International Business Machines Corp. has engaged in talks with the Biden administration on potential export controls for quantum computers as the company continues investing in the emerging technology.
(Bloomberg) — International Business Machines Corp. has engaged in talks with the Biden administration on potential export controls for quantum computers as the company continues investing in the emerging technology.
IBM recommended that any regulations, if developed, cover potentially problematic uses of quantum computing rather than limiting the technology based simply on processing power, said Dario Gil, head of IBM Research. Quantum technology will likely be subject to constraints like export controls, Gil said. “We will continue to be an active participant in that dialogue,” he said.
Quantum computing is an experimental field with the potential to accelerate processing power and upend current cybersecurity standards. The Biden administration is exploring the possibility of new export controls that would limit China’s access to quantum along with other powerful emerging technologies, Bloomberg News reported last month.
IBM has installed quantum infrastructure in countries like Germany and Japan, but not China, Gil said. Big Blue has invested millions in the field, and is unveiling a new quantum processor this week that is more than three times more powerful, measured by qubits, than its version announced last year.
In October, US President Joe Biden toured IBM’s quantum data center in Poughkeepsie, New York, saying the technology is “vital to our economy and equally important to our national security.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in September that quantum and other emerging technologies will have “an outsized importance over the coming decade,” adding that export controls could be used to maintain US advantages in the area.
IBM under Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna has been increasingly acquisitive, buying companies like Red Hat to bolster the company’s offerings in artificial intelligence. IBM has also invested in quantum startups such as Quantinuum, and future acquisitions in the industry are possible, Gil said.
The first real-world applications for quantum computing will likely be in the industrials sector — such as advanced simulations to develop a corrosion-resistant airplane wing — or in financial modeling, Gil said, noting that banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are part of IBM’s network of partners. Quantum systems could be used in business within the decade, while the first demonstrations of superiority to traditional computers could happen within a “couple years,” Gil said.
Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Intel Corp. are among the other companies devoting millions of research dollars to various quantum projects.
–With assistance from Ian King.
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