Quantum computing is the key to solving our biggest problems | Jingbo Wang | TEDxKingsParkSalon
Jingbo Wang explains how quantum computers use qubits and quantum phenomena like superposition and interference to process exponentially more information than classical computers. She argues that quantum computing will revolutionize fields from drug design to climate change, but warns that society is not yet prepared for its impact. She calls for expanding quantum software research and applications.
Summary
Jingbo Wang opens by asserting that quantum computers are not science fiction but a present reality, even bringing a physical quantum computer to the stage. She notes that while a full-scale quantum computer would be far more complex, the global quantum research community is making rapid progress.
She explains the fundamental difference between classical and quantum computers: classical computers use binary bits (0s and 1s) processed one at a time, while quantum computers use qubits that can represent many 0s and 1s simultaneously through a phenomenon called superposition. She illustrates the exponential power of this using a paper-folding analogy — doubling a sheet of paper 27 times would reach Mount Everest, and 42 times would reach the moon — to show how quickly doubling scales. A quantum computer with just 30 qubits can hold and process one billion bits of information simultaneously.
Wang then applies this to the 'traveling salesman problem' — finding the shortest path among 50 clients — which would take a classical computer the age of the universe to solve due to the astronomically large number of possible paths. A quantum computer, she says, could handle this with only 215 qubits.
However, she identifies a key challenge: when a quantum computer holds all possible solutions in superposition, measuring it collapses the state to just one outcome, with the probability of getting the correct answer being essentially zero. She introduces quantum interference as the solution — by carefully designing quantum software, engineers can amplify the probability of the correct answer while canceling out wrong ones, making it highly likely that measurement yields the right result.
She then shows the physical quantum computer she brought, which uses two nuclei of a molecule as two qubits, capable of processing four things simultaneously. She references IBM's 2023 quantum processor with 1,121 qubits, representing a number larger than all atoms in the observable universe multiplied by 1,000.
Wang concludes with two pressing questions: Are we prepared for quantum computing's impact? No — there are very few people who understand quantum algorithms, and she leads a multidisciplinary quantum software research group at the University of Western Australia to address this. Can we afford to overlook it? Also no — industries, nations, and the world at large will need quantum computing to remain competitive and tackle challenges like climate change, energy crises, global health, and data privacy. She frames quantum computing as the defining scientific challenge of the 21st century.
Key Insights
- Wang argues that quantum computers can break current internet security in seconds, a task that would take the most powerful supercomputers today thousands of years — framing this as both a threat and a demonstration of quantum power.
- Wang explains that every additional qubit doubles the information a quantum computer can hold and process simultaneously, making even modest qubit counts astronomically powerful — 30 qubits can hold and process one billion bits at once.
- Wang identifies the core challenge of quantum computing: while the computer holds all possible answers in superposition, measuring it collapses to one random state, giving virtually a zero probability of retrieving the correct answer without further engineering.
- Wang claims that quantum interference — carefully engineered through quantum software design — can amplify the probability of the correct solution while canceling out wrong ones, making it highly likely that measurement yields the right answer.
- Wang asserts that society is not prepared for quantum computing's impact, citing a severe shortage of people who understand quantum algorithms, and argues that nations and industries cannot afford to overlook it given its role in addressing climate change, energy crises, and global health.
Topics
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