An auspicious 'World Quantum Day'

How the next wave of technology is upending the global economy and its power structures

Apr 15, 2024 View in browser   By Derek Robertson With help from Mohar Chatterjee A wafer with photonic chips for quantum computing is seen at the technology company Q.ant in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Sept.14, 2021. | Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images For technologies that still haven’t quite reached the point of practical viability, a bit of cross-disciplinary rah-rah boosterism is par for the course. Thus more than 65 countries marked the third “World Quantum Day” Sunday, an “annual celebration promoting public awareness and understanding of quantum science and technology around the world” (and celebrated, naturally, on April 14, matching the rounded first digits of Planck’s constant). Appropriately enough, there’s been a flurry of quantum activity around the globe in recent weeks, demonstrating how this future technology is increasingly a present concern. Albeit late for the World Quantum Day party, here are a few of the most recent developments: Governments get serious about quantum-proofing. A pair of Republican lawmakers last week introduced the “Defense Quantum Acceleration Act,” which would shore up quantum efforts within the Department of Defense and allot $20 million a year to a “joint center of excellence” for quantum defense tech. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) focused on the geopolitical implications of the bill in a press release, saying it’s “critical for our nation to compete on the global stage, as Communist China has made clear their goal to lead the world in this industry by 2049.” The text was accompanied by plaudits from representatives of quantum leaders such as IBM and D-Wave. Authors from the Information Technology Industry Council wrote in a blog post Friday to call on the U.S. to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative Act (NQIA), which in 2018 directed $1.2 billion to the quantum ecosystem, and to “establish a robust and resilient quantum supply chain.” Additionally, on Thursday the European Commission published a “roadmap” for transitioning to post-quantum cryptography, preparing for a world where powerful quantum computers can effortlessly defeat traditional cybersecurity. The Commission encourages its member states to create a forum specifically dedicated to safeguarding their data, and to coordinate with law enforcement and international bodies like Europol and NATO so as not to duplicate their efforts. Quantum entrepreneurs push the envelope. The technologists and entrepreneurs pushing the use of quantum computers right now believe that its commercial and research uses can create a virtuous cycle of improvement. Enrique Solano, co-founder of the Berlin-based Kipu Quantum, told a German news site he’s leveraging other companies’ quantum machines to help with logistics and analysis problems. “Since Kipu's business model is geared toward achieving immediate benefits, we are forced to use the largest companies' hardware,” he said, noting that they use computers from IBM, D-Wave, the Paris-based PASCAL, and others. And the world of finance is very interested in the prospect: Last week Quantonation, a Paris- and Boston-based venture capital firm dedicated to quantum technologies, closed a €70 million round of funding. They said in a statement the milestone demonstrates there isn’t necessarily “a race to build the quantum computer,” but “an interlocking ecosystem of products and applications across computing, networking, and sensing that will have a profound impact across many fields.” The technical road ahead shapes up. A team of 11 international scientists published a pre-print last week on the “Challenges of Quantum Software Engineering for the Next Decade,” saying in somewhat of an understatement that “applying classical software engineering solutions to quantum software is difficult.” Making quantum software “efficient, maintainable, reusable, and cost-effective” will require some rethinking of the very foundations of software development, they say. The paper, which can be a bit wonky, is still worth perusing for those outside the developer community as it provides insight into how those closest to quantum computer science see the near future unfolding: with “new techniques” that break from traditional software development, injected with a sense of urgency to match growing interest from industry and government.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      california, here we come The man working to set California’s artificial intelligence rules has a few thoughts on the role the state can play in guiding regulation. California’s Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg, who chairs his chamber’s Judiciary Committee, is the main gatekeeper for the flurry of AI legislation working its way through Sacramento, and POLITICO’s California Playbook interviewed him this morning on how he sees the landscape shaping up. A few takeaways: Somebody’s gotta do it: “In the best of all worlds, there would be… a uniform scheme of regulation of AI throughout the country,” Umberg said. “I am concerned that, given what’s happening in the Congress, that that may not be achievable anytime soon. I think it’s important for California to step into that void — to create some regulatory scheme for AI.” “Grows the economy”: “We want to make sure that we don’t lag behind because of inadequate resources,” Umberg said, citing the state’s current budget deficit. “There’s a general economic concern that if we don’t have a regulatory scheme that both encourages entrepreneurship, encourages development and also discourages risks that are not in society’s interest, that other regions and other countries will take the lead.” …But the tech still needs work: Asked if he uses ChatGPT or other AI tools himself, Umberg told California Playbook: “I tried to use Chat GPT to do an op-ed on my discovery bill — SB 241… When it came out, it was just all these platitudes. It was not useful at all.” industry leading on ai Tech companies produced over three times the number of notable “frontier” AI models compared to academic institutions in 2023, according to a new study from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). The 2024 AI Index Report also found that the median training costs for these frontier models has reached “unprecedented levels” — nearly doubling over the past year — with companies like Google spending hundreds of millions of dollars just on computational power to train their latest models. Overall, the report notes that the number of powerful AI models originating from U.S. institutions “far outpaces” models originating from the EU and China, though China still leads by number of AI-related patents filed. But common standards for evaluating large language models for responsible behavior remain “seriously lacking,” the report authors found. They said leading AI developers including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic test their models against different benchmarks, making it difficult to systematically compare the risks associated with different AI models. — Mohar Chatterjee Tweet of the Day The Future in 5 links Tesla is slashing its global headcount by more than 10 percent. The get-rich-quick crypto scam is so back. The Biden administration awarded another $6.4 billion in chipmaking grants. Meta wants to bring its Quest headset into classrooms for students 13 and up. What are the hidden risks of letting AI make decisions for us? Stay in touch with the whole team: Derek Robertson (drobertson@politico.com); Mohar Chatterjee (mchatterjee@politico.com); Steve Heuser (sheuser@politico.com); Nate Robson (nrobson@politico.com); Daniella Cheslow (dcheslow@politico.com); and Christine Mui (cmui@politico.com).   POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today.       Follow us on Twitter Ben Schreckinger @SchreckReports Derek Robertson @afternoondelete Steve Heuser @sfheuser   Follow us

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