Category Archives: Quantum Computing
Quantum computing is right around the corner, but cooling is a problem. What are the options? – Diginomica
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Why would you be thinking about quantum computing? Yes, it may be two years or more before quantum computing will be widely available, but there are already quite a few organizations that are pressing ahead. I'll get into those use cases, but first - Lets start with the basics:
Classical computers require built-in fans and other ways to dissipate heat, and quantum computers are no different. Instead of working with bits of information that can be either 0 or 1, as in a classical machine, a quantum computer relies on "qubits," which can be in both states simultaneously called a superposition thanks to the quirks of quantum mechanics. Those qubits must be shielded from all external noise, since the slightest interference will destroy the superposition, resulting in calculation errors. Well-isolated qubits heat up quickly, so keeping them cool is a challenge.
The current operating temperature of quantum computers is 0.015 Kelvin or -273C or -460F. That is the only way to slow down the movement of atoms, so a "qubit" can hold a value.
There have been some creative solutions proposed for this problem, such as the nanofridge," which builds a circuit with an energy gap dividing two channels: a superconducting fast lane, where electrons can zip along with zero resistance, and a slow resistive (non-superconducting) lane. Only electrons with sufficient energy to jump across that gap can get to the superconductor highway; the rest are stuck in the slow lane. This has a cooling effect.
Just one problem though: The inventor, MikkoMttnen, is confident enough in the eventual success that he has applied for a patent for the device. However, "Maybe in 10 to 15 years, this might be commercially useful, he said. Its going to take some time, but Im pretty sure well get there."
Ten to fifteen years? It may be two years or more before quantum computing will be widely available, but there are already quite a few organizations that are pressing ahead in the following sectors:
An excellent, detailed report on the quantum computing ecosystem is: The Next Decade in Quantum Computingand How to Play.
But the cooling problem must get sorted. It may be diamonds that finally solve some of the commercial and operational/cost issues in quantum computing: synthetic, also known as lab-grown diamonds.
The first synthetic diamond was grown by GE in 1954. It was an ugly little brown thing. By the '70s, GE and others were growing up to 1-carat off-color diamonds for industrial use. By the '90s, a company called Gemesis (renamed Pure Grown Diamonds) successfully created one-carat flawless diamonds graded ILA, meaning perfect. Today designer diamonds come in all sizes and colors: adding Boron to make them pink or nitrogen to make them yellow.
Diamonds have unique properties. They have high thermal conductivity (meaning they don't melt like silicon). The thermal conductivity of a pure diamond is the highest of any known solid. They are also an excellent electrical insulator. In its center, it has an impurity called an N-V center, where a carbon atom is replaced by a nitrogen atom leaving a gap where an unpaired electron circles the nitrogen gap and can be excited or polarized by a laser. When excited, the electron gives off a single photon leaving it in a reduced energy state. Somehow, and I admit I dont completely understand this, the particle is placed into a quantum superposition. In quantum-speak, that means it can be two things, two values, two places at once, where it has both spin up and spin down. That is the essence of quantum computing, the creation of a "qubit," something that can be both 0 and 1 at the same time.
If that isnt weird enough, there is the issue of entanglement. A microwave pulse can be directed at a pair of qubits, placing them both in the same state. But you can "entangle" them so that they are always in the same state. In other words, if you change the state of one of them, the other also changes, even if great distances separate them, a phenomenon Einstein dubbed, spooky action at a distance. Entangled photons don't need bulky equipment to keep them in their quantum state, and they can transmit quantum information across long distances.
At least in the theory of the predictive nature of entanglement, adding qubits explodes a quantum computer's computing power. In telecommunications, for example, entangled photons that span the traditional telecommunications spectrum have enormous potential for multi-channel quantum communication.
News Flash: Physicists have just demonstrated a 3-particle entanglement. This increases the capacity of quantum computing geometrically.
The cooling of qubits is the stumbling block. Diamonds seem to offer a solution, one that could quantum computing into the mainstream. The impurities in synthetic diamonds can be manipulated, and the state of od qubit can held at room temperature, unlike other potential quantum computing systems, and NV-center qubits (described above) are long-lived. There are still many issues to unravel to make quantum computers feasible, but today, unless you have a refrigerator at home that can operate at near absolute-zero, hang on to that laptop.
But doesnt diamonds in computers sound expensive, flagrant, excessive? It begs the question, What is anything worth? Synthetic diamonds for jewelry are not as expensive as mined gems, but the price one pays at retail s burdened by the effect of monopoly, and so many intermediaries, distributors, jewelry companies, and retailers.
A recent book explored the value of fine things and explains the perceived value which only has a psychological basis.In the 1930s, De Beers, which had a monopoly on the world diamond market and too many for the weak demand, engaged the N. W. Ayers advertising agency realizing that diamonds were only sold to the very rich, while everyone else was buying cars and appliances. They created a market for diamond engagement rings and introduced the idea that a man should spend at least three months salary on a diamond for his betrothed.
And in classic selling of an idea, not a brand, they used their earworm taglines like diamonds are forever. These four iconic words have appeared in every single De Beers advertisement since 1948, and AdAge named it the #1 slogan of the century in 1999. Incidentally, diamonds arent forever. That diamond on your finger is slowly evaporating.
The worldwide outrage over the Blood Diamond scandal is increasing supply and demand for fine jewelry applications of synthetic diamonds. If quantum computers take off, and a diamond-based architecture becomes a standard, it will spawn a synthetic diamond production boom, increasing supply and drastically lowering the cost, making it feasible.
Many thanks to my daughter, Aja Raden, an author, jeweler, and behavioral economist for her insights about the diamond trade.
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Quantum computing is right around the corner, but cooling is a problem. What are the options? - Diginomica
Early investment in quantum computing could result in a competitive advantage – Help Net Security
Improved AI capabilities, accelerated business intelligence, and increased productivity and efficiency were the top expectations of organizations currently investing in cloud-based quantum computing technologies, according to IDC.
Initial survey findings indicate that while cloud-based quantum computing is a young market, and allocated funds for quantum computing initiatives are limited (0-2% of IT budgets), end-users are optimistic that early investment will result in a competitive advantage.
The manufacturing, financial services, and security industries are currently leading the way by experimenting with more potential use cases, developing advanced prototypes, and being further along in their implementation status.
Complex technology, skillset limitations, lack of available resources, and cost deter some organizations from investing in quantum computing technology. These factors, combined with a large interdisciplinary interest, has forced quantum computing vendors to develop quantum computing technology that addresses multiple end-user needs and skill levels.
The result has led to increased availability of cloud-based quantum computing technology that is more easily accessible and user friendly for new end users. Currently, the preferred types of quantum computing technologies employed across industries include quantum algorithms, cloud-based quantum computing, quantum networks, and hybrid quantum computing.
Quantum computing is the future industry and infrastructure disruptor for organizations looking to use large amounts of data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to accelerate real-time business intelligence and innovate product development. Many organizations from many industries are already experimenting with its potential, said Heather West, senior research analyst, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms, and Technology at IDC.
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Early investment in quantum computing could result in a competitive advantage - Help Net Security
Quantum computing, AI, China, and synthetics highlighted in 2020 Tech Trends report – VentureBeat
The worlds tech industry will be shaped by China, artificial intelligence, cancel culture, and other key trends, according to the Future Today Institutes 2020 Tech Trends Report.
Now in its thirteenth year, the document is put together by the Future Today Institute and director Amy Webb, who is also a professor at New York Universitys Stern School of Business. The report attempts to recognize connections between tech and future uncertainties, like the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as the spread of diseases like COVID-19.
Among major trends in the report, 2020 is expected to be the synthetic decade.
Soon we will produce designer molecules in a range of host cells on demand and at scale, which will lead to transformational improvements in vaccine production, tissue production, and medical treatments. Scientists will start to build entire human chromosomes, and they will design programmable proteins, the report reads.
Augmentation of senses like hearing and sight, social media scaremongering, new ways to measure trust, and Chinas role in the growth of AI are also listed among key takeaways.
Artificial intelligence is again the first item highlighted on the list, and the tech Webb says is sparking a third wave of computing comes with positives, like the role AlphaFold can play in discovering cures for diseases, as well as negatives, like AIscurrent impact on the criminal justice system.
Tech giants in the U.S. and China like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft in the United States and Tencent and Baidu in China continue to deliver the greatest impact. Webb predicts how these companies will shape the world in her 2019 bookThe Big Nine.
Those nine companies drive the majority of research, funding, government involvement, and consumer-grade applications of AI. University researchers and labs rely on these companies for data, tools, and funding, the report reads. Big Nine AI companies also wield huge influence over AI mergers and acquisitions, funding AI startups, and supporting the next generation of developers.
Other AI trends include synthetic data, a military-tech industrial complex, and systems made to recognize people.
Visit the Future Today Institute website to read the full report, which flags trends that require immediate action and highlights trends by industry.
Webb urges readers to digest the 366-page report in multiple sittings, rather than trying to read it all at once. She typically debuts the report with a presentation to thousands at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, but the conference was cancelled due to COVID-19.
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Quantum computing, AI, China, and synthetics highlighted in 2020 Tech Trends report - VentureBeat
UC Riverside to lead scalable quantum computing project using 3D printed ion traps – 3D Printing Industry
UC Riverside (UCR) is set to lead a project focused on enabling scalable quantum computing after winning a $3.75 million Multicampus-National Lab Collaborative Research and Training Award.
The collaborative effort will see contributions from UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, with UCR acting as project coordinator.
Scalable quantum computing
Quantum computing is currently in its infancy but it is expected to stretch far beyond the capabilities of conventional computing in the coming years. Intensive tasks such as modeling complex processes, finding large prime numbers, and designing new chemical compounds for medical use are what quantum computers are expected to excel at.
Quantum information is stored on quantum computers in the form of quantum bits, or qubits. This means that quantum systems can exist in two different states simultaneously as opposed to conventional computing systems which only exist in one state at a time. Current quantum computers are limited in their qubits, however, so for quantum computing to realize its true potential, new systems are going to have to be scalable and include many more qubits.
The goal of this collaborative project is to establish a novel platform for quantum computing that is truly scalable up to many qubits, said Boerge Hemmerling, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at UC Riverside and the lead principal investigator of the three-year project. Current quantum computing technology is far away from experimentally controlling the large number of qubits required for fault-tolerant computing. This stands in large contrast to what has been achieved in conventional computer chips in classical computing.
3D printed ion trap microstructures
The research team will use advanced 3D printing technology, available at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to fabricate microstructure ion traps for the new quantum computers. Ions are used to store qubits and quantum information is transferred when these ions move in their traps. According to UCR, trapped ions have the best potential for realizing scalable quantum computing.
Alongside UCR, UC Berkeley will enable high-fidelity quantum gates with the ion traps. UCLA will integrate fiber optics with the ion traps, UC Santa Barbara will put the traps through trials in cryogenic environments and demonstrate shuttling of ion strings while the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will be used to characterize and develop new materials. The project coordinator, UCR, will develop simplified cooling schemes and research the possibility of trapping electrons with the traps.
We have a unique opportunity here to join various groups within the UC system and combine their expertise to make something bigger than a single group could achieve, Hemmerling stated. We anticipate that the microstructure 3D printed ion traps will outperform ion traps that have been used to date in terms of the storage time of the ions and ability to maintain and manipulate quantum information.
He adds, Most importantly, our envisioned structures will be scalable in that we plan to build arrays of interconnected traps, similar to the very successful conventional computer chip design. We hope to establish these novel 3D-printed traps as a standard laboratory tool for quantum computing with major improvements over currently used technology.
Hemmerlings concluding remarks explain that many quantum computing approaches, while very promising, have fallen short of providing a scalable platform that is useful for processing complex tasks. If an applicable machine is to be built, new routes must be considered, starting with UCRs scalable computing project.
Early quantum technology work involving 3D printing has paved the way for UCRs future project. When cooled to near 0K, the quantum characteristics of atomic particles start to become apparent. Just last year, additive manufacturing R&D company Added Scientific 3D printed the first vacuum chamber capable of trapping clouds of cold atoms. Elsewhere, two-photon AM system manufacturer Nanoscribe introduced a new machine, the Quantum X, with micro-optic capabilities. The company expects its system to be useful in advancing quantum technology to the industrial level.
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Featured image showsUniversity of California, Riverside campus. Photo via UCR.
Quantum Computing for Everyone – The Startup – Medium
Qubits are exponentially faster than bits in several computing problems, such as database searches and factoring (which, as we will discuss soon, may break your Internet encryption).
An important thing to realize is that qubits can hold much more information than a bit can. One bit holds the same amount of information as one qubit they can both only hold one value. However, four bits must be used to store the same amount of information as two qubits. A two-qubit system in equal superposition holds values for four states, which on a classical computer, would need at least four bits to hold. Eight bits are needed to store the same amount of information as three qubits, since a three-qubit system can store eight states 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, and 111. This pattern continues.
The below graph provides a visual for the computing power of qubits. The x-axis represents the number of qubits used to hold a certain amount of information. The blue lines y represents the number of bits needed to hold the same amount of information as the number of qubits (x-axis), or 2 to the power of x. The red lines y represents the number of qubits needed to hold the same amount of information as the number of qubits in the x-axis (y=x).
Imagine the exponential speedup quantum computing can provide! A gigabyte (8E+09 bits) worth of information can be represented with log(8E+09)/log(2) = 33 (rounded up from 32.9) qubits.
Quantum computers are also great at factoring numbers which leads us to RSA encryption. The security protocol that secures Medium and probably any other website youve been on is known as RSA encryption. It relies on the fact that with current computing resources, it would take a very, very long time to factor a 30+-digit number m that has only one solution namely, p times q, where both p and q are large prime numbers. However, dividing m by p or q is computationally much easier, and since m divided by q returns p and vice versa, it provides a quick key verification system.
A quantum algorithm called Shors algorithm has shown exponential speedup in factoring numbers, which could one day break RSA encryption. But dont buy into the hype yet as of this writing, the largest number factored by quantum computers is 21 (into 3 and 7). The hardware has not been developed yet for quantum computers to factor 30-digit numbers or even 10-digit numbers. Even if quantum computers one day do break RSA encryption, a new security protocol called BB84 that relies on quantum properties is verified safe from quantum computers.
So will quantum computers ever completely replace the classical PC? Not in the forseeable future.
Quantum computing, while developing very rapidly, is still in an infantile stage, with research only being conducted semi-competitively by large corporations like Google, Microsoft, and IBM. Much of the hardware to accelerate quantum computing is not currently available. There are several obstacles to a quantum future, of which a major one is addressing gate errors and maintaining integrity of a qubits state.
However, given the amount of innovation that has happened in the past few years, it seems inevitable during our lifetimes that quantum computing will make huge strides. In addition, complexity theory has shown that there are several cases where classical computers perform better than quantum computers. IBM quantum computer developers state that quantum computing will probably never completely eliminate classical computers. Instead, in the future we may see a hybrid chip that relies on quantum transistors for certain tasks and classical transistors for others, depending on which one is more appropriate.
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Quantum Computing for Everyone - The Startup - Medium
Deltec Bank, Bahamas – Quantum Computing Will have Positive Impacts on Portfolio Optimization, Risk Analysis, Asset Pricing, and Trading Strategies -…
Quantum computing is expected to be the new technology, fully integrated with the financial sector within five to ten years. This form of computer, also known as supercomputers, are capable of highly advanced processing power that takes in massive amounts of data to solve a problem in a fraction of the time it would for the best traditional computer on the market to resolve.
Traditional Computer vs. Quantum Computing
A typical computer today stores information in the form of bits. These are represented in the binary language (0s and 1s). In quantum computing, the bits are known as Qubits and will take on the processing of similar input but rather than break it down to 0s and 1s will break the data down significantly greater where the possibilities of computational speed can be almost immeasurable.
Quantum Computing in Banking
Let's examine personal encryption in banking for example. Using a security format called RSA-2048, traditional computers would be able to decrypt the security algorithm in about 1,034 steps. With our best computers on the market, even with a processor capable of performing a trillion calculations per second, these steps translate to 317 billion years to break the secure code. While it is possible, it is not practical for a cyber-criminal to make it worthwhile.
A quantum computer, on the other hand, would be able to resolve this problem in about 107 steps. With a basic quantum computer running at one million calculations per second, this translates to ten seconds to resolve the problem.
While this example centered on breaking complex security, many other use cases can emerge from the use of quantum computing.
Trade Transaction Settlements
Barclays bank researchers have been working on a proof of concept regarding the transaction settlement process. As settlements can only be worked on a transaction-by-transaction basis, they can easily queue up only to be released in batches. When a processing window opens, as many trades as possible are settled.
Complex by their very nature, Traders can end up tapping into funds prior to the transaction being cleared. They will only be settled if the funds are available or if a collateral credit facility was arranged.
As you could probably handle a small number of trades in your head, you would need to rely on a computer after about 10-20 transactions. The same can be described for our current computational power in that it is now nearing the point where it will need more and more time to resolve hundreds of trades at a time.
With quantum computing using a seven-qubit system, it would be able to run a greater amount of complex trades in the same time it would for a traditional system to complete the trades. It would take the equivalent of about two hundred traditional computers to match the speed.
Simulating a Future Product Valuation
Researchers at JP Morgan were working on a concept that simulates the future value of a financial product. The team is testing quantum computers to perform complex intensive pricing calculations that normally take traditional computer hours to complete. This is a problem as each year greater complexity is added via newer algorithms, getting to the point where it is nearing an impossibility to calculate in a practical sense.
The research team has discovered that using quantum computing resulted in finding a resolution to the problem in mere seconds.
Final Thoughts
Banks are working on successful tests today with quantum computing to resolve extreme resource-intensive calculations for financial problem scenarios. Everything from trading, fraud, AML, etc. this is a technology not to be overlooked.
According to Deltec Bank, Bahamas - "Quantum Computing will have positive impacts on portfolio optimization, risk analysis, asset pricing, and trading strategies is just the tip of the iceberg of what this technology could provide."
Disclaimer: The author of this text, Robin Trehan, has an Undergraduate degree in economics, Masters in international business and finance and MBA in electronic business. Trehan is Senior VP at Deltec International http://www.deltecbank.com. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this text are solely the views of the author, and not necessarily reflecting the views of Deltec International Group, its subsidiaries and/or employees.
About Deltec Bank
Headquartered in The Bahamas, Deltec is an independent financial services group that delivers bespoke solutions to meet clients' unique needs. The Deltec group of companies includes Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec Fund Services Limited, and Deltec Investment Advisers Limited, Deltec Securities Ltd. and Long Cay Captive Management.
Media Contact
Company Name: Deltec International Group
Contact Person: Media Manager
Email: rtrehan@deltecial.com
Phone: 242 302 4100
Country: Bahamas
Website: https://www.deltecbank.com/
Source: http://www.abnewswire.com
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NIST Works on the Industries of the Future in Buildings from the Past – Nextgov
The presidents budget request for fiscal 2021 proposed $738 million to fund the National Institutes of Science and Technology, a dramatic reduction from the more than $1 billion in enacted funds allocated for the agency this fiscal year.
The House Science, Space and Technology Committees Research and Technology Subcommittee on Wednesday held a hearing to hone in on NISTs reauthorizationbut instead of focusing on relevant budget considerations, lawmakers had other plans.
We're disappointed by the president's destructive budget request, which proposes over a 30% cut to NIST programs, Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., said at the top of the hearing. But today, I don't want to dwell on a proposal that we know Congress is going to reject ... today I would like this committee to focus on improving NIST and getting the agency the tools it needs to do better, to do its job.
Per Stevens suggestion, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter Copan reflected on some of the agencys dire needs and offered updates and his view on a range of its ongoing programs and efforts.
NISTs Facilities Are in Bad Shape
President Trumps budget proposal for fiscal 2021 requests only $60 million in funds for facility construction, which is down from the $118 million enacted for fiscal 2020 and comes at a time when the agencys workspaces need upgrades.
Indeed the condition of NIST facilities are challenging, Copan explained. Over 55% of NIST's facilities are considered in poor to critical condition per [Commerce Department] standards, and so it does provide some significant challenges for us.
Some of the agencys decades-old facilities and infrastructures are deteriorating and Copan added that hed recently heard NISTs deferred maintenance backlog has hit more than $775 million. If the lawmakers or public venture out to visit some of the agencys facilities, you'll see the good, the bad, and the embarrassingly bad, he said. Those conditions are a testament to the resilience and the commitment of NISTs people, that they can work in sometimes challenging, outdated environments, Copan said.
The director noted that there have already been some creative solutions proposed to address the issue, including the development of a federal capital revolving fund. The agency is also looking creatively at the combination of maintenance with lease options for some of its facilities, in hopes that it can then move more rapidly by having its officials cycle out of laboratories to launch rebuilding and renovation processes.
It's one of my top priorities as the NIST director to have our NIST people work in 21st-century facilities that we can be proud of and that enable the important work of NIST for the nation, Copan said.
Advancing Efforts in Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing
The presidents budget request placed a sharp focus on industries of the future, which will be powered by many emerging technologies, and particularly quantum computing and AI.
During the hearing and in his written testimony, Copan highlighted some of NISTs work in both areas. The agency has helped shape an entire generation of quantum science, over the last century, and a significant portion of quantum scientists from around the globe have trained at the agencys facilities. Some of NISTs more recent quantum achievements include supporting the development of a quantum logic clock and helping steer advancements in quantum simulation. Following a recent mandate from the Trump administration, the agency is also in the midst of instituting the Quantum Economic Development Consortium, or QEDC, which aims to advance industry collaboration to expand the nations leadership in quantum research and development.
Looking forward, over the coming years NIST will focus a portion of its quantum research portfolio on the grand challenge of quantum networking, Copans written testimony said. Serving as the basis for secure and highly efficient quantum information transmission that links together multiple quantum devices and sensors, quantum networks will be a key element in the long-term evolution of quantum technologies.
Though there were cuts across many areas, the presidents budget request also proposed a doubling of NISTs funding in artificial intelligence and Copan said the technology is already broadly applied across all of the agencys laboratories to help improve productivity.
Going forward and with increased funding, he laid out some of the agencys top priorities, noting that there's much work to be done in developing tools to provide insights into artificial intelligence programs, and there is also important work to be done in standardization, so that the United States can lead the world in the application of [AI] in a trustworthy and ethical manner.
Standardization to Help the U.S. Lead in 5G
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., asked Copan to weigh in on the moves China is making across the fifth-generation wireless technology landscape, and the moves the U.S. needs to make to leadnot just competein that specific area.
We have entered in the United States, as we know, a hyper-competitive environment with China as a lead in activities related to standardization, Copan responded.
The director said that officials see, in some ways, that the standardization process has been weaponized, where the free market economy that is represented by the United States, now needs to lead in more effective coordination internally and incentivize industry to participate in the standards process. Though U.S. officials have already seen those rules of fair play bent or indeed broken by other players, NIST and others need to help improve information sharing across American standards-focused stakeholders, which could, in turn, accelerate adoption around the emerging technology.
We want the best technologies in the world to win and we want the United States to continue to be the leader in not only delivering those technologies, but securing the intellectual properties behind them and translating those into market value, he said.
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NIST Works on the Industries of the Future in Buildings from the Past - Nextgov
Archer Materials" patent application received by World Intellectual Property Organisation – Proactive Investors Australia
The company is developing materials in quantum computing, biotechnology, and lithium-ion batteries.
() has confirmed thatthe patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to protect and commercialise its graphene biosensor technology intellectual property has been received by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Acknowledgement of receipt by WIPO concludes the PCT application lodgement process and confirms the International Patent Application is formally compliant with the PCT prosecution procedure and has met the deadline to avoid abandonment of the application.
The company has continued to progressthe development of its 12CQ technology and ison-track performing quantum measurements required to build an operational room-temperature qubit processor (chip) prototype.
As part of this work, the company has joined the Sydney Knowledge Hub,a co-working space for research-based organisations that collaborate with the University of Sydney,to strategically engage with researchers in the Australian quantum computing economy.
A collaboration agreement with the University of NSW Sydney also now includes access to world-class infrastructure for quantum materials characterisation.
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Archer Materials" patent application received by World Intellectual Property Organisation - Proactive Investors Australia
Why the Journey to Cloud Must Start With the Workforce – AiThority
What happens when technology moves so fast, our workforce cant keep up? There are many noteworthy technologies that will change the way our society functions. 5G and Cloud will create new experiences and revenue opportunities for consumers and businesses.
McKinsey estimates, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to deliver global economic activity of around $13 trillion by 2030. And well see even more technologies and business models in areas like Quantum Computing, the gig and sharing economies, and digitization of services. Yet PwCreports38 percent of CEOs globally are extremely concerned that a lack of critical skills will hurt business growth. What good are these technologies if our workforce is incapable of leveraging them?
To unleash new experiences and technologies and support the complex business operations that enable them businesses worldwide must embark on transformation journeys centered on the Cloud and the agility it brings. Indeed, Gartner predicts the size of the Cloud services industry will expand at nearly three times the growth of overall IT services.
Success, however, is dependent on organizations undergoing a process of change management based on the three pillars of technology,processes,andpeople: technology is largely focused on continuous improvements to operations through AI and Machine Learning; processes are around governance and ongoing optimization.
People, however, may present the biggest challenge.
In todays open-source world, I believe its not proprietary software or patented methodologies that necessarily count but rather, the quality of the workforce. Reskilling, attracting and retaining talent around new technologies and practices are not just requirements for evolving the business, but additional drivers to proactively transform the business.
Further, by 2025, Millennials will make up 75 percent of the global workforce, and with this comes the desire for better workplace technology, growth opportunities, and workplace flexibility. Creating an environment that caters to this will be critical.
As we move towards a future oftechnological singularity, where technologys growth becomes uncontrollable, I believe the best talent, regardless of age, will want to work with automated and intelligent processes and approaches. Key examples include Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) for DevOps best practices, and site reliability engineering (SRE) to improve production-related operations of the applications developed. Companies reliant on legacy practices and siloed organizations will be left behind as the war for talent continues.
As the industry aims to move at the pace of technology, employee mindsets too, need to shift rapidly. The question will no longer be what theyre going to do, but how fast they can learn. One of the most essential skills will be the ability to evolve.
In the past, employees typically focused on one vertical (known as anI-shaped skill). However, the next-generation workforce must span numerous verticals, contributing unique insights across areas due to their experience and explorative mindsets (T- and E-shaped skills). And while this means managers must give their direct reports opportunities to expand, its just as crucial for employees to take the initiative.
On the other side of the coin, our existing workforce is workinglonger than ever. This will require them to not only co-exist with newcomers and their exploratory, versatile mindsets but to adapt a continuous learning approach themselves. While for older workers this might be a significant even painful effort, as technology evolves, it will be a necessary prerequisite to remaining in the workforce.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Albert Einstein
To keep pace in an ever-changing world, continuous learning and investing in the workforce is a must. This mindset must come from all areas of the business. At the same time, empowering employees to expand their skill set is critical. Lets make sure we all provide our workforces with the right supportive learning environment that enables them to take an active role in creating the future.
Read more: Open Data Sources for AI in Industry
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Why the Journey to Cloud Must Start With the Workforce - AiThority
‘Devs’: How the FX on Hulu show’s tech compares with reality – Los Angeles Times
Science is at the heart of all Alex Garlands work, but the writer-director is less interested in erudite theories than he is in what those theories reveal about humanity itself. After Garlands directorial debut, Ex Machina, came out in 2014, he started circling the idea of quantum mechanics, reading about the subject in science journals and watching online lectures by physicists like David Deutsch and David Wallace. That growing obsession has resulted, years later, in Devs, a self-contained, eight-episode series for FX on Hulu, which Garland pursued after making Annihilation in 2018.
What tends to happen with me is that I get interested in a particular subject and then at some point a story just overlays itself over that subject, says Garland, sitting on the set of Devs last year in London. The point of being interested in a subject often goes on for years, and the story arrives later. Quite often when the story arrives, it comes fully formed its like a whole narrative just drops down onto it. Thats exactly what happened with this one.
This idea stemmed from whether we live in a deterministic universe or a nondeterministic universe a deterministic universe meaning a universe where everything is a result of a prior cause. And the philosophical implication for that is that it removes free will. If thats true, thats quite a big deal. It makes you re-think behavior, which means you re-think relationships and actions, things that one has done right or wrong.
Garland wrote and directed all eight episodes, which follow a coder named Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno, who also appeared in Ex Machina) who works for a Silicon Valley tech company called Amaya. A series of events leads Lily deeper and deeper into the secretive lab housed on the Amaya campus, known as Devs short for development. To say too much about the plot would ruin the unfolding narrative, but its enough to know that Devs houses a powerful quantum computer that has the potential to change our understanding of the universe. Nick Offerman plays Amayas chief executive, a man with dubious intentions, and Alison Pill embodies his severe right-hand woman, Katie.
Although the show is set in the present day, the technology depicted therein reflects some supposition, pushing past whats currently possible.
Karl Glusman, left, and Nick Offerman on the secluded Silicon Valley campus at the center of Devs.
(Miya Mizuno/FX)
Its got something in common with Ex Machina in that its sort of 10 years into the future, Garland notes. It allows for a big breakthrough, specifically in terms of computing, which is a thing that is currently being worked on It could really happen in the same way Ex Machina could really happen. Which is to say it probably couldnt happen, but something like it could happen. So maybe not that exact thing, but something very substantially important could easily flow from quantum computers.
The director, along with Mizuno, visited Googles quantum computer lab in Goleta, Calif., ahead of shooting and did extensive research while writing. He found the YouTube series PBS Space Time With Dr. Matt ODowd helpful in breaking down the subject. Garland spoke with people in Silicon Valley, including coders in the quantum labs. Which means that the series is in some ways accurate to contemporary American tech companies. But in terms of quantum computers, of which there are an undetermined number in existence, Devs hovers in a fictional space.
The people who are doing what quantum computers are doing are not remotely interested in trying to do the things talked about in Devs, nor would they be able to, Garland says. This is a speculation, a bit like the way Ex Machina speculates on a level of artificial intelligence that were not even close to achieving. Its more that there are underlying principles [in effect].
Garland was also interested in the state of private tech companies, modeling Offermans character, Forest, after an aging NoCal hippie, beard and all. The director is skeptical of anyone who is put on a pedestal like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, because tapping into the tech bubble doesnt necessarily make you a scientific genius. It might just mean you were in the right place with the right thing at the right time.
Devs creator Alex Garland
Theres a line in the show where Forest is described as a genius and then someone says, Hes not a genius, hes an entrepreneur, Garland says. I was interested in the idea that we ascribe genius-like qualities to the people who run tech companies. I was thinking, Im not sure thats true. Im inherently skeptical of anything that gets deified, but also because it seemed reasonably apparent to me that some of these people are not geniuses. They are entrepreneurs. I was riffing off that. I got quite hung up on an idea that Silicon Valley was much more capitalist than we tend to see it as.
For Offerman, who jumped at the chance to work with Garland, Forest represents the nebulous sort of character who is vastly more interesting than one who is simply a villain.
As the eight episodes unfold, your idea of Who are the protagonists and who are the antagonists? becomes really murky, Offerman says. Which is really interesting, because I think thats true of real life. Especially in this crazy political climate we want everything to be really polarized. Is it right or is it wrong? Are you an [expletive] or are you a Democrat? You eventually come to learn why [Forest] does what he does and its pretty understandable. While you may or may not agree with his methods, you can have some empathy.
Mizuno felt similarly about her character. Lily is surprising, she says. Shes an outsider. She doesnt do everything everyone else does. She doesnt participate in groupthink the way most people do.
Devs actor Alison Pill once aspired to study quantum computing.
(Miya Mizuno/FX)
Pill, who wanted to study quantum mechanics after high school thanks to reading Gary Zukavs The Dancing Wu Li Masters, found Devs compelling because it allowed for deeper thoughts than the average TV series. She read extensively ahead of production, including A Briefer History of Time and David Foster Wallaces Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, and has continued to consider the philosophical ramifications of quantum computing ever since.
Having been unpracticed in thinking about these things, it was such a gift to be given a project that asks these questions, she says. Because I think people like thinking about this stuff. We forget sometimes we have so much magic around us regularly The challenge Alex poses to his viewers is one thats not Youre going to be overwhelmed by the science. Its Youre going to be overwhelmed by existence.
Alex has a predilection for examining our amazing ability to create technology and further explore the vast reaches of physics, Offerman adds. And then, naturally, the trouble that gets us into. The great dichotomy of bipedal primates being handed a smartphone: On one hand, you can do amazing things with it. And on the other hand, you can send pictures of your genitals to your intern and get in a lot of trouble.
Ultimately, Devs asks a lot of questions, but it does so in the context of a story about a group of individuals who are personally affected by the science and technology. Garland keeps it personal, because he feels that these sorts of lofty issues are inherently personal, affecting each of us as technology advances and private tech companies grow. For him, science is an entry point for a discussion of what it means to be alive. The series cant offer any real answers, but it can allow viewers to consider what those might be.
[Science is] seen as something which is dry and boring and hard to understand and thinks it has all the answers and all of those things are the opposite of what is actually the case, he says. Most scientists will talk more about what they dont know than about what they do know. Science contains not just philosophy but also poetry.
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'Devs': How the FX on Hulu show's tech compares with reality - Los Angeles Times