How to prepare for the coming quantum leap

Companies and educators need to start preparing now for quantum computing’s place as a disruptor in the marketplace, or risk falling behind the rapid pace of innovation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Martin A. Schmidt said during a panel at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. Schmidt was joined onstage by IonQ CMO Margaret Arakawa, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research Darío Gil, and Fast Company Global Technology Editor Harry McCracken. “We have to think about the whole workforce in terms of getting people quantum savvy for that moment,” Schmidt said during the panel. Schmidt recalled his time as Provost at MIT when AI and machine learning advances were happening at rapid pace. At the time, Schmidt said his team was “caught off guard” when it came to the disruption that was occurring. Schmidt recalled calling several CTOs of companies that supported MIT at the time, and “they were all in the same boat.” “Everybody was reacting to what was the disruptive technology that they hadn’t anticipated, and that meant trying to figure out how it was going to transform their business, trying to figure out how you were going to get the talent to exploit it,” he said. “I feel like now’s the time for us to be prepared for quantum.” It’s impossible to know when implementing quantum computing is more of the norm and less of a mysterious being. Arakawa predicted two years from now, while Gil estimated by the end of the decade. “You are already seeing incredible work right now that is happening of people who are passionate about pushing the limits, and you’re going to see more of it next year and more and more, and there’s a big moment at the end of the decade,” Gil said.