Eight areas where enterprises benefit from quantum computing

The future benefits of quantum computers for humanity are not yet known, but if their potential is realized, they could lead to incredible breakthroughs for business and industry. Here are eight benefits that quantum computers could eventually bring to businesses now or in the future.

 

Artificial Intelligence

 

Quantum artificial intelligence

 

Cryptography and cybersecurity

 

Fast data analysis

 

Assisted new drug development

 

More efficient manufacturing processes

 

Operations Optimization

 

Traffic optimization

 

 

01Artificial Intelligence

 

Artificial intelligence neural network diagram flowchart showing input layer, hidden layer and output layer.

 

 

Quantum computers will help build faster and better artificial intelligence, which will help all businesses that harness the power of artificial intelligence. Machine learning is being considered on near-term quantum devices; quantum machine learning combined with quantum circuits can function like artificial neural networks.

 

Currently, neural networks are used for artificial intelligence in classical computers, which "learn" and "teach" computers to process through training data in a manner similar to how the human brain works. This capability in turn helps to further develop artificial intelligence in computer science.

 

That said, the computational power of classical computers can be limited, depending on the application, so sometimes it takes a long time to process with these neural networks. Therefore, AI designed using classical computers may also be limited and not reach its true potential.

 

02Quantum artificial intelligence

 

Quantum computers are expected to be exponentially more powerful than classical computers. In a recent article in Physics, a quantum-assisted machine learning algorithm that includes quantum circuits creates the equivalent of handwritten numbers and performs better than its classical computer counterpart. They will eventually harness this potential processing power to rapidly simulate large neural networks, resulting in faster and more efficient AI. in the future, customers can use quantum computers to process real-time data, which opens up new ways for AI to engage, interact and learn from the real world.

 

Such a powerful and efficient AI will help companies create better virtual assistants, provide better product/service recommendations, more accurately measure customers' emotional states, help with sales forecasting, design driverless cars, and much more.

 

The gaming industry will also benefit heavily from advances in AI, which will help them create more complex and diverse terrain and populate game worlds with NPC characters that can carry on coherent and natural conversations.

 

Some researchers also hypothesize that quantum computers will make it possible for AGI (artificial general intelligence) to become a reality.

 

03Cryptography and cybersecurity

 

 

The advent of quantum computers will make past encryption protocols obsolete, as they will be able to crack even the toughest encryption techniques in minutes. Fortunately, quantum computers will also bring new encryption algorithms, currently known as post-quantum ciphers, which should provide an almost unbreakable and hacker-proof layer of protection.

 

In addition, using quantum phenomena such as entanglement, physicists are currently working on developing a quantum Internet. It will use QKD (quantum key distribution), which makes spoofing nearly impossible. Communication over the quantum Internet will be ultra-secure and virtually unbreakable.

 

04Fast Data Analysis

 

Did you know that classical computers cannot perform "multitasking"?

 

A classical computer can only perform one task at a time. However, it can do that one task very quickly, and then jump back and forth between multiple tasks, even though it is doing each one at a time, creating the illusion of multitasking. This technology is good enough for regular everyday computing use, such as web browsing, streaming audio, playing games, and so on. However, for businesses that deal with big data and need to run thousands or millions of calculations and mathematical models, solving each task at once can and will slow down business.

 

This is where quantum computers come into play.

 

Quantum computers are proposed to perform true multitasking by computing multiple tasks in parallel and simultaneously. They can quickly compress large data sets and execute complex mathematical models in seconds. The most powerful classical computers may take close to days or even months to accomplish the same task.

 

As a result, quantum computing will be a considerable asset for large companies and industries such as financial services, banks, security agencies and many other commercial enterprises that need to analyze big data to obtain business-critical forecasts and predictions.

 

05Aiding new drug development

 

Young female scientist taking notes while looking through a telescope and studying the development of new drugs

 

One of the most critical areas where quantum computers show the most promise and huge societal impact is in the development of new drugs: in particular, some that have the potential to cure currently incurable diseases. Using classical computers and other scientific techniques, it takes pharmaceutical companies close to 12 years on average to attempt to develop a new drug; in addition to time, there is also the financial investment in research and development, trials and testing to consider, which can cost billions of dollars.

 

Now, because quantum computers harness the power of quantum physics, they can accurately simulate new molecules and then test their interactions with other molecules (e.g., viruses/bacteria).

 

Quantum-assisted drug development is preliminary and theoretical, but highly plausible, as a number of projects are underway. Recently, Accenture Labs, in collaboration with 1QBit and Biogen, achieved a breakthrough related to drug development by validating that a quantitative approach to molecular comparison is as good as, if not better than, existing methods.

 

In the future, this new revolutionary technology will help enable the treatment of a number of diseases: the world will be able to create new drugs to fight many prevalent diseases and new ones that may emerge in the future.

 

06A more efficient manufacturing process

 

Quantum computers will make it super easy to manage and maintain large-scale manufacturing processes.

 

Manufacturing goods and products is becoming more and more complex, with massive supply chain integration, managing availability and pricing of various components, warehousing needs of components, etc. While large manufacturers and companies are using classical computers to manage these tasks, the use of quantum computers could make the whole process much more streamlined.

 

For example, with quantum computers, you can use the Grover algorithm to make searching large unindexed databases super easy. In addition, IonQ and Hyundai recently collaborated to develop new variable fraction quantum (VQE) algorithms to study lithium compounds in battery chemistry: these VQE quantum algorithms will be used to improve the safety, charge and discharge cycles, durability and capacity of lithium batteries.

 

Likewise, the vast computing power of quantum systems will analyze product supply and demand and help companies determine the optimal way to order components and begin manufacturing.

 

07Operations Optimization

 

Save-On-Foods uses D-Wave's quantum computing to help them solve logistical problems that can't be solved by classical computers. Within two months of working together, D-Wave created a hybrid quantum algorithm that reduced the computation time for some of Save-On-Foods' operational tasks from 25 hours per week to just a few seconds.

 

Currently, quantum optimization methods are not guaranteed to find the optimal solution to optimization problems, and they do not always work better than other classical computational optimization techniques.

 

Companies often encounter situations where they need to find the best course of action, i.e., to find the optimal solution from a sea of potential solutions. To meet this particular need, classical supercomputers are used to compute numbers using specialized algorithms. Unfortunately, these algorithms take a long time to provide a result. Many of these algorithms can resort to shortcuts that reduce turnaround time and yield suboptimal solutions in many cases.

 

However, quantum computers have the potential to solve many of these problems in a matter of seconds using optimized solutions: something that would take even the most powerful supercomputers of this era years to accomplish.

 

Hopefully, in the future, evidence will be produced that quantum optimization has a definite advantage over classical computer optimization.

 

08Traffic optimization

 

Volkswagen is the first automaker to use quantum computing for route and traffic management. Volkswagen has been working with quantum computing since 2016; in 2017, it purchased two D-Wave quantum computers for $15 million each and has been working on quantum solutions for its industry ever since.

 

Quantum computers could make traffic congestion a thing of the past: traffic jams are partly caused by road accidents or unruly drivers; but at the same time, the entire traffic system plays a huge role. Suppose a traffic system can process data about the number of drivers on the road, the amount of traffic expected on a given road at a given time, and other road conditions. In this case, it could theoretically control traffic signals to optimize traffic routing and minimize the amount of time spent waiting in congestion.

 

Of course, in most countries or states, the government would be responsible for deploying such a system. But once fully implemented, it would greatly benefit businesses, especially those dealing with logistics.

 

The same principles will translate seamlessly into the aviation scenario. This improvement will allow airline agencies to better route their aircraft, minimizing the number of flight delays and optimizing their overall revenue.

 

09Conclusion

 

A businessman works in a modern office, sitting at a desk and using a cloud-based quantum computer application from a desktop computer.

 

Companies will benefit primarily from the enormous computing power that quantum computers bring. Companies can use this power to solve complex optimization problems and analyze large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. These capabilities will help unlock better cryptography and cybersecurity options, faster and more effective artificial intelligence, and better prediction and forecasting capabilities.

 

In terms of specifics, quantum computers will help the pharmaceutical industry develop new drugs, automakers develop self-driving cars, airlines better manage air traffic, and more.

 

Reference link:

https://www.techevaluate.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-quantum-computing-for-businesses/