Quantum Computing and IBM Q: An Introduction

Gavin Jones
IBM Research - Almaden

Though early in its development, quantum computing is now available on real hardware via the cloud through IBM Q. This radically new kind of computing holds open the possibility of solving some problems that are now and perhaps always will be intractable for “classical” computers. In this talk we will discuss the motivation for quantum computing and the types of problems to which it might be applied. We will describe the basics of the technology and show where we are in the timeline toward reaching quantum advantage: the point where quantum computing shows demonstrable and significant advantage over classical computers and algorithms. We will continue by describing the no-charge IBM Q Experience where more than 90,000 people have used IBM’s offerings to to learn and experiment with quantum computing. Finally, we will discuss our most advanced program—the IBM Q Network—and give a glimpse of the new computation centers to come online over the next few years.


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