Aussie ‘cultural cringe’ hiding quantum computing success

For years, the promise of quantum computing has felt like a distant sci-fi dream. But Michelle Simmons, chief executive of Silicon Quantum Computing and a new addition to the Tech Council of Australia’s board, says that the future has already arrived.

It’s just that most Australians don’t know it — nor do they realise the country is a world leader in the technology she says will transform every industry.

Professor Simmons said her company was already deploying quantum systems to enhance artificial intelligence. She made the comments delivering a subtle swipe at the federal and Queensland’s $1bn investment in America’s PsiQuantum to build the nation’s first quantum computer.

“I think a lot of us that are building things here would have liked that funding directly,” Professor Simmons said. “Australia is a leader. Unequivocally, there’s no doubt we are a leader in this space. That’s probably the biggest misconception.”

Professor Simmons said it began in the late ‘90s when the government backed the development of quantum computing via the Australian Research Council.

“The US started it, as they will do, because they’ve got big business over there,” she said.

“But, Australia saw the opportunity back in the late ‘90s, early 2000s and just went in very boldly, saying we’re going to build a quantum computer. We’re going to build secure communication systems.

“We’ve had centres of excellence coming out of that. So I think the view that Australia can’t compete on the global stage when it is actually leading is one of the weirdest things that I find, because I’m in it. I see it and I know we’re leading. I don’t know if it’s a cultural cringe about us not saying we’re leading. I don’t want it, but we’ve got to own it.”

Professor Simmons’ comments challenge the prevailing public misconception that functional quantum computers are decades away, highlighting a significant leap forward in Australian innovation.

The difference between quantum and classical computing is quantum uses qubits rather than bits. Bits can either be 1 or 0 to process information, while quantum could be both at the same time — like a coin being heads and tails spinning in the air before it lands — a process known as superposition, and is incredibly powerful.

This means quantum computers can process information in a fraction of the time of classical computing, in some cases saving thousands, maybe millions of years. But qubits are, as Microsoft’s vice president of advanced quantum development Krysta Svore says, “noisy” and error prone. She says they are like 1000 spinning tops, and the task is to keep them spinning for a month, while the room moves around a bit. “It’s a hard task,” she says.

But, Professor Simmons said Silicon Quantum Computing released its first product “well ahead of schedule” a couple of years ago, and is at work in the AI space. These aren’t the large, universal error-corrected systems often imagined, but highly specialised processors that significantly enhance classical machine learning.

“So the system we’ve got in the machine learning space doesn’t need to be fault tolerant. And so you actually use the quantum states to expand data sets for classical machine learning. So that’s one area, but eventually you want to get your errors (down) so that you can do larger and larger computations.”

This immediate, practical application underscores the transformational potential of quantum technology, which Professor Simmons believes will “literally hit every industry”.

“There’s not an industry I think that will be untouched by quantum when it arrives,” she said, outlining the vast implications for materials design, drug discovery, catalysis and optimisation problems.

The ability of quantum computers to tackle calculations currently impossible for the most powerful classical systems with lower heat generation is set to revolutionise sectors from anti-corrosion resistant materials to battery technology. Professor Simmons sees Australia’s geographic isolation and collaborative spirit as an advantage.

“I honestly believe that what we’ve achieved here, I would not have been able to do anywhere else,“ she said, crediting Australia’s ability to foster ambitious, big-picture R&D projects.”

Professor Simmons was speaking ahead of The National Tech Summit, which will be held in Sydney from September 15-17 and serve as a crucial platform to showcase Australia’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.

“We’re going to showcase what tech is in Australia, allow the startups and the scale-ups that are there to meet some of the big corporations,“ Professor Simmons said, emphasising the goal to ”raise the bar on tech in Australia.“

“With quantum advancements already making their mark, the “next three to five years, I reckon it’s going to take off”.

This article first appeared in The Australian as Aussie ‘cultural cringe’ hiding quantum computing success