Neo-Geek

Disruptive technology; from the digital age to the quantum age in 2023

New advances in technology have positioned quantum computing as the new promise to evolve the world economy, as it has the potential to revolutionize materials science, the pharmaceutical industry and virtually any field of knowledge, as it can solve problems that ordinary computers would take thousands of years.

So-called supercomputers are computers that take advantage of the nature of quantum mechanics (matter at the atomic level) to solve problems that are too complex that exceed the capacity of traditional computers. Such devices have positioned themselves as the development par excellence for the future, as quantum simulation can be applied to improve the processes of a myriad of fields.

For example, in the field of communication, such technology is expected to ensure the transfer of confidential information in a shielded manner, the exchange of securities between banks or the protection of digital assets; generally speaking, it is planned that everything will be shared using quantum technology in a few years. Other applications of quantum simulation would be aligning satellites more accurately, accurately recording magnetic fields or measuring brain waves.

In the same sense, one of the great advances will be in the area of scientific research and its relationship with manufacturing, because when scientists and engineers face very complex problems in their areas, they resort to supercomputers. Among the qualities of such devices is the performance of extremely difficult and time-consuming tasks; while an ordinary computer has a limit on its ability to process a significantly large amount of information, supercomputers, for their part, can analyze a large database of millions of components as a relatively easy task, such as protein sequences at the atomic level or data about the universe.

Quantum computers were designed to transform the way research is worked. Its scientific application within pharmaceutical companies and chemical industries means an impact on processes and expenses, since quantum simulation allows evaluating the properties of materials before sending them to the laboratory, thereby reducing the expenses of companies, in addition to helping in the search and choice of materials easier to recycle.

Courtesy: STEPHANIE ARNETT / MIT TR, GETTY

The goal of the pharmaceutical industry will be to produce more effective and cheaper drugs with the help of supercomputers to be developed within the next few years, because with their scope molecular structures could be simulated in a quantum computer in a matter of seconds and calculate the composition of the active ingredients, thereby saving thousands of laboratory tests. It can be said that quantum computers offer a new set of tools to understand the universe and facilitate the life of the human being.

Companies, investors, and researchers are increasingly investing in financing its development and implementation. It should be noted that the quantum computer will not replace the PC computer, but will complement it. For now, quantum computing is not a tool suitable for personal computers, but is limited to the corporate, scientific and technological world, due to its great complexity.

IBM, Tesla, Google, and Volkswagen are some of the companies already implementing quantum computing. However, it will be necessary to wait between 5 and 10 years before it can be used in practice, since it is still in the development phase. In this sense, the functionality of quantum computers is not only a matter of technology but of money, it costs between 3,000 dollars and The MIT Technology Review ensures that, although the market is highly competitive, from 2023 companies will begin to work collaboratively for long-term results, with important implications in biology and medicine.

Clinical Research Insider Editorial