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A quantum leap for mankind, and business. And for Switzerland?
“Quantum computing has been the future for several years. But now the technology appears to be reaching an inflection point, shifting from solely a scientific problem to a joint science and engineering one - quantum engineering”, explains John Chiaverini, a researcher at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Quantum Information and Integrated Nanosystems Group (Boston), in a very explanatory MIT News article. And on the first row to benefit from this new technology: the banking and finance industry.
Not such a surprise, as “it was an early adopter of everything from mainframe computers to artificial intelligence. For most of the past decade more trades have been done at high frequency by complex algorithms than by humans”, underlines The Economist (see below). But the quantum promise “is now starting to be realised. Computing giants like Google and IBM (in Zurich among other sites), as well as a flock of smaller competitors, are building and refining quantum hardware”. Even better: a team at Caltech/Fermilab/NASA just the first demonstration of sustained, high-fidelity quantum teleportation over long distances. In other words: a possible totally secured communication channel between two banks using quantum computers.
Switzerland is in the lead in those two fields: banking & finance and quantum technologies, with many worldwide top-level research institutes (grouped in the SwissQuantum network), one of the earliest being at the University of Geneva. A fantastic opportunity that needs to be caught! As former Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann put it: “We are at the crossroads for quantum technology. Now it is time to invest!"
-Olivier Dessibourg
(EN)
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