Chapter 1198 Star Voyage One

Ever since the beginning of the century, there had been countless quantum computer breakthroughs. However, all of them were contained inside the laboratory.

But this time, not only did the number of qubits increase by an order of magnitude, but they were also going to bring the computer outside of the laboratory.

If everything went according to plan, Star Voyage One would become China’s first commercialized quantum computer!

Also the world’s first commercialized quantum computer!

[Jesus! The encryption algorithms in the financial system are basically all using RSA! For a quantum computer, finding the factor of large prime numbers is almost as easy as finding an addition. The banks are going to go bankrupt!]

[So if I take out a loan now, I don’t have to pay it back?]

[Stop talking nonsense. Our country has already implemented quantum encryption algorithms as a replacement for traditional encryption algorithms. Quantum optical fibers will soon become the norm. Unbreakable security network coverage will soon be available. When the time comes, even an alien computer won’t be able to hack our network!]

[In other words, the safest banks in the world right now are the Chinese banks?]

[Depends on how you phrase this problem. The current quantum encryption algorithm can still defend against cyberattacks launched by quantum computers below 2,000 qubits. Not to mention that the quantum computer is in our hands. What are you worried about? Professor Lu hacking your bank account?]

[Am I the only one who worries about the cloud computing service for quantum computation? What if it is used by criminals?]

[I don’t know, but I think the relevant department is going to supervise them. For example, they will limit how much computing power can be used by individuals and companies.]

The phrases “Star Voyage One” and “the world’s first quantum computer” began to appear on the trending list for major media platforms. Even though this technology was far away from impacting most people’s lives, this didn’t stop people from fantasizing about the future.

Not to mention that this was the world’s first and only commercialized quantum computer!

Combining this with quantum communication technology, China once again was leading the world in quantum technology.

Countless researchers in the field of information engineering and people that paid attention to the high-tech field felt proud because of this.

However, in contrast to this, while the discussions on quantum computers on the internet became heated, various rumors began to spread in midst of the heated debates.

The threat of quantum computer technology to the financial industry was exaggerated by many social media accounts.

Many people talked about going to their banks and withdrawing all of their money. Some people claimed that their passwords would soon become useless, and they should take out a huge loan before the collapse of the financial system.

Fortunately, prior to the introduction of quantum computer technology to the market, the relevant state departments had made preparations. By cooperating with mainstream media, the state was able to restrict the baseless rumors. They also issued new laws and regulations regarding information technology. They successfully killed the rumors before it grew.

The CTV also arranged a special pop-science program and invited Academician Xue Jinhui, an expert in the fields of cryptography and information engineering. Academician Xue Jinhui recorded an exclusive interview for the “Star Voyage One”; the interview would be broadcast during prime television time.

Inside the CTV studio.

The host was sitting on the sofa and was opposite Academician Xue. The host smiled and said, “Thank you for coming to our studio today. I would like to ask a question for our audience. What does a supercomputer with 524 qubits mean for our country? What does it mean for us personally? In other words… how will it affect our lives?”

“Those are interesting questions.” Academician Xue smiled and said in a kind tone, “It might be difficult to understand qubits without the specific domain knowledge. I will try to explain it in simple terms.”

Host: “Academician Xue, please go ahead.”

Academician Xue nodded and said with a smile, “Generally speaking, our computers use 0 and 1 to represent the opening and closing of logic circuit gates. We usually say that traditional computers can represent two states. We build integrated circuits by continuously stacking logic circuit gates, increasing the computing power to 2n. This number n can be 10 or one trillion, but no matter how large it is, it will only linearly increase our computing power.”

The host nodded seriously and continued to ask, “Then, what about quantum computers?”

“Quantum computers are much different.” Academician Xue smiled and continued, “In theory, a quantum logic circuit gate can represent 2^n states! If n is equal to 50, that is one quadrillion states! How large is one quadrillion? Our country’s first quadrillion-state supercomputer is the Tianhe-1, and it can only reach this level of computation power under peak conditions. Hence, any quantum computer with more than 50 qubits is more powerful than the Tianhe-1!”

This statement was actually inaccurate. After all, the performance of a supercomputer was not only about the hardware itself, but also a series of other factors such as the architecture and operating system. A faster processing speed didn’t mean better performance, especially when unoptimized.

A 50-qubit quantum computer would have to be heavily optimized before it could surpass the Tianhe-1.

However, there was one thing that remained true.

Which was that the computing power of quantum computers increased at an exponential speed.

So what did 524 qubits mean?

This meant 2^524 states!

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that as long as the quantum supercomputer’s architecture, operating system, and a series of other conditions were met, it could easily defeat all of the other supercomputers combined!

After listening to Academician Xue’s explanation, the host looked shocked.

50 qubits can defeat the Tianhe-1.

So how many Tianhe-1s are needed to make 524 qubits?

2^474 Tianhe-1?

That is ridiculous?!

The interview was still going on.

There was one more important thing Academician Xue had yet to answer.

The host gulped and tried to calm down. He continued to ask, “What do you think about the rumors circulating on the Internet that quantum computers might make our bank account passwords unsecured?”

After hearing this question, Academician Xue went silent for a while before sighing and speaking.

“Academician Lu is one of the most talented scholars I have ever met, and one of the most responsible people I know. Even though his views and behaviors in the academic field might be a little extreme, we can trust him on this.”

The host nodded and spoke with a smile.

“Of course I trust our Academician Lu. I believe that the vast majority of people sitting in front of their TVs right now also trust and believe in him.”

Academician Xue nodded and spoke.

“Back when we made a tiny progress on the research on quantum computers, Academician Lu had already predicted that this technology might have an impact on the information industry. Therefore, before releasing this technology to the public, he developed a quantum encryption algorithm. The unhackable quantum optical cable is also designed to deal with the risks behind this technology.”

The old man had a smile of approval on his face.

“Now that all of the work is finally complete, after implementing a series of countermeasures, we can finally release this technology and let it have a positive impact on our society.

“So, in regard to your question, I can tell you that your worries are completely unnecessary. We have already discovered and removed all of the risks!”

The host looked shocked.

“The quantum encryption algorithm… was developed by Academician Lu?”

Academician Xue said with a smile.

“Of course. Who else besides Academician Lu do you think has this ability?”

A while ago, this matter was still a state secret, and there was less than a handful of people that knew of the algorithm’s existence.

Now that the quantum computer technology and quantum communication technology were revealed, there was no reason to keep the development of the quantum encryption algorithm a secret anymore.

For so long, Academician Xue couldn’t tell this secret to anyone. He felt a wave of relief.

He looked at the surprised host and patted his thigh as he spoke emotionally.

“This breakthrough in quantum computer technology will definitely change our lives; there is no doubt about this!

“Maybe if the changes happen slowly, maybe we won’t have a big reaction, or we might not even feel the changes… However, the development of technology does not wait for us.

“This will definitely bring chaos and anxiety. Technological change affects many people, including myself…”

Academician Xue paused for a moment.

He looked into the camera and spoke in a serious tone.

“But we will do everything we can to reduce the chaos and keep its impact to a minimum.

“This is our responsibility to society as scholars.”