Imagining the Future of Quantum Computing

The world embarked on an information revolution almost a century ago and has been driven ever since by the well-known evolution of mainframes into Smartphones. While the exponential performance improvements due to Moore’s law have slowed, quantum information concepts will drive the information revolution still further. Although the ultimate structure of a quantum computer is evolving, it seems destined to fit into the familiar program-based paradigm while solving some problems at vastly greater scale and speed than previously possible. Imagine a future “general” computer combining both bits and qubits operating at multiple temperatures yet based on familiar principles in electronics and computer architecture. Also imagine a future where some quantum information principles are taught to children and then become a part of society’s thinking, much as place value numbers became a part of everyday life over the last two millennia.