Just like we had the space race in the 1960s. We’re having a quantum race in the 2020s. Google seems to be upping the game now with the Google Quantum computer qubits rising to 53. However, let’s take a deeper look at what this really means for businesses and for the future of humanity.
The traditional computers work on the logic of zeros and ones. This is called binary logic. Everything that we see around us works on this simple basic principle. Computers are able to do add addition, subtraction, and even advanced calculus based upon this. However, there is a limitation to what we can achieve using traditional computers.
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A major limitation of computers based on binary logic
One of the problems with traditional computers is scalability. Although our computers are good at storing data and analyzing smaller chunks of data. It becomes extremely difficult when we have to run complex process threads. Take a simple example. We have been studying diseases like cancer for decades. However, it still takes many years to develop a slightly better treatment than what we had a decade back. One of the reasons is that it is very difficult to model the hundreds of variables that can affect the effectiveness of a set of treatments. For example, for a particular patient, the best mode of treatment could be surgery with chemotherapy.
Secondly, it is also extremely difficult to simulate a scenario where small changes lead to thousands of possibilities. Current weather forecasts are accurate only up to the next few days. The error increases exponentially as we project further in the future. Both of these scenarios can be modeled using binary computers as well. No problem with that. The problem is, however, with the amount of processing power required to run these programs. We would need supercomputers that were the size of large cities to do these complex calculations. On the other hand, a quantum computer that (currently looks like the size of a fridge) can do the same.
A very basic explanation of Quantum computing
We call the unit of data in the binary world is known as bits. A bit can take the value of 0 or 1. Think of it like a light bulb, which can be in either an ON state or an OFF state. The electrical world has a state of ON or OFF which corresponds to 1 and 0.
On the other hand, quantum computers work on quantum bits or QUBITs. It is not like a light bulb but more like a coin being flipped. It can turn out as head or tail or 1 or 0. Also, while it is spinning, a coin can have any state in between head and tail as well. Similarly, an electron spins up or down based on how it is activated. Also, in the quantum world, things are not certain, so we can only say that probably the electron is spinning up. We simply measure the probability of being in state 1 or 0. In factor, other subatomic particles like the nucleus and even photons can be used as qubits.
However, the benefit of this ambiguity comes when we put together more qubits together. As the number of qubits increases to two, we can have 4 different configurations. Similarly, as the number of qubits increases to 3, it will have 8 different configurations compared to only 3 for the binary bit. Therefore, an increase in qubits provides an exponential increase in computing power.
How many Google Quantum Computer Qubits?
Google has named its quantum computer Sycamore. It has been designed with 54 qubits. However, one of the qubits failed during the demonstration, therefore usable bits were 53. This computer has the second-highest number of qubits in the world. IBM’s quantum computer has 65 qubits. Now the question arises: what do we do with these qubits? At least as of now, what are the applications?
Currently, the Google Quantum computer has 54 qubits.
One of the applications can be random numbers. Although it is not a pressing problem, however, currently we don’t have true random number generators. If your organization has Google Workspace then soon you may be able to integrate that with the quantum cubits to build models. The current computers use pseudo-random number generators. What this means is, the random numbers generated in excel, python, or any other program, are deterministic. Given a proper set of conditions, they can recreate. Although theoretically, it means a lot, practically it still means nothing. Your basic random number function is good enough.
However, random numbers are used in all sorts of things. Moreover, it is difficult to create larger random numbers. It is here that Google’s quantum computer excels. Google was able to calculate a random number that was 53 bits long. In other words, it can produce a random 253-bit string. This is a truly random number. Also, it is a very large one.
Most importantly, Google claims that it has achieved ‘quantum supremacy’ with Sycamore. In plain English, it means that their computer can already beat the traditional computer at one particular task: random number generation.
Google’s Quantum computer can do a task in 200 seconds that IBM’s supercomputer can do in 10,000 years.
How will a bunch of random numbers impact businesses?
The concept of Google quantum computer qubits seems like high-tech wizardry. However, we can have instant applications of random numbers. Firstly, we can use it to create powerful passwords, authentication codes, etc. One of the early applications of quantum computers will be banks and security systems.
Secondly, we can also create a program to crack passwords much faster than traditional computers. This may be quite a serious threat to information security in the future. For instance, let us consider the world’s current password format. Your password needs to be 8 characters long, with numbers, caps lock, and special characters. Let us see, how long it would take for a computer to crack that password:
| Type of computer | Logic type | Time taken |
| Decent CPU | Binary | 1.44 years |
| Decent GPU | Binary | 5 days |
| Supercomputer | Binary | 7.6 minutes |
| 53 Cubit Quantum computer | Qubits | Few seconds |
Currently, the 2048bit RSA encryption is considered to be the gold standard. However, with rising qubits, it is possible that it could be broken by computers in say 20 years in the future. This has huge implications for sensitive data being shared over the internet.
IBM’s vision of quantum computer qubits
IBM is the biggest rival in this qubit race. They have projected that they shall make a 1000 qubit computer by 2023. A higher qubit count will be immensely helpful in extracting more output from such computers. We will start to see real-world applications once we have 100s of qubits. It can be used in developing vaccines for diseases such as Covid19 or AIDS. When it is combined with machine learning, we can model complex equations as well.