Why? Quantum computing will happen to or for South Carolina
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Improvement in computing power drives growth in just about all aspects of the modern economy, especially sectors such as: finance, drug discovery, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and securing the data that drives our infrastructure.
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While we experience the benefits of classical computing every day (cell phones, cars, internet security and searching), and while computer chips have been getting smaller and processors more powerful, today’s computers (and even supercomputers) have hit their relative ceiling.
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Up until 2021, an IBM supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Lab named Summit had been recognized as the world’s fastest supercomputer. Roughly the size of two tennis courts, Summit can perform more than three quintillion calculations per second. In 2021, Summit was beaten by a chip no bigger than a thumbnail. In just three minutes and 20 seconds, this chip performed a series of calculations that would have taken Summit 10,000 years.
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This new approach to computing is at the heart of a fundamentally different kind of computer called a Quantum computer. As a direct result of Quantum computing technology entering the commercial market, computing as we know it will change more in the next 10 years than it has since the introduction of computers.
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There is no doubt Quantum computing will contribute greatly to the areas of critical importance to South Carolina’s economy: fields of finance, drug discovery, aerospace design, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and data security.
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South Carolina must invest in a roadmap including experienced leadership in community building, collaboration, and entrepreneurship to support academic and industry partners in this Quantum future. If we don’t, we risk losing a generational pipeline of talent and employers.