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Quantum computers could be available to the general public as early as the mid-2030s, according to some estimates. This would allow us to perform tasks that are currently believed impossible. Here are nine quantum computer applications that could have a significant impact on our lives.
1. Artificial Intelligence That Is Faster And More Effective
Quantum computers will revolutionize artificial intelligence because they can analyze massive volumes of data at unprecedented speeds and simulate massive neural networks. Quantum computers can calculate all solutions to certain sorts of problems simultaneously, rather than sequentially, as classical computers can.
This is especially true for issues involving optimization. Each of the solutions that a quantum computer obtains may be assigned a score.
Quantum computers can choose among all possible answers and discover the best response much faster than a classical computer because they have all of this knowledge upfront. This has the potential to revolutionize machine learning and assist us in solving complicated issues previously thought to be impossible.
Furthermore, quantum computing and artificial intelligence will continue to strengthen and accelerate each other’s advancements. Deep learning advances will almost certainly improve our grasp of quantum mechanics.
At the same time, fully realized quantum computers are expected to outperform conventional computers in terms of data pattern identification and categorization. This could lead to virtual assistants that can recognize emotions in your vocal patterns and alter their recommendations accordingly.
It might even lead to non-playable video game characters behaving hyper-realistically and carrying on sophisticated discussions with you. According to McKinsey, the benefits of this use case will most likely be realized in the early 2030s.
2. More Energy-Efficient Batteries for Electric Vehicles
Battery cells in electric vehicle batteries provide electric energy by charging and discharging. Quantum computing has the potential to improve cellular simulation and battery cell aging. These advancements may result in shorter charging times and electric vehicles that can travel significantly further between recharges.
3. Development Of New Drugs
Scientists often need to analyze the specific structure of a molecule to assess its qualities and understand how it might interact with other molecules while developing new medications and chemicals.
Unfortunately, because each atom interacts with other atoms in complicated ways, even relatively small molecules are extremely difficult to represent effectively with traditional computers. Simulating fundamental molecules with a small number of atoms is nearly impossible with today’s technology.
Because the interaction of atoms within a molecule is a quantum system, quantum computers are well adapted to solve this problem.
Quantum computers, according to researchers, will be able to imitate even the most complicated molecules in our bodies. Every step forward in this area will hasten the development of new medications and other products, maybe leading to game-changing new therapies.
Pharmaceutical companies might use quantum computing to model larger and more complicated molecules, better map interactions between medicine and its target patient, and cut research time and costs.
This could result in better diagnostics, treatments, and vaccinations reaching the market sooner and more efficiently. It could also lead to the development of novel medications for critical illnesses like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease. According to McKinsey, the benefits of this use case could be seen by the mid-2020s.
4. Traffic Optimization
Solving these challenges with traditional computers is a time-consuming, hit-or-miss endeavor. This type of difficulty is exemplified by the “traveling salesman” problem. Its goal is to find the quickest route between many cities, stopping at each one only once before returning to the starting point.
This optimization problem is extremely challenging for traditional computers to solve. It’s a piece of cake for a fully-fledged quantum computer, though. Quantum computers might also integrate live data from connected vehicles, containers, and parcels, highways and railways, warehouses, point-of-sale systems, and weather satellites to solve routing problems in real-time.
5. Invention of New Materials
Quantum computing is being used by IBM to better understand natural processes such as how matter behaves and interacts at the atomic and subatomic levels. This could lead to the development of novel manufacturing materials.
It may also aid engineers in the development of better polymers and computer circuits. Quantum technology could aid in the development of lighter and stronger materials for autos, aviation, and spacecraft in the next decades.
6. Financial Modeling
According to McKinsey, quantum computing has the potential to add significant value to the financial industry by the mid-2030s. Goldman Sachs reportedly stated that quantum algorithms might be used to price financial products as early as the mid-2020s.
Because of their structural similarities, quantum computing and financial modeling are a perfect combination. A quantum process can be used to model the entire financial market.
Indeed, much research has focused on quantum computing’s capacity to drastically speed up and improve the Monte Carlo model, which calculates the probability of alternative outcomes and their associated dangers.
Quantum computers have the ability to sample data in new ways, evaluating more outcomes with more precision in less time. Quantum computing has the potential to speed up portfolio optimization processes. Customer targeting, predictive modeling, credit scoring, and fraud detection are just a few of the examples.
7. Cyber Security
Quantum computers have the ability to break any classical encryption system within the next 10 to 20 years since they can do numerous calculations at the same time. For example, breaking the 617 digits of the RSA-2048 encryption standard would take a classical computer 300 trillion years. According to our current trajectory, a fully functional quantum computer in the 2030s might accomplish this in less than ten seconds.
They’ll be so good at decryption that they’ll end up posing a national security threat to all developed countries. Even the most basic web services would require new quantum encryption technology. Quantum cryptography is already being developed by scientists and forward-thinking legislators to protect the information of businesses, governments, and citizens.
8. Weather Forecasting
The simultaneous (rather than sequential) calculating method used in quantum computing will most likely be successful in assessing the extremely complex system of variables that is weather.
9. Manufacturing Processes
Quantum computing can aid businesses in streamlining operations and manufacturing processes by resolving supply chain optimization issues including assessing the availability and pricing of manufacturing components without disrupting complex supply chains.
It may also analyze massive data sets from the manufacturing industry to determine which components of a complicated manufacturing process contributed to operational failures. Quantum computing can have a big impact on items like microchips, where the manufacturing process can contain thousands of steps. The first quantum computers with a million qubits could be available by 2030.