The online course takes about three hours to complete, according to The Linux Foundation. It introduces the principles of quantum computing and its potential to disrupt various industries. Anyone with an understanding of computers can take the course, with the Linux Foundation suggesting that it will be particularly valuable to public sector leaders, chief information officers and technologists in charge of planning, designing, developing and deploying digital infrastructure platforms.
Quantum Is Coming
Quantum computing is advancing quickly. A 64-qubit machine from Fujitsu is expected to be available for commercial use by April 2023, and IBM and Google also plan to have commercial quantum computers available this decade.
Given that sufficiently advanced quantum computers can vastly outperform classical computers at certain tasks, their emergence on the global market will likely cause significant disruption across industries. Fields like AI, computer vision, complex modeling, simulation, autonomous vehicles, finance and weather forecasting could be supercharged by the computing prowess of quantum machines.
The Linux Foundation’s new course will also cover the security advantages and dangers posed by quantum computers. One area of particular concern is the ability of quantum computers to break the encryption of their classical counterparts. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued recommendations for businesses so they can prepare for quantum hackers, and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been holding contests to identify encryption algorithms that can withstand quantum attacks.
An introduction to the course breaks down the difference between “quantum supremacy” and “quantum advantage.” The former involves a quantum computer solving a problem that a classical computer is either incapable of solving or would take a very long time to solve. Quantum supremacy has already been demonstrated in research settings, albeit applied to impractical problems. Quantum advantage refers to the point at which quantum computers will demonstrate the ability to solve practical problems faster than classical computers, which reportedly hasn’t been demonstrated yet.
“We are on the cusp of another technological revolution as quantum computing technology matures and enables us to solve problems which are too computationally intensive for traditional computers,” said Clyde Seepersad of the Linux Foundation in a news release. “Now is the time to start teaching folks around the world about quantum computing in order to ensure that the policy implications are thought through and that the requisite talent pool is nurtured to support this technology as it grows.”
The “quantum computer for everyone course” is the latest in online tech training provided by The Linux Foundation, which has offered courses since 2014. The World Bank has also had an Open Learning Campus to “transform global knowledge into actionable learning” since 2015.