What this book covers

Chapter 1: Introduction to Quantum Computing and Blockchain

This is the first chapter of this book, where I touch upon the technological concepts that quantum computing and Blockchain are based on. This chapter also provides a brief history of the field of quantum physics over the last century, and how this led to the evolution of quantum computing.

Chapter 2: Quantum Computing – Key Discussion Points

This chapter discusses quantum computing terminology and key concepts in greater detail. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the readers an overview of the terms they will see through the rest of this book.

Chapter 3: The Data Economy

We live in a data era. Over the last 30 years the internet and the social media boom has helped create a lot of data. This has in turn helped fuel technologies like AI that are reliant on such data. We look at the role that data technologies like AI, Blockchain, IoT, and quantum computing could play in our everyday lives.

Chapter 4: The Impact on Financial Services

Financial services is a data-intensive industry. Most financial decisions around portfolio management and risk management are heavily reliant on simulations used by financial institutions. This chapter covers the potential applications of quantum computing on financial services.

Chapter 5: Interview with Dr. Dave Snelling, Fujitsu Fellow

An interview with Dave Snelling, the Program Director of AI at Fujitsu and one of the key stakeholders behind their Digital Annealer. Dave brings to life the applications of digital annealers that he is already working on, and the potential future he sees for quantum computers.

Chapter 6: The Impact on Healthcare and Pharma

This chapter brings to life applications of quantum computing in the field of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Drug discovery is one of the key areas where the quantum computing could make a big difference. There are applications of Blockchain in the pharma industry that I discuss in this chapter too.

Chapter 7: Interview with Dr. B. Rajathilagam, Head of AI Research, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

The interview with Dr. B. Rajathilagam (BRT) gives us a view of the use cases for quantum computing and Blockchain in the emerging markets. BRT brings to fore her firsthand knowledge of the on-the-ground challenges for villages in India.

Chapter 8: The Impact on Governance

Elections are largely becoming testing grounds for AI and data science technologists. It could be a new future where election results could be accurately modeled using technologies such as quantum computing. This chapter explores the possibilities of the technology in future elections.

Chapter 9: Interview with Max Henderson, Senior Data Scientist, Rigetti and QxBranch

Max and his team at QxBranch modeled the 2016 American elections using quantum computing, and achieved a high degree of precision with their predictions. This interview covers Max's experience in doing so, his observations, and lessons learned from the process.

Chapter 10: The Impact on Smart Cities and Environment

We live in a world that is being affected by climate change and is in a climate emergency. This chapter looks at ways we could create smart cities using technology that can not only make our lives better, but can also help us to live more sustainably.

Chapter 11: Interview with Sam McArdle, Quantum Computing Researcher at the University of Oxford

One of the biggest challenges with quantum computers is the limited ability we have in correcting errors. In this chapter, I discuss these challenges with Sam McArdle, who is researching NISQ at Oxford University. Sam explains why error correction in quantum computers is such a hard task. He also touches upon the possibilities of using NISQ in fields like Chemistry.

Chapter 12: The Impact on Chemistry

Quantum computing is based on the principles of quantum mechanics that describes the behavior of sub-atomic particles. This is precisely why Chemistry is a very fitting application for quantum computers. In this chapter I discuss how quantum computers can be used to model the interactions between molecules during a chemical reaction.

Chapter 13: The Impact on Logistics

Logistics problems have been challenging for classical computers to solve. In this chapter I discuss how quantum computing can help solve some of the real-world problems in logistics. I also discuss the work firms like Airbus is doing to improve aerodynamics of their flights. On the Blockchain side, I explain the use of the technology within the supply chain and the efficiencies it can add to supply chains.

Chapter 14: Interview with Dinesh Nagarajan, Partner, IBM

Dinesh is a cyber security expert and a partner at IBM. In this chapter we discuss how technology innovation has helped enrich people's lives across the world and the cyber risks that it has brought to the table. We also discuss how firms and nation states can be more agile from a cryptographic perspective to face the threat posed by the new era in computing.

Chapter 15: Quantum-Safe Blockchain

In this chapter we talk about the elephant in the room. Is Blockchain under threat in a post quantum era? We take a step further to touch upon how data transmission on the internet could be at risk because of quantum computing. We also look at various cryptographic techniques that are quantum ready and how they can help us protect our data.

Chapter 16: Nation States and Cyberwars

What would a country do if it was equipped with a technology that can be used to take control of most encrypted data in the world? How close are we to getting to that reality? Is that even a possibility we should be prepared for? These are the questions I address in the chapter about nation states and their efforts to dominate the data technology world. Several billion dollars have been allocated for technologies such as AI, Blockchain, and quantum computing by countries that want to dominate this space.

Chapter 17: Conclusion – Blue Skies

A closure chapter summarizing the key takeaways from the book. I discuss the learning from the interviews and my thoughts on the comments from the experts I interviewed. I conclude with my views on the hype around quantum computing and how that could affect the direction of travel of the ecosystem. I note the efforts from top nations across the world to gain dominance in this space. I conclude by providing my views on the possibilities of this amazing technology – quantum computing.

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/downloads/9781838647766_ColorImages.pdf

Conventions used

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, also appear in the text like this. For example: "My professor Dr. B. Rajathilagam, who taught me about Database Management Systems (DBMSes) and Object Oriented Programming 20 years ago, is now leading AI and quantum machine learning research."