Q&A: How will quantum computers change society?

Once called a "pipe dream," quantum computers are now approaching practical use. Companies and research institutes around the world are in fierce competition to develop this technology, which has the potential to rapidly perform some. The science-journalism coverage adds useful context, while the strongest evidential footing still comes from the underlying data, papers or institutional documentation.

It matters because physics only takes a result seriously when the measurement chain remains robust under scrutiny. Experimental particle physics and precision metrology both operate in regimes where the signal sits far below the background noise, and where systematic uncertainties can mimic new physics if not controlled rigorously. The history of the field contains numerous anomalies that generated theoretical excitement before better data showed them to be artifacts, and it also contains genuine discoveries that were initially dismissed as noise. The difference is almost always resolved by independent replication with different instruments and different systematics. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. We sat down with professor Takuji Miki of the Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation to hear more about the latest trends and future developments in the field.

While conventional computers process information using bits that take a value of either 0 or 1, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in a "superposition". To give an example, let's take calculations necessary for developing things like new medicines or materials.

In other words, it's breaking an integer into a product of prime numbers (i. e, integers greater than 1 that are divisible only by 1 and themselves). Quantum computers are gaining attention as a new computing technology that can respond to those sudden changes.

At the moment, we expect to need on the order of 1 million qubits to achieve practical quantum computing. The superconducting quantum computer announced last year by RIKEN and Fujitsu has 256 qubits.

The broader interest lies as much in the method as in the headline number, because a durable measurement procedure can travel farther than a single result. When experimental physicists develop a technique that achieves new sensitivity or controls a previously uncharacterized systematic, that methodological contribution persists even if the specific measurement is later revised. This is one reason why precision physics experiments often generate long-term value that is not immediately visible in the original publication.

I imagine we'll see quantum computers with 1, 000 or even 10, 000 qubits within the next decade or so. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100, 000 subscribers who rely on Phys. org for daily insights.

Because this item comes through Phys. org Physics as science journalism, it should be treated as contextual reporting rather than primary evidence. Good science reporting can identify why a result matters, connect it to the wider literature and make technical work readable, but the decisive evidence remains in the original paper, dataset, mission release or technical record. That distinction is especially important when a story is later repeated by aggregators, because repetition increases visibility, not evidential strength.

The next step is more measurement, tighter systematic control and scrutiny from groups whose experimental setups are genuinely independent. In experimental particle physics and precision metrology, the threshold for a discovery claim is a five-sigma excess surviving multiple analyses; an intriguing signal at lower significance is a reason to run more experiments, not a reason to revise the textbooks. Next-generation experiments currently under construction or commissioning will revisit several of the open questions that give the current result its context.

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