
“We ran roughly a million optimization runs cycling through dozens of various algorithms, problem configurations and optimizer solutions to benchmark their performance against each other,” said Yudong Cao, CTO and co-founder at Zapata Computing. “GEO uses quantum or quantum-inspired generative machine learning models to learn from and improve upon the results generated by classical solvers.”
Link: https://ift.tt/UnY0q5y
July 07, 2023 at 07:30AM
How to explore quantum computing responsibly: We really want to control surprise
In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Steve Flinter, vice president for artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing at Mastercard, and Murray Thom, vice president of quantum business innovation at D-Wave, a leading provider of quantum computing systems, software and services.
Link: https://ift.tt/wN6Iovi
July 07, 2023 at 07:30PM
Quantum Art: Shaping the Future of Ion Trap Quantum Computers
For decades, scientists and engineers have tried to build quantum computers with an advantage over supercomputers in solving complex problems. Quantum Art was founded by Tal David, Amit Ben Kish, and Roee Ozeri to develop Israel’s first ion trap quantum computer based on cutting-edge research from the Weizmann Institute of Science and to realize the potential of quantum computing. It has raised seed funding from Vertex Ventures, Entrée Capital, Amiti VC, and Stage One VC.
Link: https://ift.tt/gmz9tQF
July 08, 2023 at 10:30AM
Sweden Finland eye quantum tech leap amid call for official strategy
HELSINKI — Nordic defense companies could have a greater share of the world’s quantum computing pie, as regional players Sweden and Finland each aim to advance their capabilities using the disruptive technology.
Link: https://ift.tt/ox1ytiF
July 08, 2023 at 01:30PM