In a recent note on quantum computing, analysts at Bank of America had to reach way back—way, way back—for a comparable advancement in human history.
That’s because the use of subatomic particles to process data offers the potential to leap light year ahead of what’s possible with traditional semiconductor-based electronics.
“This could be the biggest revolution for humanity since discovering fire,” they wrote on Wednesday. “A technology that can perform endless complex calculations in zero-time, warp-speeding human knowledge and development.”
Scientific evidence suggests early humans began using fire in a controlled way hundreds of thousands of years ago, and perhaps even 1 millions years ago.
So how does quantum computing compare to that? Theoretically, there’s no calculation a quantum computer can’t do, BofA said, adding that it could “change everything,” by creating new drugs and materials, increasing longevity, and enhancing encryption and logistics, to name just a few examples.
At the same time, the artificial intelligence revolution that’s also underway could get turbocharged by quantum computing, and vice versa.
“GenAI can help speed up the development and testing time of quantum systems, which could take AI model training to the level of Artificial Super Intelligence,” BofA said.
There have already been major milestones in quantum computing. In 2023, Google said its Sycamore quantum processor completed a calculation in 6 seconds that would’ve taken the top supercomputer 47 years.
And in December, Google said its Willow quantum chip solved a problem in less than five minutes that would’ve taken the world’s fastest supercomputer 10 septillion years (or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years).
But a quantum computer has yet to solve a useful real-world problem faster than a classical computer could, BofA pointed out. That’s because qubits, the fundamental units of quantum information, still suffer from too much “noise,” or disturbances that can lead to computation errors.
In January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the most exciting developments in quantum computing are more than a decade away.
In March, he sought to temper expectations for quantum computing that somehow it’s “going to be better at spreadsheets.”
Rob Schoelkopf, cofounder and chief scientist of Quantum Circuits, also said at the time that advances in quantum computing would come more gradually instead of in a sudden flip of a switch.
“We’re going to be turning the volume steadily, and we can start to hear the music now, and eventually everyone will be able to hear the music,” he predicted.
Meanwhile, BofA noted that quantum computing has geopolitical implications as well. The technology can level the playing field in overall processing power, which the U.S. currently leads the world in.
“Whoever wins the ‘quantum race’ will gain an unprecedented geopolitical, technological and economic advantage,” analysts said.
