A Time for Enlightenment

Hey yall. I was in a computer lab earlier today and I was writing a big post about my life and all that, and the window fagged up and I lost the whole bloody thing. One of the things I covered in it was the fact that since my last post I've spent about 7 minutes in front of a word document typing anything other than essays or assignments. So I can't seem to get any writing done. Well I just finished writing my final essay for Computer Science 2760, its 4:38 in the morning and I've decided to post my essay here. If not super well written, its an interesting glimpse at the future of computing and I think that anyone with an interest in science or computers should read it. If you don't fall into that category, you're probably reading the wrong blog. So without further delay, I give you:

Quantum Computing: A Glimpse at Tomorrow

On April 19th 1965 Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel stated to an interviewer from Electronics Magazine, what would later be titled - by CalTech professor Carver Mead - Moore’s Law. It was a projection of computing technology into the future based on the trends of technology at that time. The law states that the complexity for minimum component costs increases at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year. The law largely holds true even today as we see the effect of microchips on computing power. If we are to assume that the law will hold true for even the near future, then it seems only a matter of time before transistors can exist on an atomic scale.

The concept of Quantum Computing has existed since the 1920’s, but only recently has mankind begun to experiment with atomic scale matter manipulation and conceptualize using atoms to hold data or make calculations. The original idea is based on principles from quantum physics called Quantum Superposition and Quantum Entanglement.

Superposition in the context of atoms and subatomic particles is a name given to the behaviour of these particles holding two or more eigenstates as representatives of observable characteristics. The combination of two or more eigenstates in one quantity is the basic concept behind the application of superposition to quantum mechanics. The projection for this phenomenon states that when measured, the state will quite randomly collapse into one of the values in the superposition and immediately afterwards assume the original multi-value.

One such atom or subatomic particle could essentially act as a computer bit under the right circumstances. Standard computers of today create thousands of bits a second however once created; they exist as either a 1 or a 0 until they are deleted or lost. In a quantum computer each created quantum bit or qubit is a permanent addition to the processor and exist as both a 1 and a 0 simultaneously (or in a superposition) until the instant they are measured. In that instant, the values collapse into a 1 or 0, and then immediately retain both values simultaneously again.

With bits created, it’s now a matter of transferring data between them. This is where quantum entanglement comes in. The second – and much less understood - phenomenon is the characteristic of atoms if prepared in such a way, to form wave functions that become a combined system. This essentially intertwines the fates of both bits. So if two atoms (or for our purposes, qubits) exist in a superposition, and both qubits are entangled, when some value of one qubit (eg: the energy or polarity) is measured and the qubit’s values collapse into one value, the superposition of the entangled qubit will instantly collapse into the same value. This will occur at precisely the same instant in time regardless of the physical distance between qubits, be them a few inches apart or at opposite ends of the known universe.

As earlier stated the reasons behind the latter principle are widely unknown. Einstein himself had difficulty with the topic, later referring to entanglement as a “spooky relation at a distance.” But despite reasons for this occurrence, scientists have been experimenting with methods of artificially recreating the natural phenomenon for our own purposes for years now. The results are promising and lead to the possibility of developing computing devices with parallel processing capabilities far beyond any devices in development today.

Obviously, personal quantum computers are most likely decades away, however the implications these machines have for society on all levels are both fantastic and exciting, yet quite literally frightening.


Most of today’s technology is based on principles (or for our purposes, limitations) of computers that have been around since the first calculators. Any contemporary computer based on Von Neumann architecture does calculations in a sequential manner so regardless of how fast engineers make them; a problem with enough calculations can easily stump a machine of today. The purest example of this is the idea of factoring an extremely large number. But I will explain this example further in a moment.

The important thing to remember is that universal truths of computing are evaporating. Principles that have existed as a part of all computers for the better part of a century will have no bearing after the implementation of tomorrow’s machines.

For the purposes of this paper, we will examine the effects that this new technology will have on two levels of society. Firstly, we’ll see the ramifications for society as a whole, and afterwards decide on the most likely and most obvious effects the technology will have on the individual, acting as a member of society. After that (if there’s time) we will try to decide on a definite standpoint in either supporting the development of quantum computers, or opposing it.

From the standpoint of our civilization as a whole, the addition of quantum computing to our lives will usher in a period of drastic change. The flow of information along with our ability to understand science will be redefined, much as it was with the invention of the printing press, or the World Wide Web.

With nearly infinite computing power, huge tasks for today’s computers will become child’s play. The monumental amount of information held in the human genome is currently being decoded and mapped. This process by conventional methods could take several decades. The completion of a functioning quantum computation device before this time would mean the procedure could be completed in weeks or even days. In fact the as of now, widely unknown properties of a theoretical quantum computer could potentially hash through vast amounts of calculations such as the human genome project, or the mapping of the stars in our galaxy in a matter of hours, minutes, or even seconds. The monotonous process of cataloguing the celestial bodies of our galaxy could easily, with the proper computing power be an automated process. An orbital satellite could potentially be programmed to take digital snapshots of sections of sky, map the stars to coordinates on each image, triangulate each star’s distance from the sun, classify it based on color, size, local star clusters, etc and finally store the image, and information to a database. After that it would be a simple matter of teaching the machine the universal naming scheme for astronomy.

Code breaking potential is the attribute most directly responsible for the worldwide interest in developing quantum computers. Contemporary data encoding on transferred information such as satellite signals, bank transactions, coordinates to secret government UFO research facilities (and other fun places), all operate based on the limits of today’s computing power. Going back to the factoring example, if a machine were to try and decrypt one of the “unbreakable” codes of today, it would most likely run into an operation such as factoring a number with about 400 digits. Theoretically speaking, it could be done by a standard computer, but it would take billions of years for it to complete the task (hardware doesn't last that long). Being that a qubit can collapse from superposition to a single value in literally no time, its parallel calculation potential lends itself to the idea that these encodings could be hashed through in a matter of hours.

If the ability to hack any ATM, satellite system, or other heavily encrypted network, was suddenly available to the world, there would be quite probably a period of upheaval. The introduction of quantum computers undoubtedly will usher in a new form of encoding that will use a system of truly random numbers instead of a system as primitive as difficult mathematics. This will make for certainly unbreakable encryption. The transition to this encryption will be slow however, without the implementation of some sort of communications technology that allows all forms of digital media to directly interact (Like in AntiTrust starring Ryan Phillipe and Tim Robbins). During this period between phases, any one person with access to a quantum computer could essentially have control over the communications network of the entire planet.

The most potentially race altering change quantum computers could have on society is the ability it would give us - if humans are mentally matured enough - to explore the utopian governing idea of a world senate, or perhaps direct democracy. In today’s society even if we consider ourselves mentally capable of making this system work, there are physical boundaries stopping us from achieving it. The technology to collect and tally the votes of a nation, or a world full of people simply does not exist, and building it today is not economically feasible. However, the ability of qubits to transfer data between themselves at an instant speed, will mean that not only will quantum computers have incredible computing power by themselves, but will be able to act together as a single unit, largely unaffected by the distance between them. Even before personal quantum computers that people will be able to use for voting purposes at any point in time, anywhere in the world, governments could easily set up cheap computing devices everywhere in much the same way voting booths are set up today. This setup would pave the way for a possible system of government in which no one person or group of persons is elected to make decisions for the whole of society. A system could exist in which the whole of society could make individual decisions concerning its own governance in the form of votes from every member of the whole. A society could exist in which any one member is equally active in the law making, development, goals, and maintenance as any other. It could easily be argued that humans are not mentally ready for this system nor will they be ready in the near future yet the simple fact remains that even if this is true, the physical restriction that is hindering us could no longer exist, leaving the option open for tomorrow’s brighter children.

Another exciting possibility of quantum computing is the ability it would give us to manufacture microscopic machines and control a multitude of them at once. “Nanobots” are a big issue among doctors, engineers, and computer scientists even today. And to an extent humans have succeeded in developing primitive and too-large prototypes of tomorrow’s nanoms. Though transistors and processing chips are minuscule in size by today’s standards, they are still too big to allow the production of truly infinitesimal computers. Apart from that, all implications for nanobots are based on their ability to act as one in completing goals. Controlling so many machines, giving each a unique order, and then processing the output, would be a taxing procedure for an IBM PC. The future could unlock the ability to inject human tissue with machines to kill viruses and harmful bacteria, speed blood clotting in open wounds, lay dormant in blood streams ready to administer electric shock in the event of heart failure, or even enhance the ability of blood cells, muscle tissue, brain activity, or any sensory perception.

Apart from playing a part in the course humanity takes, the individual member of our hypothetical society would undergo a somewhat slow exposure to quantum computers. Like any technology that potentially threatens the defence of a nation, the government would control quantum computers for the early years of their development. The public of course would have access to the medical treatment quantum computers would unlock, such as the advancements in gene manipulation, or access to nanobots already discussed. However average people would not have unlimited access to quantum computers until either the government could set what it deemed as the safe borders of use for the technology, or society as a whole took it upon itself to govern the technology and use it for it’s own intentions (again, it can be argued that human beings are nowhere near mentally capable of acting as a whole yet).

As I said earlier, the spooky relation between atoms, (or for our purposes, the qubits of a quantum computing device) exists despite the proximity of the atoms to each other. Because of this, the individual will begin to notice the advances to technology in much the same way humans today are seeing the advances to worldwide communications, but at a far greater rate and on a much grander scale. The internet, if it exists under the same name by then, will not be composed of the millions of electricity reorganizers it is now, but as a series of infinite atoms speaking to each other across great distances, and all data is transferred in blinks of time incomparable to today’s transfer rates. From that point, the obvious choice for betterment is the centralizing of all media types into one universal signal that would send sound, video streams, and terabytes of any other data to terminals located literally anywhere.

With genome and brain mapping now nearly if not fully complete, and the potential to take the concept of neural nets (that even today are quickly becoming superior to the human mind) and develop thinking nets the size of large molecules, the possibility of not only nano-augmentation of body tissue, but of synthetic brain implants can become a reality. When individual nodes of a neural net can exist at such sizes, it would be quite feasible to attach nets to parts of the brain where memories are stored, motor functions controlled, and cognitive thinking controlled. This implementation (albeit even further into the future than quantum computers themselves) leads to the idea of artificially raising the potential of all human minds to the genius level or beyond. Of course, this brings us into the realm of philosophy, in which we have to examine exactly what it is that makes us human. Much like body piercing, or tattoos today, members of society will go overboard with the manipulations they make to their own bodies as new procedures and manipulations become available to the public over time. The question we will need to begin asking ourselves is when a person becomes more machine than flesh, can he or she still be considered a human?

Without a doubt there are many aspects of the coming technology that seem malicious. There are questionable uses for an abundance of computing power like humans have never before imagined, but I think the relevant question is “How is that different than any other powerful technology?” Even as I sit writing this essay there are thousands of people dying from any number of diseases. There are people like George W. Bush in charge of powerful nations in the world, making war mongering decisions that will negatively effect us all in a big way. And worst of all, there are bottle necks all over the internet hindering the flow of downloaded media to my hard drive. I think that with any big change in society there is risk, and the decision must be based on whether the good outweighs the bad. I believe in this case it does. In an extreme case, the economic collapse of countries around the world would be worth the trade off of a cure for cancer, or diabetes. Money can be remade, reprinted. A human life is unique. I think the only logical conclusion to make is that, the reasons for or against trying to develop quantum computers are irrelevant.

When Einstein at last verified that it was within his power to create the atomic bomb, his first question to himself was “Should I?” To be realistic, humans of today no longer view science and technology with that same fearful respect. To be realistic, it was never a question of should we strive towards the creation of quantum computers, but simply a matter of when we would figure them out. Just as Einstein decided to make the A-Bomb before Japan, or Russia, or Germany could build one, humans will strive towards quantum computers if for no other reason than to do it before humans from an enemy country or rogue state can do it. Tomorrow’s events will in the end most likely come down to who develops the technology initially. People in general can prepare themselves and change their ways for the upcoming wonders, or dumbly play it out and change because of technology’s effects on us. In either case, it is simply a matter of time before we find out whether computing power will be the guiding force, prematurely saving humanity from its own mistakes, or simply another implement we can use for our own destruction.

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Well there it is. I can't wait to see my prof's written reaction to the AntiTrust movie reference. In either case, I hope you enjoyed that. It is now 5:07 however and my head hurts. Good night comrades. On the morrow....

Nick