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Keep quantum computing global and open

The race to cash in is draining universities of talent, fracturing the field and closing off avenues of enquiry, warn Jacob D. Biamonte, Pavel Dorozhkin and Igor Zacharov.
  1. Jacob D. Biamonte

    1. Jacob D. Biamonte is associate professor and head of laboratory at the Deep Quantum Laboratory, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.

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  2. Pavel Dorozhkin

    1. Pavel Dorozhkin is deputy director of the industrial programmes department at the Deep Quantum Laboratory, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.

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  3. Igor Zacharov

    1. Igor Zacharov is a senior research scientist at the Deep Quantum Laboratory, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.

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A scientist works on the D-Wave 2000Q system.

A researcher works on a device for cooling the quantum enhanced processor developed by D-Wave Systems in Burnaby, Canada. Credit: D-Wave Systems

In just a few years, the field of quantum computing has moved swiftly from an academic backwater to a subject of vast public and private interest. The ultimate goal of a ‘universal’ quantum computer — capable of performing any calculation while correcting for noise, faults and disruptions — remains decades away. But billions of dollars are being ploughed into commercializing the first fruits1.

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Nature 573, 190-191 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02675-5

References

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