- Quantum computing could help tackle complex problems like disease, food and climate crises by boosting personalized medicine, carbon sequestration, green hydrogen and ammonia production
- Investment hype and security fears are creating misperceptions while the lack of post-graduate education is leading to a critical talent bottleneck
- The World Economic Forum report and white paper, State of Quantum Computing and Transitioning to a Quantum-Secure Economy, show what action business and government can take
Geneva, Switzerland, 13 September 2022 – Quantum technologies offer huge potential for finding solutions to complex global challenges. But the focus on cybersecurity risks, which are solvable if decision-makers act now, is obscuring their application to the threats of climate, hunger and disease.
Moreover, demand for experts is outpacing available talent and companies are struggling to recruit people in this increasingly competitive and strategic industry. The World Economic Forum’s State of Quantum Computing report and Transitioning to a Quantum-Secure Economy white paper show how business and government leaders can take action.
The report and the white paper draw on insights from global experts and decision-makers among the Forum’s Quantum Economy Network. As investments in quantum technologies by businesses and governments worldwide totalled $35.5 billion by 2022, they show that while private investment is growing rapidly and shifting from venture capital to initial public offerings, companies and organizations are facing a serious shortage of talent.
The only people trained in quantum technologies are highly academic and businesses are struggling to upskill and find qualified individuals with experience in business or engineering. This skills gap means quantum computers, which are based on harnessing the properties of quantum states, will miss the promise of solving vastly complex problems exponentially faster than traditional machines.
Although the technology is nascent, the report and the white paper show how leaders can act now to secure their digital infrastructure from potential quantum computing attacks in the future. Three specific domains of research and industry, with significant economic, environmental and societal opportunities, are highlighted:
- Atomic, sub-atomic and molecular simulation leading to possible breakthroughs in materials science and biology
- Optimization and risk management in complex systems
- Impacts on existing technology areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity security and blockchain
Taken together, they show how businesses can assess quantum readiness and formulate a quantum strategy, build internal capabilities and align with top management and policy-makers on critical focus areas.
“Quantum computing is a fundamentally new way of computing and could dramatically recast our ability to tackle climate change, hunger and disease,” said Derek O’Halloran, Head of the Forum’s platform, Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation. “Its economic promise and potential to render common cryptographic technologies obsolete make it geopolitically strategic. But the knowledge gap and uncertainties that come with an emerging technology make it difficult for decision-makers to act. The report and the white paper aim to demystify quantum computing and give business executives and policy-makers worldwide informed opinion for fact-based decision-making.”