“BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY”: An optimistic speculation on the quantum future

The dawn of every century ushers in a new era of possibilities. Most of such possibilities might seem impossible by virtue of the limitations of existing science or by the magnitude of their use.

Never could the dreamers and the tinkerers of the 19th century predict the storm of discoveries in the early 1900s that would threaten to uproot their fundamental understanding of the universe. They were quite satisfied with what they had seemed to uncover and believed that nothing more was left. But just within the matter of a few years, our understanding of the world was changed in unimaginable ways.

Today, we stand at the very cusp of such a revolution that could potentially allow us to transcend to the ultimate beings. Hints of the very same could be heard in the whisperings of the late 1900s. Quantum technology, as it is called, is simply bizarre, exciting and more importantly mysterious.

A completely counterintuitive concept that defies logic, quantum tech has the power to impact the world in such a way that it can be compared to the emergence of a God or an all-powerful entity. The world we live in is deep rooted in its belief of cause and effect with the former preceding the latter. All such notions are completely upended in the quantum world.

Every fantasy, be it time travel, the ultimate machine, teleportation, and multi-versal operations seem possible when the full power of quantum tech is realized. With the increase in its popularity over the recent years it’s worthwhile to explore the avenues that could open up and question what it would mean for us. So, let’s dive into the speculations about the quantum future.

Perhaps, the most glamorous allure is the predicted possibility of teleportation. Quantum teleportation in its basic sense is wormhole connections in the quantum foam. Before we get excited about the notion of vanishing from one place or time and appearing in another, it’s important to note that it’s not what the theory says is possible. A fax machine can only transmit the data of the sheet which is then used to reconstruct it at the other end. Similarly, a Quantum teleportation vessel can only compress an entire object into a stream of electrons and transmit it across the ripples in space time. There still remains the issue of how to reconstruct such data.

A world without diseases is a dream for many. The way to achieve it remains in the dark. With the operational complexity and the power of quantum computers, it seems like a trivial issue to devise a viable treatment method or a drug combination. World hunger could be a thing of the past. With speculations about Quantum 3D printers that can churn out food from thin air, it can finally achieve what the world has failed to.

Quantum cryptography offers the ultimate cyber protection. Leveraging the unpredictability of the quantum states, it’s possible to encrypt data in its most secure form making it virtually unhackable. It was no wonder that rumors of a breakthrough in this technology by China created a buzz among the big powers in the field.

There always is one goal of humanity that seems the most unreachable and unrealistic. Since we are in the business of speculation, we might as well consider it. Immortality. The preservation of species for all perpetuity. A concept that just blows our minds. Quantum diagnostic devices can eventually enable us to correct flaws in our DNA which can then be used to reverse aging.

With such mind-boggling ideas churning around it, it’s no wonder that the research into the field of quantum physics/computing is gaining momentum. Tipped to be “the next big thing”, the opportunities here are quite limitless.

Starting from Fujitsu Quantum Devices in 1991 to several others till date we’ve taken significant steps to unleash its full potential. The big tech has now invested itself into it. Google’s Quantum AI labs, Microsoft Q station, IBM’s Quantum research team, D -Wave Systems INC and not to mention several other research teams and labs across the world are working in full swing to make the impossible possible. With Google recently announcing their achievement of “Quantum Supremacy”, it’s evident that the development is gaining traction.

From where we stand now, it’s not possible to predict what the quantum future really means to us. The entire concept is hidden behind the huge cloud of uncertainty, which ironically is one of the fundamental phenomena that govern the quantum world. But, it’s no coincidence that every major sci-fi fantasy movie resorts to quantum tech to explain the impossible.

If we are to ascend to a world of greatness, and have the remotest chance to clear up the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, Quantum technology seems the only possible way. However, it’s going to be a while before we can actually say “Beam me up, Scotty” and get instantly transported to our docked Starship and go on adventures using Quantum warp drives.

-S Likhith