Quantum computers. Although it is still being debated whether they are as fast and effective as promised, one thing is certain: the major companies in the industry are investing enormous resources in the research and development of these systems. As expected, IBM has its own quantum computer prototype, but the difference is that the blue giant has decided to open its access to the public.
There are many stories about engineers and scientists waiting at three or four in the morning for their turn to squeeze some cycles out of a supercomputer and process calculations. I imagine that at this very moment there must be someone in a dark room with the screen of their terminal as the only source of light, awaiting data from a remote platform. Now, what if that platform is quantum?
This is not the first time we mention quantum computers, and definitely not the last. Talking about a technology “in its infancy” may not go down well with those involved, but the truth is that it reflects its current situation. Both Google and NASA have a contract with the people at D-Wave that provides quantum computers, and they seem to have managed to solve some problems, but sooner or later everything will have to leave the lab and come into contact with other users.
That said… guess what IBM decided to do? That’s right: the company took its quantum prototype with a capacity of five qubits, and opened its access to the public. The process requires creating an account and downloading software that is nothing conventional, so we are looking at free access intended for a very specialized field. IBM explains that thanks to this decision, interested parties will be able to evaluate algorithms, develop new experiments, control qubits individually, and apply a good part of everything already known about quantum computing so far.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/jf7D8snlsnQThe official press announcement is accompanied by a 360-degree video of the Quantum Research Laboratory that IBM has in its famous T.J. Watson center, where the Watson artificial intelligence system crushed the best Jeopardy players some years ago. There are still many obstacles on the road for quantum computers, but giving more people the chance to access them is not a bad idea, quite the contrary.
