From Japan to DC, 7 Quantum World Congress attendees forecast 2023’s tech evolution – Technical.ly

Quantum computing and technology, remote as their practical implications may seem to most people, are an increasingly serious international priority.

This global relevance was on full display this week as technologists, founders, investors, economic development professionals and others from around the world descended on downtown DC for the first-ever Quantum World Congress. Organized by the regional economic development body DMV connected in partnership with regional quantum powers such as MITER and IonQthe three-day meeting functioned as an intermediary between quantum professionals and people wishing to do business with them.

(What is quantum computing? Call it the practice of using tiny particles, or qubits, to solve problems on a computer that can perform multiple calculations at once. Read our explainer here.)

Among these people were leaders from companies, universities and government agencies who have an interest in what quantum technology could do in the future.

The Brookings Institute President Amy Liu hosted a fireside chat with Anne Neubergerthe of the White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber ​​and Emerging Technologies. Australia’s Chief Scientist Cathy Fouley gave a speech on how his country embraced the potential of quantum earlier than others. Representatives from agencies and centers in Japan, Germany, Canada, South Korea and beyond spoke about their respective countries’ successes with the quantum-related industry. The French nation boasted of having its own stand in the exhibition area as rumors swirled around the conference room about the president Emmanuel Macron maybe make an appearance (although Technically was unable to confirm if he stopped during his ongoing visit to DC).

Now, we couldn’t speak directly to these figures about their predictions for the future of quantum. But we were able to ask people from across the country and around the world what quantum-related technological, economic, legal and cultural developments they anticipate and look forward to in 2023.

Here are some of their responses, which taken together reciprocally tie specific innovations to the larger world that will experience them:

Scope

“First, I’m excited about the breadth of applications that quantum will have. That’s something I’m looking forward to in 2023. Second, the full pipeline that we have at QCI, having it fully integrated and getting [to see] how powerful and impactful this is becoming of our business in the marketplace – those are the two main things that excites me.

• God bless yousenior quantum developer for Leesburg, Virginia Quantum Computing Inc. (QCI).

real pull

“It’s an exciting time as we’re seeing many players enter this space that they may have never heard of before – or they’ve heard of it but they don’t know how to apply it.

“I think it’s particularly fascinating that we’re starting to see industrial applications of this in a variety of areas: healthcare, life sciences, financial services, transportation, logistics, etc. And we’re moving beyond the phase proof-of-concept and production-ready systems We are not yet fully production-ready in certain situations or circumstances, but we are getting there.

“That’s particularly what’s exciting: the rubber is going to hit the road next year, and we’re going to start to see some real traction.”

• Kimberly Shyuproduct management and product marketing manager based in DC metro for a Swiss company Earth Quantum SA.

The opportunities are limitless

“What I’m most looking forward to seeing is what happens when you create opportunities.

“The incredible talent of the American people to seize an opportunity and create something – that to me is what’s so exciting about it because the opportunities are limitless. We open it up, we don’t restrict it to any particular topic. , to a particular use. We are really opening up something that the American people can be creative [with].”

• David WadePresident and CEO of PEB in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Faster and faster

“Interest in quantum across many different industries seems to be growing at an ever-increasing rate. Part of the reason I’m here is because a lot of my clients are talking about quantum computing. computer training, [but] I work with a lot of software companies and everyone is starting to talk about quantum computing, so I thought I should check it out. I’m interested to see how it develops, and the growth of the industry will be exciting next year.

• David Easwarana Charlotte, North Carolina-based intellectual property attorney for the law firm Womple Bond Dickinson

Bringing sectors together

“What’s unique about Connected DMV, from our quantum perspective, is that one of the best ways to accelerate to market is to bring the different sectors – government, academia, industry and community – together to solve problems. What we’re doing here with the Quantum World Congress brings these sectors together so that we can collaborate to accelerate this market and, in doing so, create workforce opportunities and begin to prepare the younger workforce for this new industry. is where the jobs will be – in a hockey analogy, skating where the puck will be. We are really excited to continue the efforts that we have with international collaboration and what we are doing at the regional level to be able to , creating opportunity for people – especially those in community colleges and the most distressed communities.

• Karl Darindirector of operations of DMV connected

Quantum communication

“An example is a lot of quantum communication, or quantum key distribution (QKD).

“The United States had a big discussion about post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and QKD, but I think it’s over now, because QKD has its own protection zone, PQC has its own zone. We can collaborate with each other, without having to fight. That’s our vision.

• Hiroaki Tezukapresident of the Global Consortium Alliances Working Group within Tokyo, Japan Quantum Industry Strategic Alliance for Revolution (Q-STAR)

Possibilities

“It was a great opportunity to market, as a region, a new industry that hadn’t really been marketed before by any of the [the region’s county-based economic development institutions]. We can do it together. These companies don’t care where we are, but they do know that the greater Washington area has opportunities — right in the middle of the East Coast, where they can access government opportunities.

“We’ve built our relationships, deepened them, and I see that for sure continuing into 2023. This is a real effort to energize the region, to help people see that we’re not just the White House. There are industries here and people who want to change things. We have this incredible workforce that wants to make a difference, create new technologies and change the world. It’s here!”

• Lynne Stein-Benziondirector of economic development Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

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Michaela Althouse, Technical.ly Senior Reporter for DC, contributed to this report.

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