Taking the Leap

Hi Harold, I only have a moment.

Ok Liza, no problem. It looks like we need to take a closer look at quantum computers.

Wait, what? I’m in the helicopter now, so just give me the important points.

Ok, so the way scientists used to think of physics was classical. And you had an atom, with electrons spinning around it, kind of like orbiting moons.

But quantum computing is based on discoveries about quantum mechanics, and the quantum view has disrupted the classical view. For example, we now know that the position of electrons in an atom is a cloud of probability.

Do you mean like the probability of me taking a certain route in the city?

Something like that. It might be something like instead of looking at a GPS map and seeing your location, I might see a map full of colors, to represent the probability of you being in a particular spot.

Ok, so at a high level, what are the opportunities and threats? And what are they based on?

Well in some ways they are based on the qubit. Classical computers handle information with bits, represented by 0’s and 1’s. It would be like a light switch, on and off.

Even with 1’s and 0’s, computer chips have become very powerful. But the qubit is like another dimension.

You mean like time travel?

Well, not yet. It’s more like a qubit compared to a regular bit. If a bit is like a switch, on/off, two positions, then a qubit is more like volume knob, with many positions.

The computational power becomes far greater in certain applications, vastly speeding up some types of problems, such as logistics.

Could it help us to optimize our global supply chain operations?

It is possible. The quantum hardware itself has not reached maturity, but quantum algorithms are already being used for supply chain optimization and drug discovery. And when it does reach maturity, we need to be ready.

Fair enough. So where do we start and how do we get there?

I’d say we start with education, learning as much as we can, as fast as we can.

Ok I’m on board. As we talked I arranged virtual conferences with four top experts, and I’ll let you know what they say.

Next: Queen's Dream