- The video is about the exploration of quantum computers with Marques Bradley and the host
- Quantum computers are different from traditional computers and operate at extremely cold temperatures
- They are compared to boats navigating new mathematical waters, not faster cars
- The video features a visit to IBM's quantum computer lab and an introduction to the technology
- The video also includes a sponsorship for Surfshark VPN
- The summary ends with a brief explanation of how classical computers work with bits made of silicon.

- Quantum computers use qubits, which are more complex than traditional bits
- They calculate things differently than classical computers and are good at finding structure in data and simulating nature
- They could potentially break current encryption methods, leading to the need for quantum-safe encryption
- The technology is rapidly advancing and has the potential to make a significant impact on the world
- The hosts of the video show are optimistic about the potential of quantum computing and encourage support for their show

Quantum computers aren’t what you've been told.
Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/CLEO - Enter promo code CLEO for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

Subscribe to support optimistic tech content (and see the next episode with MKBHD!): https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram

Subscribe to Marques here: https://www.youtube.com/mkbhd 

You’ve heard about quantum computers. Maybe you’ve seen the “race for quantum supremacy” between governments and companies, or read that quantum computers will break all encryption, or heard terms like “qubits” or “superposition” or “quantum mechanics” in a confusing tv segment. But you might be wondering… what does a quantum computer actually DO? And how could it actually affect my life?

@mkbhd and I had the same questions. Marques and I both realized quantum computing was this big important technology… that we didn’t really understand. So we decided to go on an adventure to learn the truth about quantum computers. And we're taking you with us, to show you what we learn as we learn it. But more importantly, to show you how these crazy computers might actually impact YOUR life... sooner than you think.

Chapters: 
00:00 What is a quantum computer?
02:00 Why is quantum computing important?
04:00 The Quantum Video Game analogy
06:33 Thank you Surfshark!
07:40 What does a quantum computer look like?
09:38 How does a quantum computer work?
12:00 What is a quantum computer good for?
13:21 Will quantum computers break all encryption?
15:22 What's the future of quantum computing?
16:27 Updating the Quantum Video Game analogy

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

Additional reading and watching:
- For more from the IBM team, I love the Qiskit YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@qiskit
- Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Michael G. Raymer https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35498912
- Totally Random, Why Nobody Understands Quantum Mechanics by Tanya Bub and Jeffrey Bub (a comic about quantum mechanics!) https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36642373
- How Quantum Computers Break The Internet... Starting Now by Veritasium https://youtu.be/-UrdExQW0cs 
- Quantum Computers Explained – Limits of Human Technology by Kurzgesagt https://youtu.be/JhHMJCUmq28 
- Quantum Computers, Explained With Quantum Physics by Quanta Magazine https://youtu.be/jHoEjvuPoB8
- The Map of Quantum Computing by Domain of Science https://youtu.be/-UlxHPIEVqA 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX

Music: Musicbed

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

There are 3 types of people in this world:
Those who understand quantum computing
Those who do not understand quantum computing
And those who both simultaneously do and do not understand quantum computing ;)

Use the word “type” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who read to the end!

Here I am seeing a real-life quantum computer for the very first time with my friend and king of tech YouTube Marques Bradley.

And I'm finally understanding why quantum computers are such a big deal.

Whichever nation first developed a practical quantum computer will have a tremendous advantage

I see a lot of news about quantum computers, and it's always extremely confusing.

That was really well done, and I still need to re-hear it.

They aren't bigger, faster versions of what we use now.

And that difference is actually the key to understanding why they're such a big deal, why governments around the world are battling it out to build them the fastest.

They're on track to change what we can build and how we understand the world.

They're kept at temperatures colder than space, but if you think you really understand how they work, you're probably wrong.

Marques and I both realized that there was this big, important technology that we really didn't understand.

So we decided to go on an adventure to figure out the truth about quantum computers, what they can really do, and why we should care.

And of course, we're taking you on that adventure with us to show you what we learn as we learn it.

And more importantly, to show you how these crazy computers might actually impact your life, and sooner than you think.

very new skill we just got, which is being able to hear when a quantum computer is working.

I swear I'm usually good with tech, but...

Like, the only function of this screen is to provide directions.

So we're going to visit IBM's quantum computer.

This is really exciting that they're letting us see this computer because it is, to my knowledge, the largest quantum computer that exists.

Which I say with confidence, like I know what that means.

Because like, I heard, you know, like supercomputers, they're massive rooms full of computers.

And I, when someone says we have the biggest supercomputer I'm like oh I can picture that.

The largest quantum computer I'm not even sure what to picture.

I imagine the golden octopus you know that thing that Biden looked at like this.

And I know that in order to see that, they have to shut down the computer.

So this is like, took some real logistics on their part to allow us to see it.

What is most interesting to you about quantum computing?

It's definitely on the edge of my expertise, I would say.

I'm really curious about when it's actually gonna touch like regular people.

At some point in the future, quantum computing will come into play with a real purchase decision.

Someone will have like a device that they can buy where quantum computing is a part of it or maybe went into its creation at least.

of the things that I think is very important to make clear is this is a different kind of explainer.

You're just coming with us as we figure this out.

Along for this adventure are Cody and Nicole.

Nicole is an associate producer on this episode who is also studying quantum communication for her PhD.

And Cody is our DP, the man behind the camera.

So when I started doing this episode, I spoke to a really famous quantum physicist.

He was really frustrated at the way that people were talking about quantum computers.

And I was like, okay, how do you want people to think about them like them?

Okay, here's the analogy that helps me understand what quantum computers are good for.

Imagine that you're on a video game map, and how you get around depends on how good you are at doing math.

You may not want to play this video game.

Things like geometry and astronomy took forever.

So you have your little pencil and paper and you're traveling across the mathematical map by walking.

So it was slow and there were lots of areas that we just couldn't explore because it was beyond our computational ability.

But then we developed early computers and that allowed us to input larger data sets and answer problems that had previously been out of reach.

These new computers unlocked new areas on our mathematical map.

Instead of walking everywhere, we can now ride horses, we can get farther faster, and we can access areas that were previously inaccessible.

But there were still parts of the map that our computers couldn't access.

Luckily, computers just kept getting better, and they allowed us to solve more and more complex math problems.

As a result, our virtual map has transformed.

We have roads and cars, and we're just reaching areas that were previously unreachable.

Better computers mean traveling across this map faster and more easily than ever.

The thing that he said was really important to understand is that quantum computers are not faster cars.

A boat is not necessarily better than a car.

They're just built for totally different terrain.

So with our new quantum computers, we're beginning to navigate these new mathematical waters, solving problems and discovering areas that traditional computers just can't.

My question for IBM is, what's in the water?

Like, what are the oceans that we're all of a sudden able to explore with our quantum computer boats?

I'm an analogy person, so I'm like fully absorbed in this now.

This is why I think a quantum computer is never gonna beat an iPhone.

But I think that this is a better thing to offer the audience, like to offer you guys, instead of like quantum computers are just another exciting computer.

I guess what people are probably clicking on this video, thinking in their head is, will there really never ever be a quantum computer in my pocket?

And I guess that would be, will there ever be a flying car boat?

Is the tech ever gonna get to that point?

I just wanna say I really appreciate your commitment

This does not look like there's a quantum computer here.

we get to IBM, I want to show you something.

So I travel a lot for Huge of True episodes.

I went to Spain recently to visit behind the scenes at Formula E testing, which was really, really fun.

But often when I travel, I want to make my computer believe that I'm still in the United States, just so that everything online feels normal to me.

The websites that I visit are in dollars, the TV shows that I like never get blocked, that kind of thing.

The way to do that is with a virtual private network or VPN.

If I'm using Surfshark and I set it to the United States, I can be at home online even when I'm traveling, which is really nice.

I want my computer to think that I'm somewhere else when I'm actually at home.

You might not realize that a lot of things, like airline flights especially, are priced differently depending on where they think you are when you're buying them, which...

But also, you don't have to put up with that.

So when I use Surfshark, I can set my location to 1 of 100 different countries and then hopefully spend less.

If you don't already use a VPN, you might find it useful.

If you want to try it out, click the link in my description and use the code CLIO for 83% off and 3 months free.

I think you'll probably like it, but if you don't, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

I'm a researcher at IBM, and I also work on the education and the community team.

We're going to go look for a quantum computer.

This is like where the Watson AI thing was displayed and it like competed on Jeopardy with like Ken Jennings.

It's Brent's lab so it's very nice of him to let

Actually this is a dilution refrigerator.

This whole thing is basically constructed to keep the quantum computer very, very cold.

It's the coldest thing basically in the universe.

So here, let me show you the 1 that we can like play with.

The quantum computer is a chip in this 1 here, but this whole thing keeps the quantum computer working at insanely cold temperatures like we talked about.

So all of these cables that you see here on the side carry signals down through the fridge into the processor and then they do their quantum stuff and it comes up and it goes to these room temperature control electronics and they turn it into things that humans can understand.

We were allowed to touch it, which was cool.

think it's really funny that when people generally talk about the difference between classical and quantum computers, people are like, okay, well You know how a classical computer works, right?

A simplification of it is it comes down to bits.

And bits are made out of pieces of silicon.

And you have tens of thousands to millions of them in your computer.

And they can either be in the state 0 or 1.

We call it the ground state or the excited state.

And everything that you type into your computer, like all words, all numbers, all colors, get translated into computer speech.

A qubit could be really likely to be 0, which means a lower energy wave.

Or it could be really likely to be 1, which means a higher energy wave.

And each qubit has a probability of being each.

When a quantum computer is working, the probabilities of multiple qubits interact.

And they add constructively or destructively, just like waves would.

You know how when you explain something to a two-year-old and they just keep going, why?

And they have to explain it again, and you go, why?

My question is, as the controller of the computer, you decide what about those probabilities.

Basically, you are altering the probabilities while you're running an algorithm.

It's a common misconception that quantum computers try all the options.

This is simplified, but it's more like a quantum computer kind of watches the pond.

It watches how all of those waves interact and then finds the most likely answer.

All you really need to know is that quantum computers calculate things very differently than classical computers do, and that makes them good at different things.

Quantum computers are not going to be faster at everything than a classical computer.

Because your calculator and your phone is perfectly good at that.

But the things that quantum computers are good at is finding structure in tons of data.

And if you're interested, we can close it back up.

So we have our boats and we're floating around discovering new parts of this map.

1 of the first new areas of interest is simulating nature.

Simulation of nature seems really interesting.

So nature fundamentally is quantum and it obeys quantum physics.

But if you look at like a molecular level and like the atomic structure of molecules, everything has to follow the laws of quantum physics.

It's really hard to calculate what a material or what an atom is going to do past a certain size.

So at a certain point, it just can't do it.

But if you're interested in developing battery technology or creating new materials that have long chains of molecules, you're going to need

Think of the new materials or medicines or molecules that we could make if we could better predict the way that nature behaves at a molecular scale.

Okay, so simulating nature is something that quantum computers could be amazing at.

But we're also getting closer to another use for quantum computing.

1 that people and governments are more concerned about.

A fully functional quantum computer could be built with code breaking capabilities that could render all forms of online encryption unreliable.

Okay, now this is the 1 that I've been waiting to ask about.

Why is everybody so obsessed with talking about quantum computers and encryption.

So the first major algorithm that was developed for quantum computers is Shor's algorithm, named after Peter Shor.

He invented an algorithm which basically can find factors, prime factors, for really large numbers.

Because that's the basis for RSA encryption, which is basically how all transactions on the internet are conducted.

And the entire reason that all of our encryption schemes today work that way is because it's basically impossible to crack that with a brute force classical algorithm.

It would take, I think it's like billions of years, but a quantum computer could do that way more efficiently.

So this global race now makes a ton of sense.

Whoever gets a quantum computer to actually do this has a big, obvious advantage.

That's 1 of the ones that requires probably like a million qubits or more to do, but we're working up to it.

So we're not going to be using quantum computers to break all internet security right now.

Today, we're at 433 qubits, the record set by IBM.

400 to a million qubits is a big difference, but Olivia is confident that we'll get there sooner than you think.

In the next 5 or even less years, we're gonna see people switching over to quantum safe algorithms because of this reason.


Speaker 0: So, this is it.

Speaker 1: This is a quantum computer.

Speaker 2: This is

Speaker 0: a quantum computer.

Speaker 3: Here I am seeing a real-life quantum computer for the very first time with my friend and king of tech YouTube Marques Bradley. And I'm finally understanding why quantum computers are such a big deal.

Speaker 4: Quantum computers. Quantum technology. What on earth is a quantum computer?

Speaker 3: It's qubit. Try all the codes at once.

Speaker 4: Whichever nation first developed a practical quantum computer will have a tremendous advantage

Speaker 3: in quantum supremacy. I see a lot of news about quantum computers, and it's always extremely confusing.

Speaker 4: That was really well done, and I still need to re-hear it.

Speaker 3: But also, it's often wrong. Quantum computers aren't supercomputers. They aren't bigger, faster versions of what we use now. They're something totally different. And that difference is actually the key to understanding why they're such a big deal, why governments around the world are battling it out to build them the fastest.

Quantum computers are wild. They're on track to change what we can build and how we understand the world. They're kept at temperatures colder than space, but if you think you really understand how they work, you're probably wrong. At least, I didn't. And that's where this video starts.

Marques and I both realized that there was this big, important technology that we really didn't understand. So we decided to go on an adventure to figure out the truth about quantum computers, what they can really do, and why we should care. And of course, we're taking you on that adventure with us to show you what we learn as we learn it. And more importantly, to show you how these crazy computers might actually impact your life, and sooner than you think.

Speaker 2: It's a

Speaker 1: very new skill we just got, which is being able to hear when a quantum computer is working. So it works. It's not broken. I swear I'm usually good with tech, but...

Speaker 3: Like, the only function of this screen is to provide directions. You're getting this? So we're going to visit IBM's quantum computer. This is really exciting that they're letting us see this computer because it is, to my knowledge, the largest quantum computer that exists. Which I say with confidence, like I know what that means.

Speaker 1: I was going to say, what is biggest? Because like, I heard, you know, like supercomputers, they're massive rooms full of computers. And I, when someone says we have the biggest supercomputer I'm like oh I can picture that. The largest quantum computer I'm not even sure what to picture.

Speaker 3: I imagine the golden octopus you know that thing that Biden looked at like this.

Speaker 1: The press images, yeah.

Speaker 3: And I know that in order to see that, they have to shut down the computer. So this is like, took some real logistics on their part to allow us to see it.

Speaker 2: This

Speaker 1: is a real deal.

Speaker 3: What is most interesting to you about quantum computing?

Speaker 1: It's definitely on the edge of my expertise, I would say. I'm really curious about when it's actually gonna touch like regular people. My whole concern is purchase decisions. At some point in the future, quantum computing will come into play with a real purchase decision. Someone will have like a device that they can buy where quantum computing is a part of it or maybe went into its creation at least.

When are we going to get to that 0.1

Speaker 3: of the things that I think is very important to make clear is this is a different kind of explainer. You're just coming with us as we figure this out.

Speaker 1: Exploratory explainer.

Speaker 3: Exactly. The whole new genre. Along for this adventure are Cody and Nicole. Nicole is an associate producer on this episode who is also studying quantum communication for her PhD. And Cody is our DP, the man behind the camera.

Thank god they're both here. So when I started doing this episode, I spoke to a really famous quantum physicist. He was really frustrated at the way that people were talking about quantum computers. And I was like, okay, how do you want people to think about them like them? Okay, here's the analogy that helps me understand what quantum computers are good for.

Imagine that you're on a video game map, and how you get around depends on how good you are at doing math. You may not want to play this video game. Bear with me. So first, there were no computers. Things like geometry and astronomy took forever.

So you have your little pencil and paper and you're traveling across the mathematical map by walking. So it was slow and there were lots of areas that we just couldn't explore because it was beyond our computational ability. But then we developed early computers and that allowed us to input larger data sets and answer problems that had previously been out of reach. These new computers unlocked new areas on our mathematical map. Instead of walking everywhere, we can now ride horses, we can get farther faster, and we can access areas that were previously inaccessible.

But there were still parts of the map that our computers couldn't access. Luckily, computers just kept getting better, and they allowed us to solve more and more complex math problems. As a result, our virtual map has transformed. We have roads and cars, and we're just reaching areas that were previously unreachable. Better computers mean traveling across this map faster and more easily than ever.

The thing that he said was really important to understand is that quantum computers are not faster cars. They're boats. A boat is not necessarily better than a car. They're just built for totally different terrain. So with our new quantum computers, we're beginning to navigate these new mathematical waters, solving problems and discovering areas that traditional computers just can't.

My question for IBM is, what's in the water? Like, what are the oceans that we're all of a sudden able to explore with our quantum computer boats?

Speaker 1: I love this. I'm an analogy person, so I'm like fully absorbed in this now.

Speaker 3: This is why I think a quantum computer is never gonna beat an iPhone. But I think that this is a better thing to offer the audience, like to offer you guys, instead of like quantum computers are just another exciting computer.

Speaker 1: I guess what people are probably clicking on this video, thinking in their head is, will there really never ever be a quantum computer in my pocket? And I guess that would be, will there ever be a flying car boat? You know? Is the tech ever gonna get to that point? Just a question.

Speaker 3: I just wanna say I really appreciate your commitment

Speaker 1: to this analogy. I love the analogy.

Speaker 3: Guys, we have arrived. Where have we have arrived to? This does not look like there's a quantum computer here. IBM Research Division. Here we go.

Speaker 2: Okay, before

Speaker 3: we get to IBM, I want to show you something. So I travel a lot for Huge of True episodes. I went to Spain recently to visit behind the scenes at Formula E testing, which was really, really fun. But often when I travel, I want to make my computer believe that I'm still in the United States, just so that everything online feels normal to me. The websites that I visit are in dollars, the TV shows that I like never get blocked, that kind of thing.

The way to do that is with a virtual private network or VPN. Specifically this 1, Surfshark. If I'm using Surfshark and I set it to the United States, I can be at home online even when I'm traveling, which is really nice. But sometimes I want the opposite. I want my computer to think that I'm somewhere else when I'm actually at home.

You might not realize that a lot of things, like airline flights especially, are priced differently depending on where they think you are when you're buying them, which... But also, you don't have to put up with that. So when I use Surfshark, I can set my location to 1 of 100 different countries and then hopefully spend less. If you don't already use a VPN, you might find it useful. I know I do.

If you want to try it out, click the link in my description and use the code CLIO for 83% off and 3 months free. Which is just a crazy good deal. I think you'll probably like it, but if you don't, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. So go check them out. Now, back to the story.

Speaker 2: All right.

Speaker 3: Let's go.

Speaker 2: Let's go

Speaker 3: see a quantum computer. We made it. We're here. Here we go. Do you want to introduce yourself first?

Oh, sure. Olivia, audience, audience, Olivia.

Speaker 0: Hi, I'm Olivia Lanes. I'm a researcher at IBM, and I also work on the education and the community team. We're going to go look for a quantum computer.

Speaker 3: What's going on here?

Speaker 0: This is our Watson setup. No, please go ahead. This is like where the Watson AI thing was displayed and it like competed on Jeopardy with like Ken Jennings.

Speaker 1: Watson, what is Chu? You are right.

Speaker 0: This is Brent. It's Brent's lab so it's very nice of him to let

Speaker 3: us in. Great to meet you. Thanks for having us.

Speaker 0: So this is the lab.

Speaker 3: That's the quantum computer?

Speaker 0: Yeah. Actually this is a dilution refrigerator. This whole thing is basically constructed to keep the quantum computer very, very cold. 15 millikelvin. It's the coldest thing basically in the universe.

It's colder than outer space.

Speaker 3: So inside that is 15 millikelvin. Yep.

Speaker 0: So here, let me show you the 1 that we can like play with. This is it.

Speaker 1: This, this is a quantum computer.

Speaker 0: This is a quantum computer. The quantum computer is a chip in this 1 here, but this whole thing keeps the quantum computer working at insanely cold temperatures like we talked about.

Speaker 3: So this is all refrigerator technology.

Speaker 0: So all of these cables that you see here on the side carry signals down through the fridge into the processor and then they do their quantum stuff and it comes up and it goes to these room temperature control electronics and they turn it into things that humans can understand.

Speaker 3: That is a quantum computer. We were allowed to touch it, which was cool. Oh my God. So I

Speaker 0: think it's really funny that when people generally talk about the difference between classical and quantum computers, people are like, okay, well You know how a classical computer works, right? But the truth is that nobody knows that. A simplification of it is it comes down to bits. And bits are made out of pieces of silicon. And you have tens of thousands to millions of them in your computer.

And they can either be in the state 0 or 1. We call it the ground state or the excited state. And everything that you type into your computer, like all words, all numbers, all colors, get translated into computer speech. But it's very binary, right? A quantum computer is run on qubits.

Speaker 3: Qubits aren't like bits. They aren't a 1 or a 0. They're more complex. Think of this like a wave. A qubit could be really likely to be 0, which means a lower energy wave.

Or it could be really likely to be 1, which means a higher energy wave. And each qubit has a probability of being each. When a quantum computer is working, the probabilities of multiple qubits interact.

Speaker 0: And they add constructively or destructively, just like waves would. If you were to tap 2 places in a pond.

Speaker 1: You know how when you explain something to a two-year-old and they just keep going, why? And they have to explain it again, and you go, why? Yeah. My question is, as the controller of the computer, you decide what about those probabilities.

Speaker 0: Basically, you are altering the probabilities while you're running an algorithm.

Speaker 3: It's a common misconception that quantum computers try all the options. That's not right. This is simplified, but it's more like a quantum computer kind of watches the pond. It watches how all of those waves interact and then finds the most likely answer. If this is all confusing, don't worry.

All you really need to know is that quantum computers calculate things very differently than classical computers do, and that makes them good at different things.

Speaker 0: Quantum computers are not going to be faster at everything than a classical computer. Like, it's not good for addition, right? Because your calculator and your phone is perfectly good at that. But the things that quantum computers are good at is finding structure in tons of data. And if you're interested, we can close it back up.

Speaker 3: Absolutely. Put us to work. Yeah. Let's go back to our virtual map. So we have our boats and we're floating around discovering new parts of this map.

1 of the first new areas of interest is simulating nature.

Speaker 1: Simulation of nature seems really interesting. Why is nature 1 of the things?

Speaker 0: So nature fundamentally is quantum and it obeys quantum physics. We just don't normally see it. But if you look at like a molecular level and like the atomic structure of molecules, everything has to follow the laws of quantum physics. It's really hard to calculate what a material or what an atom is going to do past a certain size. So at a certain point, it just can't do it.

But if you're interested in developing battery technology or creating new materials that have long chains of molecules, you're going to need

Speaker 3: a quantum computer. This is why people are so excited. Think of the new materials or medicines or molecules that we could make if we could better predict the way that nature behaves at a molecular scale. Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Oh

Speaker 1: yeah. Oh yeah. Oh

Speaker 2: yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

Speaker 0: Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Speaker 3: Oh yeah. There you go. Boom. Okay, so simulating nature is something that quantum computers could be amazing at. But we're also getting closer to another use for quantum computing.

1 that people and governments are more concerned about. Completely new encryption algorithms. Break encryption.

Speaker 4: Quantum resistant encryption. A fully functional quantum computer could be built with code breaking capabilities that could render all forms of online encryption unreliable.

Speaker 3: Okay, now this is the 1 that I've been waiting to ask about. Okay. Why is everybody so obsessed with talking about quantum computers and encryption.

Speaker 0: So the first major algorithm that was developed for quantum computers is Shor's algorithm, named after Peter Shor. Super nice guy. He invented an algorithm which basically can find factors, prime factors, for really large numbers. Why does anyone care about this? Because that's the basis for RSA encryption, which is basically how all transactions on the internet are conducted.

And the entire reason that all of our encryption schemes today work that way is because it's basically impossible to crack that with a brute force classical algorithm. It would take, I think it's like billions of years, but a quantum computer could do that way more efficiently. We're talking hours to days.

Speaker 3: So this global race now makes a ton of sense. Whoever gets a quantum computer to actually do this has a big, obvious advantage. But we haven't done that yet.

Speaker 0: That's 1 of the ones that requires probably like a million qubits or more to do, but we're working up to it.

Speaker 3: So we're not going to be using quantum computers to break all internet security right now. Today, we're at 433 qubits, the record set by IBM. 400 to a million qubits is a big difference, but Olivia is confident that we'll get there sooner than you think.

Speaker 0: In the next 5 or even less years, we're gonna see people switching over to quantum safe algorithms because of this reason.

Speaker 3: So RSA goes away and we have quantum safe encryption instead? Probably.

Speaker 0: Not all at once. But gradually, you're gonna see people do it. We're progressing at an incredibly fast rate. We're solving problems that people didn't even begin to know how to crack 2 years ago. But we've done it, like every single year, everything that we say we do, we do.

Nothing mathematically or physically prevents it. And so if the physics says it's allowed, the engineers will find a way.

Speaker 1: That's sick. I'm picturing that I'm adjusting the analogy slightly that it's submarine because there are sort of different levels of quantum computing.

Speaker 0: Yeah, we are just skimming the surface. We're going to keep iterating and improving upon this technology every single year. And we're probably going to discover, like, new applications that we haven't even considered yet.

Speaker 1: It's a bottomless ocean.

Speaker 0: It's a bottomless ocean.

Speaker 3: The tour was amazing. And as we left, we thought about what we learned. Awesome, let me just get on the highway. And then we'll have thoughts. Quantum computers do look exactly like I imagined they look.

They look like the picture.

Speaker 1: Like the picture, yeah.

Speaker 3: But something about being in person with it was just like, oh, helped me understand that this is a fundamentally different technology. Like it just looks so weird.

Speaker 1: I'm really glad I got to finish exploring that analogy and fully understand it too and adjust it a little bit to like really encapsulate at least everything that I currently understand about quantum computers in that there is an evolution to the future of them and that they are specialized and really good at certain things. It's just a I like a good analogy so that helped

Speaker 2: a lot.

Speaker 3: Okay so what is your summary of the analogy now?

Speaker 1: I think we can keep almost all of it, which is that our exploration of other fields of mathematics and physics and science was equivalent to other steadily advancing forms of transportation around our imaginary video game island. But I liked adjusting to submarine because there are levels to it. It's more of a bottomless ocean in that we're just gonna keep going. The tech gets better, there's no physical limit, it just continues to improve.

Speaker 3: Here's how Olivia put the dream of how we'd actually use quantum computers.

Speaker 0: It's beautiful because, of course, we all want to make the world a better place. We want to develop technology that's gonna enable us to do fundamentally different and better things. But It's also beautiful because part of the human experience is you just want to learn what we are and learn more about the world we live in. And the fact is, the world is quantum mechanical.

Speaker 3: There you have it. Thanks for coming. Peace. This episode was so much fun to make. Huge if True is a genuinely optimistic, journalistically rigorous show about finding ways to use technology to make the world better.

If that's something that you believe in, the best thing that you can do to support us is to subscribe. And If you like this episode, you definitely should subscribe because Marques and I already have another adventure planned. Also, if you subscribe, leave a comment and let me know. I'd love to meet you. See you for the next 1.

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Quantum Computers, explained with MKBHD