GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Scientists will work to channel the huge emerging power of quantum computers for the common good at a new institute opening in Geneva on Tuesday, its founders said.
The Open Quantum Institute is calling on researchers from around the world to pinpoint the most promising future applications for the fast-emerging technology — and ensure they are open and accessible to all.
“Quantum computing has the potential of changing almost everything,” said Peter Brabeck-Latmathe, chairman of the science and diplomacy platform GESDA that launched the project and former longtime head of Swiss food giant Nestle.
He told AFP the future technology is expected to be “1,000 to 10,000 times more potent than the computing power we have today”, insisting it was vital to begin thinking hard about how to govern it and ensure it is used for good.
Quantum computing combines advances in scientific understanding of the subatomic world with leaps in information theory to solve mathematical problems that are impossible for today’s conventional computers.
While traditional computers process information in bits that can be represented by 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits, which can be a combination of both at the same time, allowing them to solve more complex problems.
The first commercial quantum computers are still believed to be up to a decade away, and the technology is not expected to be fully developed before around 2050.
Brabeck-Latmathe said it is important to make sure that such a powerful technology remains available to all, in an open and transparent way, and is not allowed to be controlled by a handful of giant tech companies.
“The reason why we proposed to create an Open Quantum Institute is exactly to ensure that everybody has access to those technologies in the future,” he said.
The institute will seek out applications of the technology that can move the world closer to implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Quantum computing simulations and calculations might for instance help determine how to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to help rein in climate change.
It could also potentially predict patterns of antibiotic resistance, and identify new, more effective chemical compounds for battling deadly bacteria.
In a bid to speed up the search for the best applications of the technology, GESDA has joined forces with Google and non-profit tech group XPrize and will launch a competition Tuesday evening calling for researchers everywhere to submit proposals.
The three-year competition will reward the teams submitting the best projects, with a $5 million prize at the end.
The center will open with a ceremony on Tuesday evening at its new home within Europe’s science lab CERN, a landmark nuclear research center.