Quantum computing can reconcile the difficult combination of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), but it presents challenges, said an industry expert.
Quantum computers, which have great computing power to encrypt and decrypt data, can crack even the most advanced forms of encryption and can perform complex calculations 100 times faster than today's computers.
What is quantum computing?
Data can be processed in a unique binary state at any time, that is, 0 (off) or 1 (enabled), but in quantum computing, it can operate in bidirectional mode, which means that it can change from 0 an overlay of 0 and 1.
"For any technology, there is a way to break it, and quantum computing can help people more easily break existing encryption technology," said Dr. Anand Rao, the company's global director of AI. PwC Consulting and Research in LaComparacion Middle East.
If quantum computing becomes widely available, he said everyone would be forced to switch from current encryption to quantum encryption to stay well ahead of professional hackers.
But everyone will accept quantum computing, he said, "no."
What is quantum encryption?
Quantum encryption, also called quantum cryptography, uses a series of photons to transmit data from one location to another through a fiber optic cable. If the photon is somehow read or copied by an intermediary, its state will change. The change will be detected by the endpoint computers and the transaction will not complete.
The security community will have to adopt a new set of algorithms, especially the so-called "crypto asymmetric", because the old ones will be useless.
Asymmetric cryptography uses public and private keys to encrypt and decrypt data. The standardization process is underway with the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and in a few years it should have a new set of cryptographic algorithms.
Responses become unstable as qubits increase
"Some make quantum computing available in the cloud. There may not be gains for all types of calculations. There are specific types of algorithms, such as portfolio optimization and drug discovery, that can be best achieved in a quantum computer than traditional GPU machines, but it will be expensive because it requires more power and cooling, "he said.
"If you have any decision tree, it is better to use a traditional computer. With the advent of quantum computing, it does not validate AI or blockchain. Even if quantum computing comes in, GPUs will still be needed to handle a certain type of problem, "he said.
However, he said that the challenge of quantum computers is more of a technical challenge and not a conceptual challenge.
"To get stability, they have to get very cold, and so on." You can get stability with a reduced number of qubits (quantum bits) as you increase the qubits, the responses become unstable, "he said.
Rao said that quantum computing will take a few years to progress and that, for the time being, blockchain and AI can be combined to protect information, which can constitute a technological route to certain risks.
"Adding blockchain to an AI technology will make hacking more difficult. This is the end point of the blockchain that is cracked but not the blockchain itself. The research community is working in different ways," he said.
However, he said that the problem with the blockchain is bringing various parties together and agreeing on something.
"It is difficult to agree a point with one of the parties and if you want several parties to join, each party has something to lose and gain." If they are looking for something to lose, they will never come to an agreement and that is why blockchain has been shelved for a year and a half, "he said.
AI will be more like the internet
Blockchain technology is still very good, Rao said, but some people say that it does a lot of calculations, which means it consumes a lot of computing power.
When asked if AI was fact or fiction, he replied that there was still a lot of hype about AI since 1985.
There are things he added that the way algorithms recognize voices and accents better than humans, by recognizing images (facial recognition) and text, is a game changer.
"There have been significant advances, but sometimes the salespeople are too many surprises and fuel the hype." That is why AI has suffered in the past, too much promised and too little delivered, and this has happened multiple times in the past since 1956, "he said.
However, this time, he said there was exaggeration but also the truth.
"AI helps in varied and specific situations. All the versatile artificial intelligence, taking control of humanity, is oversold and no technology can get us there, it exploded to scare people. I don't think that will happen," he said.
However, he said, AI will become more and more like the internet and people will not be able to escape it.
"It will be part of other channels for various functions. The machines will help us make better decisions in the future," he said.