Quantum computing has the potential to alter life as we know it. If, that is, we can figure out how to make the technology work on a massive scale.
This emerging technology is full of promise. At least in theory, it’s powerful enough to help us cure our most insidious diseases, usher in an era of artificial general intelligence (AGI), and enable us to explore neighboring galaxies.
Way, Way Faster
Quantum computing offers a way to solve these kinds of highly complex problems by simultaneously investigating many possible solutions at once.
To understand why this is so important, imagine a robot that’s attempting to find its way through an enormous maze. First, the robot acts as a human might, investigating each possible route, one at a time. Because the maze is so big and has so many possible pathways, this method could take the robot days, weeks or even years to complete.
Now imagine that instead, the robot can instantaneously clone itself, sending each new instance to investigate a potential route. This method would produce results many orders of magnitude faster than the one-at-a-time method.
And that is the promise offered by quantum computing.
Quantum Mechanics
To do all this heavy lifting, quantum computers behave in ways that may seem mysterious.
As you probably know, today’s standard computers operate using bits—binary switches that at any given moment have a value of either 0 or 1. But quantum computers run differently. They employ qubits (short for quantum bits), each of which can represent 0, 1—or both at the same time.
The ability of a particle-based object to be in two states at once? Yes. It’s a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics known as superimposition.
Leveraging this ability at the bit level enables quantum computers to significantly reduce the time they need to solve problems. Particularly valuable examples of this include defeating encryption, decoding human physiology, even theorizing the mechanics of light-speed travel.
In other words, Star Trek stuff, pure and simple.
Not So Fast?
So why can’t you buy a quantum computer from your local BestBuy? Turns out that many factors have kept the promise of quantum computing just out of reach.
One of the most prevalent is errors at the qubit level. Qubits have a nasty habit of exchanging information with their environment.
By analogy, imagine spinning a basketball on your fingertip, Harlem Globetrotter style. The fast-spinning ball exists in a delicate state. Even tiny disturbances—such as air currents or ambient vibrations—could make the ball wobble and eventually fall.
A similar situation exists for quantum computers. Small environmental inconsistencies can impact qubits on an exponential scale. In fact, the more qubits you use, the more errors you get. Cross a certain threshold, and eventually the number of errors renders a quantum computer no more powerful than today’s standard computers.
Engineers are making progress in their efforts to solve this problem. For example, a French startup with the unlikely name of Alice & Bob was recently funded to the tune of €100 million to develop a new approach to quantum error correction.
Similarly, Google recently announced Willow, a new quantum computing chip the company says can reduce errors exponentially as it scales up. If a recent blog post by Hartmut Neven, lead of Google Quantum AI, is right, then it would seem Google has solved a 30-year-old challenge in quantum error correction.
The Key: R&D
AMD is also attempting to knock down some common quantum computing roadblocks.
The company filed a patent in 2021 titled “Look Ahead Teleportation for Reliable Computation in Multi-SIMD Quantum Processor.” AMD says this breakthrough improves quantum computing system reliability and reduces the number of required qubits. These efforts could revolutionize quantum computing scalability and error correction.
AMD has also created the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC, the industry’s only single-chip adaptable radio platform. The Zynq creates high-accuracy, high-speed pulse sequences to control qubits.
Companies like AMD partner Riverlane are using this cutting-edge technology to better control qubits and reduce errors.
When Will We Be There?
Not even a quantum computer can predict the future. But some experts say we could still be 10 to 20 years away from deploying quantum computing on a scale comparable to the ubiquity of the computers we use today.
In the near term, the most powerful tech companies—including AMD and Supermicro—will be working to harness the massive power of qubits.
To achieve their loftiest goals, however, they’ll need to revolutionize scalability and error correction. Only then can we deploy not just hundreds of qubits, but millions.
Once that code is cracked, there’s no telling where we’ll go from there.