The Economist Webinar

We are thrilled to announce that we sponsered an online webinar from The Economist : The quantum advantage: leveraging community and collaboration for success.  The webinar is now available since October 8th, 10am EST / 3pm BST / 4PM CET. For the Asian region another appropriate time will follow.

It was a panel discussion of 60 minutes, with Dexter Thillien, lead analyst, technology and telecoms, Economist Intelligence Unit and begin a thread of discussion, as moderator. Other confirmed speakers are Oscar Diez, head of quantum technologies, European Commission and Aparna Prabhakar, senior vice president, Schneider Electric. Wasiq Bakhari, Chairman at Pasqal, was also part of the panel.

Global investment into quantum technologies, such as computing, communications, sensors and cryptography, is growing.The market is projected to reach $173bn by 2040. The recent advances mean that the industry is approaching “quantum advantage”—where powerful quantum computers surpass the limitations of classical ones, allowing them to tackle intractable problems and open up new frontiers. Such computers have the potential to transform fields like materials science, drug discovery, supply-chain optimisation and sustainability.

But the complexity of quantum computing, which requires very particular laboratory conditions and specialist equipment, hinders mainstream adoption. Scaling up quantum computers to thousands of qubits, the basic unit of information in quantum computing, while maintaining low error rates, remains a challenge. Quantum algorithms and software development tools are being designed with no universal standards yet, increasing the risk of inconsistent outcomes. Moreover, as the field of quantum computing matures, regulation must ensure that the technologies are developed, deployed and used responsibly.

To put quantum theories into practical applications, organisations need the right people and strategies; as well as collaborations like private-public partnerships. Further, if the quantum community can accelerate research in quantum physics, they will create the hardware needed to overcome the industry’s challenges.

Most quantum research is concentrated in China, America and Europe, with limited cross-border collaboration. Global partnerships would let scientists share information, maximise progress and be aligned on which standards and protocols are required for interoperability and security