True to form as a tech advocate and pioneer, the Gulf region is investing in quantum computing projects with gusto.
In the world of information processing, these next-level computers use subatomic physics formulas to process, store and transmit data at record speeds.
Saudi Arabia launched its Quantam Innovation Hub in October 2023. The UAE unveiled its Quantum Research Centre in 2020, while the Qatar Computing Reserach Institute has been exploring quantum technology since at least 2021.
In the case of each regional launch, the focus has been on national security. UAE newspaper Khaleej Times said that the nation was “aiming for quantum supremacy” and in 2021 the Saudi Gazette said that the kingdom’s push into quantum tech was “to bolster national security”.
Global and regional policy makers are concerned that quantum technology will eventually be able to use its super intelligence to crack public-key encryption protocols like RSA and ECC, on which the entire security structure of the internet depends.
There is a prevailing fear that rogue states could be the first to harness quantum power and wreak havoc on the rest of the world.
Not a week goes by without references to China’s mammoth investment into quantum, believed to be as much as US$10 billion and probably quite a bit higher.
The US is the next biggest spender, followed by Europe, which has promised a total of €1 billion.
Little surprise, then, that my sources tell me quantum researchers and startup founders regularly receive calls from national security agencies trying to find out just how far along they are.
- Fighting cybercrime in the age of quantum computing
- Aramco to use Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer
- UAE sets itself as the Gulf’s cybersecurity leader
But quantum technology represents a lot more than just code-breaking and encryption.
For example, ID Quantique, a Swiss company, has been using quantum key distribution and quantum encryption to safeguard sensitive banking data in partnership with financial institutions. And in 2017 China used quantum communication to connect government offices and financial institutions across the 2,000 kilometres between Beijing and Shanghai.
And there is quantum mechanics. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines are a prime example of this technology. MRI scans create detailed images of the body using the quantum property of spin in atomic nuclei. When placed in a strong magnetic field, these nuclei align and absorb energy from radio waves. The energy release is detected and used to generate high-resolution images.
If scientists can find a way of further harnessing the power of quantum mechanics, it could enable everything from developing drugs to curing diseases and supercharging the development of other fields, such as artificial intelligence. However, the quantum age is not here just yet. Industry insiders talk of decades to realisation, rather than years.
If quantum computing sounds insanely complicated, that’s because it is.
Most of those working in quantum startups are physicists with multiple PhDs. I recently asked one founder how he explained what he did for a living at dinner parties, he laughed and said: “I just say I’m in IT”.
As for myself, I neither have a PhD, nor do I work in IT, but I will have a go at a definition:
Classical computers work by switching transistors on or off in order to visualise data as either a one or a zero. These are known as bits. Quantum computers use qubits that are in a state of superposition, which means that they can be one and zero at the same time. This means that one qubit can perform two calculations at once, two can perform four, three six, and so on.
In 2019, Google announced it had developed a computer that had used 53 qubits to perform a calculation in 200 seconds that would take the world’s most powerful supercomputer thousands of years. With hundreds or thousands of qubits operating together, the opportunities are infinite.
The issue is that qubits do not play well with others and they are notoriously unstable, hypersensitive to noise and movement. Quantum computers have to be assembled in vaults, deep underground, where it is possible to ensure absolute isolation. Achieving this is a science in itself, known as quantum entanglement.
More research into quantum entanglement, for example, could result in the ability to make instantaneous and secure data transfers, making it easier to run critical infrastructure in Gulf-based smart cities like Neom or Masdar.
Quantum communication, meanwhile, could allow for secure and reliable communication networks as has been successfully trialled in China.
In this scenario, the Gulf states prioritise the embedding of quantum technology into digital ecosystems that are already being developed, securing data flows between devices and infrastructure systems. This could be termed as “quantum-enhanced” digital infrastructure.
The race to be the first to crack RSA may dominate the headlines but it will be the integration of quantum technology into everyday lives, as was once the case with artificial intelligence, which will see the first tangible results.
In that, the Gulf may be on the right side of history.
Orlando Crowcroft is a journalist based in London