Cooking Up Quantum Computing: Is It Dinnertime Yet?
Quantum computing is something of an enigma. For many analysts, advocates and evangelists across the technology industry, the quantum mixture has been quite maturely and meticulously defined; all we're waiting for now is a hardware-first evolution of systems design and manufacturing to make these super-powerful services more readily available. At the same time, many hands-on practitioners see it as further afield and might list it as a still-embryonic technology, due to fact that its mass market ubiquity is clearly lower in terms of penetration.
Let's stop short of explaining quantum computing from scratch again, but perhaps remember that in standard binary computing, there are heads and tails, on and off, ones and zeros… but in quantum, the coin is spinning in the air and the value is potentially both heads and tails at the same time, a measure which is further extended depending on what angle we view the money piece from.
In search of a comparatively original analogy to explain where quantum computing is at SAS CTO Bryan Harris has likened quantum computing to cooking on a five-burner stove with just four pots, while trying to fix 10 different meals using a multiplicity of different ingredients, some organic, some store-bought, standard issue. The cook's challenge (if this scenario were real) would be working out what order to cook the dishes in, when and where pots and pans could be reused, which ones needed to be cleaned to avoid cross-contamination… and then perhaps which ones could be left unwashed to build an enriched flavor profile in the final meal.
With so many enterprise technology vendors (mostly large-scale, but start-ups too) now laying down a menu for the quantum arena today, it's not outrageous to say that few Michelin stars are being handed out in this market right now. We don't quite know all the recipes yet; we might even see too many cooks spoiling the broth unless we start to agree on some standardization.
In terms of which firms are most active in quantum computing from the software application perspective development end of the spectrum, the key list includes IBM with the IBM Quantum platform offering a cloud-based access route to its superconducting qubit systems. Alongside the aforementioned SAS, there is Cisco and of course Google's Quantum AI division, which also centralizes its research and development on superconducting qubit technology. Through Azure Quantum, Microsoft makes sure it has skin in the game, then there is AWS, with the cloud hyperscaler giant providing quantum computing services through Amazon Braket, a technology base intended to enable software engineering teams to play and experiment with different quantum hardware platforms including technology from D-Wave, IonQ and Rigetti.
The list of quantum luminaries (or luminaries in waiting) also includes Quantinuum, PsiQuantum, the above-noted D-Wave. With a reputation for advancing quantum annealing technology, D-Wave has progressed this method of optimization in the quantum field, which involves processes such as 'tunneling' to find the lowest energy state for any quantum computation. Finally, let's mention Xanadu, an organization that has become known for its open source approach to photonic quantum computing methods (something NTT also works closely and extensively with), which makes use of light particles (photons) rather than electrical electrons for computation.
Aiming to become what it calls the 'Microsoft of quantum' (which in our epicurean analogy might be the McDonald's of quantum) is Israeli start-up Classiq Technologies. Now with funding and four years of development under its belt, founding CEO Nir Minerbi, CTO Yehuda Naveh and his son CPO Amir Naveh, think they have a recipe for success.
Classiq Technologies has designed and created a software operating platform (as opposed to an operating system) intended to be used with what the firm says is 'all major types' of quantum hardware. The technology is custom-aligned to enable software engineers who primarily define themselves as data science specialists and computational scientists to develop quantum algorithms and create software applications and data services that with high-performance computational power.
The company's Minerbi is quoted on the Times Of Israel saying, 'We are building the Microsoft of quantum computing. [This is] a software layer that powers the next generation of quantum applications, just as Microsoft did for classical computing. Microsoft's Windows made computers easier to use and allowed millions of people to build software without worrying about the machine underneath. Quantum computing is at a similar point today as personal computing was back then: It's powerful but hard to use… and we are delivering the essential software stack to empower the development of real-world quantum applications.'
Back at SAS - a company that has laid down an arguably established estate of hybrid quantum offerings for some years now - the company somewhat hopefully suggests that as many as three out of five businesses are exploring quantum AI. The company's latest market study of quantum and related technologies makes direct inroads towards the possibility of quantum AI.
SAS defines quantum AI by reminding us that 'The early 2000s saw the establishment of the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab by NASA, Google and the Universities Space Research Association. This initiative aimed to pioneer research on how quantum computing could enhance machine learning and other complex computational tasks. Around the same time, researchers began developing quantum machine learning algorithms, which leverage quantum computing to improve the speed and accuracy of AI models. In recent years, the focus has shifted toward the practical application of quantum AI.'
SAS is sure that it has a handle on why firms struggle with quantum adoption and says that its research finds top concerns that include high cost, a lack of quantum skill sets and uncertainty around practical, real-world uses. The company thinks that while interest in quantum AI is on the rise, organizations need a clear roadmap and guide to make better use of this technology. Through pilot projects with customers, quantum AI research and work with leaders in quantum computing, SAS says it can provide guidance to businesses on applying quantum technologies as it seeks to make quantum understandable and approachable to a broad audience. It wants to help organizations get value out of emerging quantum services faster without having to understand the complex quantum market or the physics behind the technology.
'For decades, SAS has helped organizations across a host of industries find better answers faster and improve business decisions through data and AI. With the emergence of quantum technologies, companies can analyze more data than ever and achieve amazingly fast answers to very complex questions involving myriad variables,' said Bill Wisotsky, principal quantum architect at SAS.
Wisotsky and team also detail the fact that a major consumer goods company is working with SAS on a proof of concept related to hybrid quantum-classical optimization, using quantum annealing and SAS classical optimization solvers. The company is now working with D-Wave Quantum Inc, IBM and QuEra Computing Inc. The latter is a specialist in neutral-atom quantum computing and SAS is a member of the QuEra Quantum Alliance Partner Program.
'SAS is already tackling real-world problems by applying hybrid architectures, which include both quantum and traditional (aka. classical) computing. Quantum AI brings together quantum computing and AI to develop new algorithms, models and systems that can process complex data, train complicated machine learning models and solve problems considered challenging or impossible with traditional computers,' detailed the company, in a press statement.
Cisco has also been working hard to get the quantum dinner table set. The company's Quantum network entanglement chip is a research prototype that enables quantum networks to scale and connect quantum processors for practical applications.
According to Vijoy Pandey, senior VP for Outshift by Cisco, just as Cisco helped build infrastructure for the internet, the organization is now focused on creating quantum networking technology that will be the foundation for the quantum internet, thereby (he claims) making quantum computing practical, 'years ahead of current timelines' with new milestone developments. The company recently opened Cisco Quantum Labs, a dedicated research lab in Santa Monica, CA, where quantum scientists and engineers are building tomorrow's quantum networking technologies.
"Here's the challenge: today's quantum processors have only hundreds of qubits, while applications require millions. Even the most ambitious quantum computing roadmaps currently only target a few thousand qubits by 2030,' explained Pandey. 'Decades ago, classical computing faced similar challenges until we began to connect smaller nodes together through networking infrastructure to create powerful distributed systems within data centers and cloud computing. Just as the use of large classical monolithic computer systems phased out, the future of quantum does not lie in a single monolithic quantum computer. Scaled-out quantum data centers, where processors work together through specialized networking, will be the practical and achievable path forward. Companies building quantum processors will benefit from Cisco's quantum networking technologies to scale their systems. By building this infrastructure now, Cisco is helping to accelerate the entire quantum ecosystem.'
Cisco's prototype quantum network entanglement chip generates pairs of entangled photons that enable instantaneous connection regardless of distance through quantum teleportation. That's a technology that Einstein described as 'spooky action at a distance' and is now becoming a reality.
The company says its developments in this space work with existing infrastructures and operate at standard telecom wavelengths, so they can use existing fiber optic infrastructure. Crucially, here, this technology works effectively at room temperature as a miniaturized Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC), a significant development given the massive heat generated by quantum and the major cooling systems that are usually needed.
'Beyond the entanglement chip, we're using the lab to advance research prototypes of other critical components to complete our vision of the quantum networking stack, including entanglement distribution protocols, a distributed quantum computing compiler, Quantum Network Development Kit and a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) using quantum vacuum noise. More components of our quantum datacenter infrastructure roadmap will be announced soon as we complete our vision of the quantum networking stack,' blogged Pandey.
So is it quantum dinnertime, is the table laid and are all the pots and pans ready to go into process in the right sequence? We might optimistically say yes, to a degree, but you might want to get your orders in early and wait for a few kitchen mishaps along the way. When the final dishes do arrive, they will be supersized, superfast and hopefully super tasty.
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