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4IR Simplified
John Tseriwa
TECHNOLOGY is advancing at lightning speed.
For instance, some smartphones today are more powerful than the mainframe computers used to send people to the moon.
However, despite all the technological breakthroughs, there remain problems that standard computers need help solving.
Researchers believe quantum computers are the answer.
Quantum computers will not be used for routine tasks like checking emails and uploading photos.
One is tempted to think of a desktop or laptop, but the quantum computer fundamentally differs in appearance and how it processes information.
Before understanding quantum computing, there is need to appreciate how computers work.
Well, it is all about bits, a stream of electrical or optical pulses representing 1s or 0s, like on and off switches.
The classic computer, which helps us do amazing and cool stuff, uses a sequence of bits.
Computers do not understand words or numbers the way humans do.
To make sense of complex data, the classic computer must encode it in binary format.
Those 1s and 0s can represent any symbol, letter, number or data segment.
Everything — from your tweets and e-mails to Netflix movies and YouTube videos — is essentially a long string of these binary digits.
However, quantum computers are not intended to replace classical computers.
They are expected to be different tools we will use to solve complex problems beyond a classical computer’s capabilities.
Quantum computing is an area of computer science that uses principles of quantum theory.
In essence, quantum theory explains the behaviour of energy and material on the atomic and subatomic levels.
Instead of bits, which conventional computers use, a quantum computer uses quantum bits known as qubits.
The mechanics behind this is highly complex.
Qubits allow quantum computers to process information in a fraction of the time a traditional computer could.
A computer using qubits can store an enormous amount of information and uses less energy than a classical computer.
For example, 500 qubits can represent the same information as 2 500 normal bits.
A classic computer would need millions of years to find all the prime factors of a 2,048-bit number (a number with 617 digits); a quantum computer can do the job in minutes.
Quantum and classical computers try to solve problems, but how they manipulate data to get answers is fundamentally different.
Two principles of quantum mechanics crucial for quantum computing operation are superposition and entanglement.
To think of it in simple terms, superposition is really a “super position” because qubits can represent numerous possible combinations of 1 and 0 at the same time.
Bits must always be in the 0 or 1 state, while qubits can be in superpositions with varying probabilities that quantum operations can manipulate during computations.
Entanglement is about linking qubits, no matter how far apart they are, as long as they are “coherent”.
Others would go on to be poetic and say entanglement is one severe long-distance relationship.
Two systems are so strongly correlated that gaining information about one system will give immediate information about the other, no matter how far apart these systems are.
Quantum computing has the prospect of revolutionising computing in many ways by enabling faster and more efficient calculations for a wide range of applications.
Quantum computers can crack encryption algorithms to secure sensitive information like bank transactions and classified communications.
Undoubtedly, quantum computing technology will impact many industries, from cybersecurity to medicine to finance.
One of the most significant impacts of quantum computing will be in cybersecurity.
The increased deployment of quantum computing will raise many technical questions about how data is prepared and transferred to quantum computers, how algorithms are implemented in quantum computers and how quantum computing results are returned and verified.
The overarching question will be: How can all this be done securely?
Although quantum computing promises to transform cybersecurity, substantial challenges remain and fundamental breakthroughs are still required.
The expectation is that since quantum computing is much faster and more powerful, it shall solve various extremely complex, worthwhile tasks.
John Tseriwa is a tech entrepreneur and digital transformation advocate focusing on delivering business solutions powered by 4IR technologies. He can be contacted at: [email protected] or +263773289802.
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