This is one of the most major technological challenges of the next few years: the race for the quantum computer, a computer with phenomenal power, as fascinating as it is frightening.
The technological challenge taken up a few days ago by Google was to complete, in a few seconds, a calculation that would have taken 47 years with a traditional supercomputer, in other words, on one of the most powerful computers today: “old-fashioned” computers. The challenge, with quantum, is therefore to acquire a considerable advantage in terms of computing power.
Going from a classic computer to a quantum computer is a bit like going from coal to nuclear, or from the pixelated display of the minitel in gray levels, to very high definition in billions of colors, but here it is: the quantum computer only exists in very rare copies in the world. Its power is coveted by the States. Several have invested massively: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, China with a first prototype at the end of 2020.
The equivalent of three refrigerators
Some start-ups, too, have a prototype, as well as several Tech giants, notably IBM and especially Google, which has been working on it for almost 10 years, and which has therefore just achieved an impressive new result with Sycamore, its quantum computer, developed in Santa Barbara, California.
A computer that does not at all look like a laptop that you would slip into a backpack to take to the office. And for good reason, Sycamore is the equivalent of three refrigerators in terms of space: about 2 m2. As seen in photos taken in Google’s quantum lab, hosted by NASA on the edge of the Pacific, it’s a vertical ball with its 10,000 components, including a giant quantum processor, the size of a small table, and hundreds of intertwined computer cables, spread over several floors and hanging down, giving this column the shape of an upside-down wig.
Inventing a new computer security
Who says enormous power also says enormous responsibility. Reducing a calculation that would have taken half a century to a few seconds is a fascinating prospect with multiple implications: predicting the weather much earlier, anticipating natural disasters with enough advance – perhaps – to shelter populations, etc. But it is also a considerable threat to current encryption systems. The most complex passwords could be cracked, updated in a few moments, while they are considered today as secure, and almost inviolable with traditional computing powers.
In parallel with work on the quantum computer, researchers are therefore advancing on quantum encryption, to invent a new level of security that will perhaps resist this exponential power.