Quantum computing: Progress amidst hype

The past couple of weeks have seen substantial hype around quantum computing and wormholes reminiscent of the Hollywood movie Interstellar. The buzz originated from a research finding by a team of particle physicists in the United States claiming a kind of teleportation of quantum states within a quantum computer. The claim was deemed to be significant in the light of a 1935 paper by Albert Einstein and his associate Nathan Rosen that spoke of a hypothetical tunnel-like structure called the Einstein-Rosen Bridge or a wormhole, which could potentially connect to distinct points in space-time. While several questions have been raised over the hype surrounding these findings and if indeed we are any closer to unravelling the underlying physics, the development put advancements in quantum computing into focus.

A recent presentation by IBM, one of the leading researchers in quantum computing, gave a glimpse of the current state of this emerging technology area as the race progresses to add more capacity or qubits while engineers figure out how to stabilise these systems for error correction and other practical issues to bring them closer to commercial use. While most of the action in quantum computing is limited to laboratories and research problems, the barriers seem to be consistently lowered with programming interfaces like the IBM Qiskit available over the cloud to interact with these emerging systems and to explore potential applications.

A reflection of this lowering of barriers are the baby steps being taken in India to catch up on the quantum computing race as revealed by the principal scientific adviser (PSA), Prof. Ajay Sood, during an interaction at a recent conference on geopolitics of technology. The soon to be launched national quantum mission, according to the PSA, is an effort in the direction of coordinating fragmented research efforts currently underway in India across verticals spanning quantum computing, quantum communications and related sensing technologies and materials science. With quantum key distribution ahead of the curve, India will perhaps see advances in quantum communication before significant outcomes are realised in the other areas. The PSA’s interaction was remarkable for its candour offering a much-needed reality check on the gaps within the current state of technology and on the need for sustained funding that is needed to keep research and development going. While counselling patience on the time frame to realise the full potential of this emerging technology in areas ranging from use of quantum sensors for MRI to non-invasive subterranean exploration, the PSA’s remarks were noteworthy that the proposed national quantum mission would take a cluster approach to development integrating the 20-odd start-ups in this space and incubating many more along the way.

The key, however, would be on developing and harnessing the necessary skills for the mission to take off and for India to catch up with other advanced nations. Unlike traditional technology skills, Prof Sood rightly pointed out the complexity with developing quantum technology skills given the counterintuitive way in which quantum logic works. A good example of this complexity is a recent study published by a team in IIT Madras in collaboration with a team from Poland to adapt and propose a quantum logic-based solution similar to the centuries-old unsolvable problem of 36 officers originally articulated by Euler. To develop the ability to think in terms of quantum concepts of superposition and entanglement and to be able to apply the same towards problem solving will require starting early with students and bridging the gap in their minds between physics and computing while demystifying the underlying abstract mathematics.

A recent study by McKinsey reports on the skill gap for quantum computing, with one in five jobs unfilled, and a likely 50 per cent gap in the required global talent pool by 2025, while calling for an approach similar to artificial intelligence to bridge the skill gap. The proposed national quantum mission’s approach to set up four hubs to further develop capabilities across communication, computing, sensing and materials is a good start but a parallel effort should be underway to popularise quantum thinking at the school level by drawing lessons from the YUVAi (Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI) initiative of MeITY which has drawn students from across India to participate in AI-based problem solving.

The hype surrounding the recent announcement on wormholes and quantum computing notwithstanding, the claims of having achieved teleportation of quantum information have captured popular imagination, raising awareness of quantum computing to a wider milieu beyond academia and the research community. It has also evoked curiosity about the underlying connection between unresolved questions of physics and the world of information, logic and computing. The time is ripe to spark the imagination of young minds on advancing the frontiers of this emerging technology while kick-starting India’s national mission.

The writer is former CEO of Prasar Bharati