Are quantum computers all hype?

[revoltub]

I tried to do research into it. From what I got, instead of using 1's or 0's, it stays in superposition and isn't observed therefore it holds the possibility of either a 1 or a 0?

So...therefore it can in theory do multiple equations at once? Therefore you are cutting the amount of hardware computing and hardware in half?

If I am getting this right (I'm probably not) then how does this translate to multiple dimensions? A guy Joe Rogan had on brought up shrodingers cat and the observer effect. I get all that, but does the possibility of a different choice really create a split off reality? And even if it did, would Quantum computing be able to produce something solid that proves that or would it just be something assumed based on the math?

I'm just struggling to understand what is so apocalyptic about these things. And what's even the application if you aren't sure what it's calculating. And is it really that different from 2 computers running opposite 1 and 0 patterns at the same time?

 

[SwaggyT]

Some guy tried to show me a quantum computer one time and I whipped his ass

 

[Rob Battisti]

Essentially, it would be like what a supercomputer of today would be like to a Protozoa in terms of actual computing power.

 

[GhostZ06]

I tried to do research into it. From what I got, instead of using 1's or 0's, it stays in superposition and isn't observed therefore it holds the possibility of either a 1 or a 0?

So...therefore it can in theory do multiple equations at once? Therefore you are cutting the amount of hardware computing and hardware in half?

If I am getting this right (I'm probably not) then how does this translate to multiple dimensions? A guy Joe Rogan had on brought up shrodingers cat and the observer effect. I get all that, but does the possibility of a different choice really create a split off reality? And even if it did, would Quantum computing be able to produce something solid that proves that or would it just be something assumed based on the math?

I'm just struggling to understand what is so apocalyptic about these things. And what's even the application if you aren't sure what it's calculating. And is it really that different from 2 computers running opposite 1 and 0 patterns at the same time?

This was the first computer. Now we have laptops.



i imagine Quantum computers are goin to go the same route

 

[Osculater]

All I know that information is stored on electrons as qubits

 

[Osculater]

This was the first computer. Now we have laptops.



i imagine Quantum computers are goin to go the same route

Quantum computers the size of a wristwatch

 

[Osculater]

Some guy tried to show me a quantum computer one time and I whipped his ass

Sounds hot!

 

[IDL]

From what I gather quantum computers are supposed to be really good at certain tasks, for example cracking encryption, but what they are good at they are extremely good at. They aren't going to replace traditional computers for most things.

It is predicted that at some point in quantum computing development it will be able to crack all the current encryption historically used, which means that governments and such can start mass downloads of sensitive information from their adversaries to store for when they will be able to crack it all in the future. Huge risks.
This is sometimes referring to the "Quantum Apocalypse"

 

[Volador]

Ok, I’ll give you some shitty rundown of my very basic understanding, relying on extreme simplifications and analogies. I study computer science and math at university, but Im by no means an expert, and my physics knowledge is barely introductory level.

In a classical computer, each transistor can carry or not carry an electrical signal, and this is encoded as a 1 or a 0 (a binary digit, aka a ‘bit’). Say you wanted to explore 4 possibilities in any sort of process. You would need 2 transistors, and then you’d have them transmit 00, 01, 10, 11, and assign each of those values to one of the possibilities and look at the results.

With a quantum computer, the transistors are called qubits (quantum bits), and rely on particles with quantum behavior. Each one can be in both states simultaneously, so, a sequence of these can produce a range of results simultaneously. Simplifying a lot, instead of changing transistor A to 0, then to 1, then transistor B to 0, and then to 1, two qubits could explore all 4 possibilities in a single operation by superimposing these simultaneous states.

Now, imagine you have a lot of these bits or qubits, because the range of possibilities you need to explore is large. For reference, your home computer has billions of transistors. The potential speed up is not “half”, but much larger. It’s half for a single qubit vs a single transistor, but for 2 of them it’s 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4, for 3 it’s 1/8, etc. Then, in theory, your speed up would be 2^n, where n is the number of qubits you have (simplification). So, 500 qubits (close to the largest QC built) would do the work of 2^500 classical transistors. To give you an idea, the universe has about 2^300 atoms. In other words, it’s some large ass shit, and could do things beyond the scope of classical computers. This answers your last question, yes, it’s different from connecting a bunch of computers. Some calculations are so complicated that the universe would end before you were done, even if you connected all the largest supercomputers in existence. But with QC you could achieve them with relatively few qubits.

I’ll add more later if I have time, but one of the main applications would be in breaking encryption keys. Encryption techniques rely on factoring large numbers. It’s easy to provide the authorized user with a factor to use as an access key, while the other end (your bank, or whoever) holds a public key. When you combine the access key with the public key, you obtain a specific number that grants you access to information. It is nearly impossible to run a factorization algorithm that obtains the user key corresponding to the public key that decrypts the information, if you weren’t given this number in advance. This makes communications in the internet and elsewhere secure. Quantum computers would be able to break that encryption technique easily in theory, which would be a game changer, rendering nearly all internet traffic insecure. However, none of that is happening soon afaik, because quantum computers are tremendously difficult to engineer. For now it’s all very experimental, and none of that has been achieved. They will not be available to regular users anyway, because they need to be kept in nearly absolute zero temperature and complete isolation from the environment. So it’s a but similar to how the atomic bomb changed warfare, but building one requires large budgets, special materials and expertise; criminals can’t easily build one in a lab.

The stuff about parallel dimensions and realities is philosophical mumbo jumbo that has no importance for QC, as far as I know.

 

[Plutoburn]

I think once people need to start using tougher encryption methods because quantum computing can break the standard AES-128 encryption, that should be enough to demonstrate it is not just all hype, and that it is actually superior to traditional computing in certain useful tasks.

 

[IDL]

I think once people need to start using tougher encryption methods because quantum computing can break the standard AES-128 encryption, that should be enough to demonstrate it is not just all hype, and that it is actually superior to traditional computing in certain useful tasks.

I'd wager this is already starting to happen with highly sensitive systems, but even when they start using stronger encryption with quantum computing in mind, it won't affect historical traffic so anything downloaded prior to switching is fair game.

 

[subtlySteve]

A quantum computer can solve in a single second problems that would take all the computers on Earth thousands of years to figure out.

Even the experts working on quantum computing don’t fully understand its potential yet.

Hartmut Neven, who leads Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, shared that their quantum chip, called "Willow," completed a crazy complex task known as a random circuit sampling benchmark in just five minutes.

For comparison, one of the world’s top classical supercomputers would need 10 septillion years (yeah, that’s 10 followed by 24 zeros) to do the same thing... longer than the age of the universe.

This mind-blowing capability has sparked some wild theories, like the idea that quantum computers might prove the multiverse is real.

Some believe these machines could be pulling information from parallel universes, essentially tapping into infinite sources of intelligence.

WILD.

 

[IDL]

One day maybe it will even solve the travelling salesman problem

 

[revoltub]

From what I gather quantum computers are supposed to be really good at certain tasks, for example cracking encryption, but what they are good at they are extremely good at. They aren't going to replace traditional computers for most things.

It is predicted that at some point in quantum computing development it will be able to crack all the current encryption historically used, which means that governments and such can start mass downloads of sensitive information from their adversaries to store for when they will be able to crack it all in the future. Huge risks.
This is sometimes referring to the "Quantum Apocalypse"

Ok, I’ll give you some shitty rundown of my very basic understanding, relying on extreme simplifications and analogies. I study computer science and math at university, but Im by no means an expert, and my physics knowledge is barely introductory level.

In a classical computer, each transistor can carry or not carry an electrical signal, and this is encoded as a 1 or a 0 (a binary digit, aka a ‘bit’). Say you wanted to explore 4 possibilities in any sort of process. You would need 2 transistors, and then you’d have them transmit 00, 01, 10, 11, and assign each of those values to one of the possibilities and look at the results.

With a quantum computer, the transistors are called qubits (quantum bits), and rely on particles with quantum behavior. Each one can be in both states simultaneously, so, a sequence of these can produce a range of results simultaneously. Simplifying a lot, instead of changing transistor A to 0, then to 1, then transistor B to 0, and then to 1, two qubits could explore all 4 possibilities in a single operation by superimposing these simultaneous states.

Now, imagine you have a lot of these bits or qubits, because the range of possibilities you need to explore is large. For reference, your home computer has billions of transistors. The potential speed up is not “half”, but much larger. It’s half for a single qubit vs a single transistor, but for 2 of them it’s 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4, for 3 it’s 1/8, etc. Then, in theory, your speed up would be 2^n, where n is the number of qubits you have (simplification). So, 500 qubits (close to the largest QC built) would do the work of 2^500 classical transistors. To give you an idea, the universe has about 2^300 atoms. In other words, it’s some large ass shit, and could do things beyond the scope of classical computers. This answers your last question, yes, it’s different from connecting a bunch of computers. Well, in theory perhaps not, but some calculations are so complicated that the universe would end before you were done, even if you connected all the largest supercomputers in existence. But with QC you could achieve them with relatively few qubits.

I’ll add more later if I have time, but one of the main applications would be in breaking encryption keys. Encryption techniques rely on factoring large numbers. It’s easy to provide the authorized user with a factor to use as an access key, while the other end (your bank, or whoever) holds a public key. When you combine the access key with the public key, you obtain a specific number that grants you access to information. It is nearly impossible to run a factorization algorithm that obtains the user key corresponding to the public key that decrypts the information, if you weren’t given this number in advance. This makes communications in the internet and elsewhere secure. Quantum computers would be able to break that encryption technique easily in theory, which would be a game changer, rendering nearly all internet traffic insecure. However, none of that is happening soon afaik, because quantum computers are tremendously different to engineer, and for now it’s all very experimental, and none of that has been achieved yet. They will not be available to regular users anyway, because they need to be kept in nearly absolute zero temperature and complete isolation from the environment. It’s like the atomic bomb changed warfare, but they require large budgets and special materials and experiese; criminals can easily build one in a lab.

The stuff about parallel dimensions and realities is philosophical mumbo jumbo that has no importance for QC, as far as I know.

So in theory they would be able to break the codes for block chain?

 

[avenue94]

A quantum computer can solve in a single second problems that would take all the computers on Earth thousands of years to figure out.

Even the experts working on quantum computing don’t fully understand its potential yet.

Hartmut Neven, who leads Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, shared that their quantum chip, called "Willow," completed a crazy complex task known as a random circuit sampling benchmark in just five minutes.

For comparison, one of the world’s top classical supercomputers would need 10 septillion years (yeah, that’s 10 followed by 24 zeros) to do the same thing... longer than the age of the universe.

This mind-blowing capability has sparked some wild theories, like the idea that quantum computers might prove the multiverse is real.

Some believe these machines could be pulling information from parallel universes, essentially tapping into infinite sources of intelligence.

WILD.

Quantum computing isn't a replacement for classical computing. Chill on the hype lol, they'll be good at some tasks and really bad at others. Not to mention they won't be any use for personal computing.

 

[subtlySteve]

Quantum computing isn't a replacement for classical computing. Chill on the hype lol, they'll be good at some tasks and really bad at others. Not to mention they won't be any use for personal computing.

Since when did facts become hype?

Oh, so you're saying you know better than the founder of Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab?

"Quantum computing isn't a replacement for classical computing." ... Well aren't you a contrarian stating the obvious?

No kidding, Captain Redundancy.

It’s like saying a scalpel isn’t good for chopping firewood.

So unless you’re a quantum engineer, how about you save the "relax, it's overhyped" takes for something less revolutionary? Like... I don't know... debating the best way to organize your sock drawer.

The third person going on my ignore list of 2025.

Bye.

 

[avenue94]

Since when did facts become hype?

Oh, so you're saying you know better than the founder of Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab?

"Quantum computing isn't a replacement for classical computing." ... Well aren't you a contrarian stating the obvious?

No kidding, Captain Redundancy.

It’s like saying a scalpel isn’t good for chopping firewood.

So unless you’re a quantum engineer, how about you save the "relax, it's overhyped" takes for something less revolutionary? Like... I don't know... debating the best way to organize your sock drawer.

The third person going on my ignore list of 2025.

Bye.

I'm pointing out that you clearly fell for the hype and missed the substance since you are focused on the less important part of Willow (solving a problem tailor made for QC where the solution can't be checked for accuracy), and missed the actual breakthrough (error correction).

Not to mention the multiverse explanation is seen as fairly hinky in the field since there's nothing that a multiverse would affect when it comes to quantum computing, based on what we know so far.

 

[Gene Tunney]

100 years from now, an advanced artificial intelligence program that we can't understand or fully comprehend gains access to an advanced quantum computer.

What would happen?

What could happen?

V'ger?

 

[Volador]

So in theory they would be able to break the codes for block chain?

I believe in theory yes, to some extent, but that sort of technology may be decades away. Most likely, new encryption techniques would be created before it ever became feasible in practice. I think blockchain is already more secure than other designs, so it would become vulnerable last, so to speak.

As we were saying, keep in mind that QC’s require extremely advanced and expensive laboratories to run, so it’s not like they will ever be commonly found in regular hackers’ hands. By the time it would be possible to do that, it’s most likely that all cybersecurity technology will have changed dramatically already.

For what it’s worth, the bitcoin community doesn’t seem worried about it. I found this link with info:

Quantum computing and Bitcoin - Bitcoin Wiki

 

[lsa]

@Clippy uses one to play doom on.
He says it's alrite