Category Archives: Quantum Computing

This book shows how our understanding of quantum physics is mostly, but not entirely, correct

Cover: Six Impossible Things by John Gribbin(Credit: Icon Books Ltd, 2019).

Quantum physics is so bizarre that even physicists dont understand it. According to the rules of quantum physics, a cat can be alive and dead at the same time, an electron can be in two places simultaneously, and a subatomic particle can also be a wave. But nobody has ever been able to provide a rational explanation for how these contradictory and seemingly impossible things can be true. Basically, the subatomic world is so strange that even Einstein could only shrug and describe it as spooky action at a distance.

Undaunted, British science writer and astrophysicist John Gribbin wrote a small book, Six Impossible Things (Icon Books; 2019: Amazon US / Amazon UK) that succinctly summarizes six of the foremost hypotheses that seek to explain the mysteries of the subatomic world. This slim hardcover is an elegant and accessible attempt to explain quantum physics to the nonspecialist, and is one of the six books included on the shortlist for the Royal Society Insight Investment popular Science Book Prize for 2019.

Six of the books ten chapters correspond to each of the six most popular explanations that may underlie quantum physics weirdness: All of them are crazy, and some are more crazy than others, Dr. Gribbin notes early in his book, but in this world crazy does not necessarily mean wrong, and being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong (p. xvii). The six impossible things include the Copenhagen Interpretation, the Pilot Wave Interpretation, the Many Worlds Interpretation, the Decoherence Interpretation, the Ensemble Non-Interpretation (also known as the Statistical Interpretation), and the Timeless Transactional Interpretation.

The chapters are quite short (as is the book itself), and include black-and-white diagrams and images of the main proponents of each hypothesis along with a condensed and readable description of that hypothesis. Professor Gribbins coherent summary of each hypothesis makes these incredibly complex ideas, puzzled over by physics leading minds since the late 1920s, into something that may be vaguely comprehensible to most readers, even if these ideas remain firmly embedded in the realm of the fantastic for physicists as well as for mere mortals.

Beside the fact that simply reading this book gave me incredible dreams, I was most tantalized during my waking hours by Dr. Gribbins too brief description of quantum computing, a fascinating technological advancement that cannot come too soon, in my opinion. But more interesting even than quantum computing (and its concomitant cybersecurity) is coming to a firm understanding about the reason that it works and that remains elusive.

The book lacks maths, so if you are skittish about mathematics, or lack a maths background, you will breathe a sigh of relief to discover that this book is still quite comprehensible well, as intelligible as quantum physics can be made.

If quantum physics still leaves you breathless, Professor Gribbin also summarizes each of these six impossible interpretations in a neat, and amusing, single sentence. Highly recommended for students of the sciences and fans of science fiction, as well as for anyone who is curious to understand the strange world of quantum physics.

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Six Impossible Things: The Mysteries Of The Subatomic World - Forbes

The Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management is pleased to announce a technology collaboration with IBM Q to drive quantum education opportunities with members of the Ventures in CDLs Quantum Incubator Stream. As part of this collaboration CDL will receive access and hands-on technical support for the public IBM Q Experience systems, and IBMs open source quantum software platform, Qiskit. IBM will provide ongoing support through a single point of contact coordinator.

The CDL Quantum Stream has been a neutral testing ground, offering our startups access to technical expertise and computing options available across the industry, says Peter Wittek, Academic Director of the CDL Quantum stream and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. The IBM Q collaboration further underlines our dedication to raising the quantum ecosystem as a whole, as well as adding the tremendous amount of support that the IBM Q teams expertise comes with.

Collaborations with organizations like CDL are essential, as more and more startups, corporations, academic institutions and research labs begin exploring the possibilities of quantum computing and work to get quantum ready, said Anthony Annunziata, Global Leader, IBM Q Network. Were looking forward to working with CDLs Quantum Incubator Stream startups.

The Quantum Stream at CDL-Toronto brings together entrepreneurs, investors, AI experts, leading quantum information researchers, and quantum hardware companies to build ventures in the nascent domain of quantum machine learning and quantum optimization. CDL Quantum will provide IBM Q Experience and Qiskit education as part of its robust set of resources for founders to launch and scale a startup, including:

Mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs who have experience scaling quantum-based companies whether as an entrepreneur or early investor. Technical validation and feedback from leading academic researchers such as Seth Lloyd (quantum information and complex systems), Roger Melko (quantum many-body physics), Michele Mosca (quantum algorithms and cryptography), and Peter Wittek (quantum machine learning). Guidance on strategy and business development from Rotman School of Management faculty members. Business development support from top students at the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto) Opportunities to raise capital from angel investors and top-tier venture capital firms IBM Q joins CDL Quantums three technology partners that provide quantum computing resources to participating ventures in the program: D-Wave Systems, Rigetti Computing and Xanadu.

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Creative Destruction Lab collaborates with IBM Q to train startups in quantum computing - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source

On a new episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, actress and comedian Roseanne Barr tells host Joe Rogan that traditional forms of money will become a thing of the past.

According to Barr,

Theres not gonna be any more money.

Rogan then wonders if theres going to be any more cryptocurrencies, noting recent advancements from Google in the field of quantum computing.

Such developments could potentially lead to a device thats powerful enough to crack modern forms of encryption spelling trouble for Bitcoin and the thousands of other cryptocurrencies that are based on blockchain technology.

Says Rogan,

This Google quantum computing thing they think its a huge threat to cryptocurrency.

Im too stupid to understand whether or not theyre right. Im way too uninformed too. But what theyre trying to say is there would be no way you would be able to encode or encrypt this information that would keep it from this insane computing power theyre developing.

Some analysts, however, caution that Google is far away from breaking Bitcoin and note that research on how to protect the internet and blockchain technology against the forces of quantum computing is well underway.

Digital money pioneer David Chaum, a cryptographer who developed the anonymous digital currency eCash in 1983, is designing his own digital asset called Praxxis that he says will feature anonymous transactions and quantum resistance.

QAN is another project focused on creating a blockchain that can resistant a potential quantum threat.

The companys chief technology officer Johann Polecsak tells Bitcoin.com,

The notion of Google achieving a quantum breakthrough sounds very dramatic, but in reality, its hard to gauge the significance at this time.

How can we be sure that Googles quantum computer is more powerful than D-waves, for example, which surpassed 1,000 qubits four years ago?

Dragos Ilie, a quantum computing and encryption researcher at Imperial College London, says Google is far from cracking the cryptographic algorithms utilized by Bitcoin.

Googles supercomputer currently has 53 qubits.

In order to have any effect on bitcoin or most other financial systems, it would take at least about 1500 qubits and the system must allow for the entanglement of all of them

As you add more qubits the system becomes more and more unstable [though] researchers can try different approaches for solving these issues so maybe there are ways to mitigate these problems but right now we are quite far from breaking Bitcoin.

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Joe Rogan Ponders Googles Quantum Breakthrough, Says It Could Be Huge Threat to Bitcoin and Crypto - The Daily Hodl

A University of Toronto quantum computing assistant professor is missing in India after an avalanche struck during a climbing trip.

Peter Wittek, 37, was resting in his tent Sunday when the avalanche hit, his brother Gergo Oberfrank told CTVNews.ca in a phone call from Budapest.

Wittek and a group of five others from Singapore, Mauritius, Vietnam and Hungary were hiking Mount Trisul in the Himalayas. One other member of the group was hit by the avalanche, the team manager told Oberfrank, but managed to dig out from the snow.

Only my brother is missing, he said. My brother was in the worst place that was possible in that moment.

A search was underway, including the use of helicopters, but poor weather conditions have hampered efforts.

Wittek, who moved to Toronto last year, has extensive experience as a mountaineer. Personal and professional friend Tomas Babej said that Wittek had trained for months for the specific trip, including taking mountaineering courses. His work in quantum physics has brought Wittek renown in Toronto where he is an assistant professor in the Rotman School of Management and where he wrote the first seminal book written on quantum machine learning, said Babej on the phone from Toronto.

He is a fundamental cornerstone in this new emerging field of quantum machine learning, he said. Wittek is an adviser for Babejs company and countless other startups in the field, he added. I dont know how many of these things will continue if hes not to be found.

A spokesperson for the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management confirmed the news to CTVNews.ca. We are in touch with his family and continue to monitor the situation actively, wrote Ken McGuffin in an email.

The Mount Trisul area of the Himalayas that Wittek was climbing was described as highly avalanche-prone by Swati Bhadoriya, district magistrate of Chamoli, in an interview with local media. "This is considered one of the toughest peaks in the world. It requires a lot of expertise," he told the India bureau of the Straits Times.

Friends and family are optimistic that the search efforts can continue tomorrow in India.

The rescue teams are really experienced and well-trained. They will try to get their best men to find my brother, said Oberfrank.

Everybody loves Peter. The world is going to be a worse place without him. He is the best friend I have ever known. He is my ultimate role model.

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University of Toronto prof missing in India after avalanche - CTV News

The artificial intelligence (AI) space is evolving at a rapid pace and part of that evolution includes how humans interact with computers, also known as conversational AI. The Global X Future Analytics Tech ETF (NasdaqGM: AIQ) is one ETF that provides exposure to that theme.

The Global X Future Analytics Tech ETF tries to reflect the performance of the Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index, which is comprised of companies involved in the development and utilization of artificial intelligence and big data. The underlying index includes those involved in generating vast amounts of data and developing proprietary AI systems to derive actionable insights from the data set. The ETF will also cover companies that provide AI-as-a-Service for big data analytics or are developing hardware integral to powering AI systems, such as quantum computing.

Through personal assistants, such as Apples Siri and Amazons Alexa, humans are already engaged in some level of conversational AI, but the industry is looking to enhance those interactions and more.

Conversational AI is the development of software programs that allow a computer to understand what a human intends to say or ask for, decipher its meaning, and communicate relevant responses, said Global X in a recent note. Given the complexities of human interactions, AI algorithms depend on language models that are massive in scope and complexity and backed by substantial computing power.

AIQs underlying index screens artificial intelligence companies based on artificial intelligence applied to product services and artificial intelligence-as-a-service for big data applications. Additionally, companies included in the underlying index include companies that produce hardware for artificial intelligence applications and those developing quantum computing.

Natural language understanding (NLU), a theme some AIQ components tap into, is viewed as a driver of conversational AI advancements.

NLU is one branch of AI that leverages computing power to understand language inputs, either speech, text, or a combination of both. For NLU technology to be maximally useful, it must be able to process language in a way that is not exclusive to a single task, genre, or dataset, according to Global X.

Related:Make The Move to Quality With This Global X Dividend ETF

AIQ holds 80 stocks and as is the case with many thematic ETFs, the fund is not explicitly dedicated to one sector. With AIs wide-ranging applications, multiple sectors can be part of the AI investment thesis, but the fund features hefty allocations to the technology and communication services sectors.

Conversational AI is expected to be omnichannel, multi-device, and multi-language, potentially disrupting the nearly $86 billion global outsourced services market by leveraging chatbots, messaging apps, digital/personal assistants, and voice search, notes Global X.

For more thematic investment strategies, visit our Thematic Investing Channel.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

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Conversational Computers: A Theme Accessible With This AI ETF - ETF Trends

DUBLIN, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Exascale Computing Market by Hardware, Software, Services, and Industry Vertical 2019 - 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Exascale computing takes High Performance Computing (HPC) to a level of computational ability in the range of quintillion calculations per second. This degree of performance is necessary to solve very complex problems such as climate research, oil and gas exploration, molecular modeling, and physical simulations. Accordingly, the exascale computing market is currently driven by demands by a few business and governmental entities that require intensive number crunching for very specific problems.

Well-suited for applications that require high performance data analysis, the exascale computing market supports a variety of apps such as high frequency trading, autonomous vehicles, and genomics-based personalized medicine, computer-aided design, and deep learning. Some specific solution areas within science and technology include computational fluid dynamics, advanced simulations, complex system modeling, and advanced imaging analysis such as seismic tomography. Most of the initial applications have been within the realm of large corporations and government funded initiatives.

With the goal to launch a USA led exascale ecosystem by 2021, the DOE driven Exascale Computing Project is looking to increase computing power by 50 times current system capabilities. This project is intended to tip the scales in favor of the United States in terms of economic competitiveness as well as national security by enabling breakthroughs in scientific discovery and technological innovation such as cybersecurity. Accordingly, the National Nuclear Security Administration is one of the partners in this initiative.

While traditionally within the domain of government and large corporations, the exascale computing market will become increasingly more accessible to a broad range of companies with a corresponding wider range of applications. For example, exascale-level processing will be a critical component for processing data from millions of self-driving vehicles as part of an intelligent transportation system that optimizes traffic flow and utilization of vehicular resources. The exascale computing market will also become increasingly available to small businesses and engineering teams as artificial intelligence is leveraged to help engineers better leverage supercomputers.

Exascale-level computing is anticipated to become more mass market as computing costs continue to decrease and flexible deployment options are introduced. This research anticipates that the Exascale Computing Market will expand dramatically as cloud-based solutions are implemented to allow for HPC as a Service (HPCaaS). Small to medium sized businesses will benefit greatly from the HPCaaS model as they may utilize exascale-level computing in an on-demand basis for the duration of a project. Exascale-level HPC will be very important for certain consumer-oriented applications and services.

This report evaluates the exascale computing market including companies, solutions, use cases, and applications. It evaluates the exascale computing market by component, hardware type, service type, and industry verticals with forecasting from 2019 to 2024. The report also provides analysis of leading companies in the HPC space including those focused on developing exascale-level computing solutions.

Select Report Findings:

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction

2.1 Next Generation Computing

2.2 High Performance Computing

2.3 Exascale Computing

2.3.1 Supercomputers

2.3.2 Exascale Computing Development

2.3.3 Exascale Use Cases and Application Areas

2.3.4 Regulatory Framework

2.3.5 Value Chain Analysis

3. Exascale Computing Market Analysis and Forecasts 2019 - 2024

3.1.1 Exascale Computing Market by Component 2019 - 2024

3.1.2 Exascale Computing Market by Hardware Type 2019 - 2024

3.1.3 Exascale Computing Market by Service Type 2019 - 2024

3.1.4 Exascale Computing Market by Industry Vertical 2019 - 2024

4. Company Analysis

4.1 Vendor Ecosystem

4.2 Leading Companies

4.2.1 Amazon Web Services Inc.

4.2.2 Atos SE

1.1.1 Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

1.1.2 Cisco Systems

4.2.3 DELL Technologies Inc.

4.2.4 Fujitsu Ltd

4.2.5 Hewlett Packard Enterprise

4.2.6 IBM Corporation

4.2.7 Intel Corporation

4.2.8 Microsoft Corporation

4.2.9 NEC Corporation

4.2.10 NVIDIA

4.2.11 Rackspace Inc.

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

6. Appendix: Alternative to Classical Exascale - Quantum Computing

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5bxbmh

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com

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SOURCE Research and Markets

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Exascale Computing Market by Hardware, Software, Services, and Industry Vertical 2019-2024: The $2.4B Global Exascale Computing Market is Expanding to...

I dont care whether or not my top stock to buy in October is rising or falling right now. Seriously. And I even own shares already.

How can I not be concerned about the stock price? Im so confident in the companys business model and future prospects that any temporary fluctuations in what other investors think about how much its worth simply dont matter to me. Thats the best way to think about investing in any stock.

The specific company (and stock) Im referring to, though, is Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). And a recent significant achievement by Googles parent has me more convinced than ever why its a great stock to buy right now.

A couple of weeks ago, Alphabet subsidiary Google released a paper that said the company had achieved quantum supremacy. This grandiose-sounding claim refers to a quantum computers ability to perform a calculation that even the most powerful current computers cant practically achieve.

Quantum computers, by the way, use the principles of quantum physics that govern sub-atomic particles to store and process data. The details would make your head spin, but the main thing to know is that quantum computers hold the potential to crunch huge amounts of data simultaneously where current computers would have to process the data sequentially.

Specifically, Google said that its Sycamore quantum computer solved an enormously complex mathematical problem in only a few minutes. Scientists estimated that it would take 10,000 years to solve the same problem using the fastest supercomputer in the world thats currently available.

Achieving quantum supremacy is a really big deal, even though its only an initial baby step on the path to reaching the full potential of quantum computing. That potential includes solving some extremely challenging issues such as discovering drugs to treat cancer. Quantum computers could also make possible a level of artificial intelligence (AI) thats exponentially more powerful than the AI of today.

Do I think that Alphabet is a great stock to buy in October because of its milestone step in quantum computing? No. However, this achievement underscores just how much Alphabet focuses on and invests in changing the future. And that is a reason to consider buying the stock.

Googles quantum computing breakthrough is one of several areas where Alphabet is a pioneer. Its a leader in AI. Its a leader in self-driving car technology. Alphabet even has a subsidiary Calico thats at the forefront in research to tackle aging in an effort to extend the human lifespan. If theres a technology that could be disruptive, theres a pretty good chance that Alphabet is working on it.

Just as important as Alphabets potentially disruptive ventures, though, is the reason why the company can afford to invest so heavily in so many efforts: its existing businesses. I dont think its exaggerating one bit to state that Alphabet claims one of the strongest businesses on the planet.

The company now has nine products with at least 1 billion users on a monthly basis. This huge base creates a powerful economic moat for Alphabet. Its not that the company doesnt have competitors. Microsoft, for example, is one of the worlds biggest companies and battles Alphabet in several areas, notably including the search engine and operating system markets. But Alphabet more than holds its owns in virtually every market where it competes.

Thanks primarily to healthy growth in advertising on its applications, Alphabet generated more than $148 billion in revenue and more than $34.7 billion in profits over the last 12 months. The company has a cash stockpile totaling $121 billion with debt of only $14.2 billion. Few companies, if any, are in as strong of a financial position as Alphabet is to invest in new technologies that could fuel more growth in the future.

Some think that Alphabet has become too big and too powerful. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to break up big tech companies, including Alphabet. The company is reportedly the focus of an antitrust investigation that includes attorneys general in over 30 states. Alphabet has been hit with big penalties for antitrust violations in the European Union.

You might wonder if Alphabet is too risky with all of this antitrust fervor. I dont think so.

Alphabet really isnt a monopoly in the tradition of the big monopolies of the past that were broken up by regulators. Think about the old AT&T and Standard Oil, for example. As mentioned earlier, unlike these former monopolies, Alphabet has competition. Its just that consumers are choosing Alphabet instead of its competitors.

My view is that its unlikely that Alphabet will be forced to split into multiple companies. Even if it does, though, I agree with Needham analyst Laura Martin that the value of the parts of Alphabet would be worth more combined than the company is worth today. Investors like pure-play stocks and tend to drive up their valuations.

Regardless of what happens on the antitrust front, Im confident that Alphabet will continue to be successful over the long run. Thats not to say that the company will score in every new arena in which its investing. But if youre looking to buy the stock of a company that has a top-notch business model with the potential to create huge new markets that dont even exist today, I cant think of a better choice than Alphabet. Monopoly or not, this stock is a winner.

This article was originally published on Fool.com.All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Speights owns shares of Alphabet (A shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Here's My Top Stock to Buy in October - The Motley Fool Canada

Sonoya Mizuno is lead character Lily in FXs Devs.Image: FX

Director Alex Garlands (Ex Machina, Annihilation) latest project is headed to television rather than theaters. Up until now, we didnt have much to go on in terms of what FXs Devs was actually aboutbut thanks to a big coming out panel at New York Comic Con this past weekend, were extremely hyped for the sci-fi series.

io9 had the chance to sit down with the cast and executive producers after the panel to find out even more about this mysterious new series, but the panel itself gave intriguing insight into what fans can expect. Turns out, the logline for the eight-episode limited seriesa young computer engineer investigates the secretive development division of her employer, a cutting-edge tech company based in San Francisco, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriendbarely scratched the surface.

Sonoya Mizunowhos had roles in both of Garlands big-screen outingsplays Lily Chan, a woman whos seemingly lost her boyfriend (Sergei, played by Karl Glusman) to the company they both work for, Amaya, and is determined to find some answers. Attendees at the panel were treated to two scenes plus a first teaser, the first of which featured Sergei entering the top-secret development site (hence: Devs) for the company with its owner Forest (played by a very serene Nick Offerman).

Ex Machina is one of the smartest, most thought-provoking science fiction movies in ages. And that

The set is, in one word, gorgeous. The dev site is a floating cube in a vacuum held up by electromagnetic fields that sits inside a gold-leaf walled building. In the middle of the incredibly sterile, glass-filled cube sits an enormous structure that happens to be a tremendously powerful quantum computer, which is so impressive Forest tells Sergei hes not even going to bother telling him the unfathomable amount of computing power its capable of.

Im a sort of a science nerd. Im obsessed with science. I read more about science than anything else, Garland told the audience at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City when asked by moderator Damian Holbrook what the genesis of this particular story was.

It started with two things, he continued. One was getting my head around this principle of determinism, which basically says that everything that happens in the world is based on cause and effect. So nothing happens that isnt the result of a prior cause. And that has all sorts of implications for us. One is it takes away free will, but it also means that if you had a computer powerful enough you would be able to use cause and effect and use determinism in order to not just predict the future but also understand the past.

Yeah. Its safe to say Devs is going to take us on a wild ride.

At the time Sergei is recruited into the secret section of Amaya, hes working with an artificial intelligence program simulation to predict the movement of a very simple organism, according to Glusman. And I think that piques my bosss interests because it directly applies to what theyre working on which is...we dont know what theyre working on. Indeed. During the scene we saw, Offermans Forest offers Sergei a seat at a work station but wont tell him exactly what hes there to do, he just tells him to start looking at the code on the screen.

Oddly enough, it was a similar position most of the actors found themselves in while trying to parse their scripts and do research their rolesnone of them could understand the heady material.

If Im being completely honest, when it comes to artificial intelligence and computer programming....I bought this little book at Barnes and Noble called Artificial Intelligence for Dummies and that was quite a helpful resource for my work, said Glusman. Cailee Spaeny (of Pacific Rim: Uprising and the upcoming The Craft), who plays a boy named Lyndonon the show, added I read a book about the quantum world about three times and still didnt get it.

Garland, who hasnt worked in episodic TV before, wrote and directed all eight episodes of Devs and feels this story is more like one long movie. He also confirmed that while he appreciated having a lengthier space to tell his story, Devs will wrap up completely in eight episodes. The decision for that is, at least in part, as a result of his outlook on a lot of TV.

I am amazed by the people that do long-running TV series. Psychologically I dont know how they do it let alone find the time in the day. But its not something I want to do, he said, I like stories that end, right? You know, I like stories that end.And theres something you can start to detect sometimes in long-running series which is you start to realize Oh there is no end.This is just an exercise in how long you can keep it going.

When Alex Garlands Annihilation opens Friday, it will be the end of a long journey for the film.

Another reason for his turn to TV came from the much-talked-about distribution troubles with Annihilation.

My filmmaking career is: Ive made something, Ive given it to a distributor, and theyve said We dont want to distribute this. And at the point I turned the thing over, its as if I disappointed everyone, he explained. Ex Machina, was sold from the distributor, we made it to another distributor, A24 picked it up and we had problems with Annihilation...You know I could keep going back....Its simpler to say it was basically every film I ever worked on and I actually, I got sick of it. I just got sick of it and I thought I want...theres something about the construct of cinema at the moment, of the nature of opening weekends, and I just thought, Maybe...maybe this isnt the right space for me because the stuff I do is too odd and its not mainstream. Basically its not mainstream. So I thought maybe TV is a better home for me.

Time will tell if Garlands unique tales will work on the small screen of course. But while Devs is still quite a mystery, the writer-director was sure to specify the mystery behind what the tech company is working on isnt the main objective of the story.

The show is upfront. The card turn is not that this is what theyre working on, its the implications of that, he said. Its about how strange and profound some of the things that are happening in tech or science...just how sort of fundamentally they change the nature of our existence.

Devs is set to debut on FX in the spring of 2020. Stay tuned to io9 for more about the show from our time with Garland and the cast at NYCC.

For more, make sure youre following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.

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Ex Machina's Alex Garland Lifted the Curtain on FX's Devs at NYCC - Gizmodo

UCLA researchers HongWen Jiang, professor of physics, and graduate student, Joshua Schoenfield have discovered a method for controlling and measuring the valley states of electrons in a silicon quantum dot, an essential key to stabilizing the qubits of a quantum computer. Their full findings are available in the journal Nature Communications.

A *quantum dot is a finite area of silicon that captures electrons, allowing researchers to alter their charge and spin. The valley state, a particular part of an electrons movement where it lays low in the texture of the silicones structure, has only recently been understood to have importance in the information storage of a qubit. If the silicon is imperfect in any way an electrons Valley state can be altered to dramatic and unpredictable effect. The valley state is inherent to the nature and action of a functioning qubit.

Normally, an electrons movement is quick and continual, challenging a researchers ability to keep it in a valley state for study. However, when UCLA scientists cooled a silicon quantum dot to almost absolute zero, the movement of electrons slowed enough for manipulation, measurement, and control. This was done by rapidly pulsing electricity to move individual electrons up and over the valleys.

Additionally, they were able to detect the fractional energy contrast between unique valleys, previously not possible by standard techniques.

Jiang and Schoenfield expect to further develop the technique used in order to have more control of qubits based on interacting valley states.

*Quantum dots(QD) are very smallsemiconductorparticles, only severalnanometresin size, so small that their optical and electronic properties differ from those of larger particles. They are a central theme innanotechnology. Source: Wikipedia

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New Methods of Controlling Electrons Could be Major in Quantum Computing - TrendinTech

July 31, 2017 by Fabio Bergamin Future quantum computers will be able to calculate the reaction mechanism of the enzyme nitrogenase. The image shows the active centre of the enzyme and a mathematical formula that is central for the calculation. Credit: Visualisations: ETH Zurich

Science and the IT industry have high hopes for quantum computing, but descriptions of possible applications tend to be vague. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now come up with a concrete example that demonstrates what quantum computers will actually be able to achieve in the future.

Specialists expect nothing less than a technological revolution from quantum computers, which they hope will soon allow them to solve problems that are currently too complex for classical supercomputers. Commonly discussed areas of application include data encryption and decryption, as well as special problems in the fields of physics, quantum chemistry and materials research.

But when it comes to concrete questions that only quantum computers can answer, experts have remained relatively vague. Researchers from ETH Zurich and Microsoft Research are now presenting a specific application for the first time in the scientific journal PNAS: evaluating a complex chemical reaction. Based on this example, the scientists show that quantum computers can indeed deliver scientifically relevant results.

A team of researchers led by ETH professors Markus Reiher and Matthias Troyer used simulations to demonstrate how a complex chemical reaction could be calculated with the help of a quantum computer. To accomplish this, the quantum computer must be of a "moderate size", says Matthias Troyer, who is Professor for Computational Physics at ETH Zurich and currently works for Microsoft. The mechanism of this reaction would be nearly impossible to assess with a classical supercomputer alone especially if the results are to be sufficiently precise.

One of the most complex enzymes

The researchers chose a particularly complex biochemical reaction as the example for their study: thanks to a special enzyme known as a nitrogenase, certain microorganisms are able to split atmospheric nitrogen molecules in order to create chemical compounds with single nitrogen atoms. It is still unknown how exactly the nitrogenase reaction works. "This is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in chemistry," says Markus Reiher, Professor for Theoretical Chemistry at ETH Zurich.

Computers that are available today are able to calculate the behaviour of simple molecules quite precisely. However, this is nearly impossible for the nitrogenase enzyme and its active centre, which is simply too complex, explains Reiher.

In this context, complexity is a reflection of how many electrons interact with each other within the molecule over relatively long distances. The more electrons a researcher needs to take into account, the more sophisticated the computations. "Existing methods and classical supercomputers can be used to assess molecules with about 50 strongly interacting electrons at most," says Reiher. However, there is a significantly greater number of such electrons at the active centre of a nitrogenase enzyme. Because with classical computers the effort required to evaluate a molecule doubles with each additional electron, an unrealistic amount of computational power is needed.

Another computer architecture

As demonstrated by the ETH researchers, hypothetical quantum computers with just 100 to 200 quantum bits (qubits) will potentially be able to compute complex subproblems within a few days. The results of these computations could then be used to determine the reaction mechanism of nitrogenase step by step.

That quantum computers are capable of solving such challenging tasks at all is partially the result of the fact that they are structured differently to classical computers. Rather than requiring twice as many bits to assess each additional electron, quantum computers simply need one more qubit.

However, it remains to be seen when such "moderately large" quantum computers will be available. The currently existing experimental quantum computers use on the order of 20 rudimentary qubits respectively. It will take at least another five years, or more likely ten, before we have quantum computers with processors of more than 100 high quality qubits, estimates Reiher.

Mass production and networking

Researchers emphasise the fact that quantum computers cannot handle all tasks, so they will serve as a supplement to classical computers, rather than replacing them. "The future will be shaped by the interplay between classical computers and quantum computers," says Troyer.

With regard to the nitrogenase reaction, quantum computers will be able to calculate how the electrons are distributed within a specific molecular structure. However, classical computers will still need to tell quantum computers which structures are of particular interest and should therefore be calculated. "Quantum computers need to be thought of more like a co-processor capable of taking over particular tasks from classical computers, thus allowing them to become more efficient," says Reiher.

Explaining the mechanism of the nitrogenase reaction will also require more than just information about the electron distribution in a single molecular structure; indeed, this distribution needs to be determined in thousands of structures. Each computation takes several days. "In order for quantum computers to be of use in solving these kinds of problems, they will first need to be mass produced, thereby allowing computations to take place on multiple computers at the same time," says Troyer.

Explore further: Developing quantum algorithms for optimization problems

More information: Markus Reiher et al. Elucidating reaction mechanisms on quantum computers, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619152114

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Clarifiying complex chemical processes with quantum computers - Phys.Org