Quantum Computing Continued

 

Diving Deeper into Quantum Computing

Previously, I touched on my perspective on quantum computer processing. Let's take a step back and define what "quantum" actually means. A "quantum" is the smallest discrete unit of any physical property. For example, the smallest unit of light is a photon, the smallest unit of electricity is an electron, and so on.  

How does this relate to computing? The core unit of a standard computer processor is a bit, while the core unit in a quantum processor is a qubit (quantum bit).  

·       With eight standard bits, you can only represent one of 256 different values (2^8) at any given point.  

·       With eight qubits, you can represent all 256 values simultaneously.

This simultaneous property is referred to as superposition. The clearest analogy I've found is imagining a coin spinning in the air. This coin can be heads, tails, or both at any given time.

Now, you might be thinking, "That's interesting, but at some point, I need to extract a 0 or 1 from this qubit to process it in an algorithm." The process that stops the coin from spinning (momentarily) and allows us to determine if it's 0 or 1 is called measurement (or collapsing). Measuring the qubit forces the coin to "choose" a state (0 or 1).  

The Speed of Quantum Computing: Quantum Gates

So, what drives the potential speed of quantum computing? Quantum Gates.

While gates also exist in classical computer hardware, quantum gates can take advantage of the "superposition" of the quantum bit. These gates can:  

·       Manipulate and read (measure) qubits at unprecedented speeds.  

·       "Chain" qubits together with entanglement, allowing for even more advanced parallel processing.  

·       Introduce interference to qubits, allowing for constructive or destructive probability manipulation (like adjusting volume).  

Current Quantum Processor Offerings

Several major tech companies are actively developing quantum hardware:  

·       Google: Willow (105 qubits)  

·       Microsoft: Azure Quantum (56 qubits)  

·       Amazon: Garnet (20 qubits)

Quantum Computing Workflow

The general workflow for using a quantum computer involves:

·       Developing a quantum algorithm on a classical computer using tools like Qiskit, Cirq, or the QDK.  

·       Deploying the algorithm to a quantum computer.

·       Generating calculations by the quantum processor (using circuits, gates, and qubits).  

·       Returning the results to a classical computer for interpretation.

Quantum Computing and AI/ML

How does quantum processing fit into the world of AI/ML? Let's consider an analogy:

·       GPUs (Graphical Processing Units): Ideal for building many identical items (like one million identical toy trucks).

·       CPUs (Central Processing Units): Best for designing several new items (like designing several new toy trucks).

·       QPUs (Quantum Processing Units): Suitable for designing entirely new and complex things, potentially at the molecular level (like designing a new cancer-fighting gene shaped like a toy truck).

Currently, there are still several limitations in quantum processing for AI/ML:

·       Scalability: Building large-scale, stable quantum computers is a major challenge.  

·       Error Rates: Qubits are prone to errors, which need to be corrected.  

·       Resource Requirements: Quantum computers require specialized infrastructure and resources.  

·       Stability (Decoherence): Maintaining the fragile quantum states of qubits is difficult.  

Hybrid models (classical + quantum) are being developed, but integration remains a significant challenge.  

 Quantum Computing: The Real Goliath

I would like to preface this post with the statement that I am, in no way, an expert on quantum physics (no, really), or for that matter, an expert mathematician. However, I do have over thirty years of experience (yes, much of which was as a jack-of-all-trades) in the IT arena. From PICK database/app development (the original MongoDB), to developing full stack apps over 56k connections, to Y2K (mitigating millennium bugs, some of you remember), Local Government, Housing verticals, HCM, Database administration and much more.

I faintly remember a debate in the mid 90's everyone would have their own TV Station on youtube.

This discussion is about Quantum computing. AI, in general, has taken the business world by storm, but what if you had a tool that could mine all the remaining cryptocurrencies in a day (not just Bitcoin, but ALL)? Furthermore, that same tool could move any existing purchases to another account. Then decrypt the government’s cloud systems and send top-secret information to foreign adversaries. Then build a custom genetic organism to defeat cancer. Far-fetched? No.

The current estimate is in 4-5 years, they will have mastered the Quantum chip (btw, all the top players have one in development – Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, and Google). This speed is possible due to the fact that the normal computer processor works on binary bits (0 or 1), whereas the Quantum processor works on QuBits (can be any value between 0 and 1, and actually a percentage of both at the same time). This makes processing time exponentially faster.

So, all the security algorithms you have been told are impossible to crack (SHA-256 is still the most commonly used) would take milliseconds to crack. Even the government’s 2048/3072-bit encryption would be child’s play.

I was early onboard with ChatGPT, and I specifically remember prompting it with the possibility of AI performing mining tasks. And the answer was that it was not possible. Well, introducing Quantum Computing. I’m sure all of this sounds like it’s right out of Mission Impossible (yes, they got me too. Didn’t know it was a 2-parter).

Businesses today have a primary focus on becoming ‘Agentic’, with the vision of the agent performing repetitive job-related tasks in conjunction with other job-related agents (for example, the purchasing agent working with the accounts payable agent), and having necessary human approval at certain stages. And although QC will greatly assist in these workloads, i believe our greatest risk is Post-Quantum cryptography, which i will cover later.

I’m not ringing the alarm (maybe I actually am), but I believe that Quantum computing is the final frontier. The country that is standing on top of the Quantum mountain in 5 years will be the world's ‘Atlas’, from Greek mythology. The weight will be great, but the responsibility even greater. Let's all hope it falls into the right hands.

incorporation

consulting for a year now. ups and downs, but overall very educational. need to expand my customer base to include airlines and more health care institutions.

the life

the life; travel, lodging, restaraunts - not.....

one big headache after another. looks like an excellent business opp for some enterprising person out there. i handle the technicals/contracts etc., you handle the rest. book my flights, hotels, car rentals and so on. am i missing something or is there some company out there doing this. or, should i just accept this as part of having your own business?

Multiple Monitors - One Remote

finally figured out a solution to having multiple samsung televisions set up as monitors at my workstation. couldn't get the remote control to work on an individual monitor independently. example: one monitor off and one on, power button toggles both. solution: download the PEEL smart remote app from the play store. somehow this has a more direct beam than the remote control, so pointing it directly at the device you want to control will only operate that device and not the others.

Model-View-Controller:

WCF

finally buckling down and committing comm foundation protocols to rote. not sure how long this 'distributed computing' thing will last.