Quantum Concern: Some Takeaways After Covering Quantum Computing’s Evolution

On a chilly, sub-zero December afternoon last year, I was sitting in the midtown Manhattan offices of Dun & Bradstreet. While I live in Hong Kong—where, might I say, the average December temperature is about 18 degrees Celsius, or about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, for you Americans—I was in town to attend the Waters USA conference, and to chat face-to-face with some experts in the realm of financial technology, like Anthony Scriffignano.

Scriffignano, who is Dun & Bradstreet’s chief data scientist, was standing at a whiteboard explaining the laws that pertain to quantum entanglement and encryption. At the time, I was working on a story looking at how the advent of quantum computing will affect other emerging technologies like blockchain and machine learning—a story you can read here.

You have to understand something: in school, I tended to avoid the sciences and focused on accounting and economics. Scriffignano, on the other hand, has a Master’s degree in computer science from Montclair State University, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a PhD in leadership and change from Antioch University. So as he was trying to explain this highly complex—but interesting—subject to me, I was just trying to keep my head above water.

Great Power, Great Responsibility

While the implementations of distributed ledgers and artificially-intelligent tools are more pressing for the industry at present, quantum computing could potentially revolutionize—for better and worse—how firms use their data. Advancements are coming quickly.

In November, IBM announced that it has a quantum computer that can now handle 50 quantum bits (qubits). As Giulio Chiribella, professor of computer science at the University of Oxford, and CIFAR-Azrieli global scholar told me, this is an important milestone, as 50 qubits are in the “ballpark” where we can start seeing computations that are too complex even for the best supercomputers out there.

Michael Brett, the founder and CEO of quantum computing specialist firm QxBranch, pointed out that one of the areas quantum computers can help financial firms is in solving optimization problems in portfolio management, risk management, analytics, and customer service. And while we’re still (likely) years away from commercialized quantum computers, some major banks—including JPMorgan Chase and Barclays—are now working with IBM to experiment with quantum computing using the tech giant’s IBM Q Network, its 20 qubit processor that is available through its cloud computing platform.

Quantum computers will solve a core problem that the today’s computers face, where the size of transistors can only shrink to the size of atoms, and then what? Once this barrier is broken, companies all across the spectrum of industry—from finance, to healthcare, to the military and governments, to retail—will be able to perform simulations and calculations at far greater speeds and with far greater effect than is possible today, owing to the fact that because quantum computers can run these computations simultaneously, rather than in parallel, as current machines do.

But, with great power comes great responsibility. While they have enormous scientific potential, there is also a dark side to quantum’s promise. One such consequence of the raw power behind these machines is that they could potentially decrypt the security measures put in place to protect bank accounts, emails, and other personal data. And blockchain? Well, the headline of my latest feature says it all.

More To Come

When Scriffignano walked me through the basics of quantum computing for a feature that ran in the August issue of Waters, it was challenging enough for me to follow along. And now I have to think about what it means for encryption? For distributed ledgers? For machine-learning algorithms? It’s enough to make me want to reach for the aspirin.

I am both thankful and fortunate enough to have been able to get in touch with numerous experts for these features, including Scriffignano, who has patiently walked me through the evolution of encryption from simple substitution to manipulation of plain text, to fundamental Boolean postulate, and so on.

I believe the key takeaway is that this is a vastly complex piece of technology that will have ripple effects which we don’t yet understand, and may not even be able to properly predict. As a result, it’s important for firms in the financial sector to start preparing today. Although it will be years—decades perhaps—before we actually see the realization of a commercial quantum computer, we cannot stand idly by and ignore the risks and benefits.

I am also sure that this second feature on quantum computing is far from my last. There will be lots more to learn and write about as this space develops. If you have any questions or insights into how your firm is looking at quantum computing, you know where to find me.