I\u2019m inching toward becoming an enthusiast. But even for me, parsing through the\u2014let\u2019s face it\u2014sometimes overhyped noise feels tiresome and pointless. So let\u2019s take a step back. What will quantum technology really do for us? How far have we come? And how should we handle the flow of PR on the sixth so-called ultimate quantum breakthrough of the week? To discuss these questions (or rather, to sift through the noise), Gizmodo traveled uptown to IBM\u2019s Manhattan office to chat with Jerry Chow<\/a>, director of IBM Quantum<\/a>. The following conversation has been slightly edited for grammar and clarity.<\/p>\n Gayoung Lee, Gizmodo: Okay, imagine I\u2019m someone who is just like, \u201cOh, quantum computing is a load of nonsense.\u201d Why should I care at all about quantum advantage?<\/p>\n Jerry Chow: In the end, I think our goal is to bring useful quantum computing to the world. And a big part of quantum computing is that we have the opportunity to build differentiating computation over what exists today. There\u2019s a mathematical statement to that, or there are provable algorithms that really show that quantum computing can really [outperform] classical computing, like factoring large numbers for breaking encryption or simulating very complex molecular structures, the Grover\u2019s algorithm, and all that pen-and-paper provable direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n But another question is, what can we do with the things that people are already building? That\u2019s very far apart from saying that there\u2019s an advantage for a particular kind of problem, or it\u2019s an advantage in terms of being better than all classical techniques that you might throw at it. When you want to solve a problem, you have at your disposal the GPUs, CPUs, all the world\u2019s computers, and all the world\u2019s algorithms to throw at that problem, right? <\/p>\n Quantum advantage, really, is that we can now use quantum computing plus what we have available to us\u2014classical resources\u2014to solve a problem cheaper, faster, or more accurately.<\/p>\n Gizmodo: That\u2019s quite the departure from that popular press hook that goes, \u201cQuantum computing will change computing forever!\u201d<\/p>\n Chow: I see quantum advantage more as something incremental. It\u2019s not that it necessarily changes everything that we can compute. That\u2019s also how a lot of GPUs [graphics processing units] also scaled up. Obviously they were used for games\u2014maybe a niche area\u2014but they really got large with national computing strategies leveraging it for clustered HPCs [high-performance computers] and for people studying molecular structure, cosmology, and high-energy physics problems that use a lot of computational capability. We expect something similar too, for quantum to now be an \u201caugmented tool.\u201d<\/p>\n Gizmodo: The idea of augmentation is really interesting, because the two\u2014classical and quantum computers\u2014are inherently connected, right? Confirming that quantum computers work properly requires cross-checking using classical computers<\/a>. How do researchers leverage this relationship to their benefit?<\/p>\n Chow: That\u2019s an absolutely important part of how this all happens. Everything is interconnected with classical computing. The only way we know how to experience computation is classical\u2014we put classical inputs in, and we take classical inputs out. Quantum computers use quantum mechanics and quantum circuits to explore some exponentially large space, but in the end we\u2019re performing measurements that turn everything back into classical outputs that we then further process or use or leverage in parts of our computation using other parts of our computational arsenal. People shouldn\u2019t fear that quantum will replace classical!<\/p>\n Quantum computers are real things that are usable\u2026 People don\u2019t need to just experience it through marketing; get your hands dirty! <\/p>\n Gizmodo: IBM\u2019s clearly a big player in this field, and you\u2019ve been involved with its quantum research for 15 years. What\u2019s something you\u2019re particularly proud of in the realm of realizing that approach to quantum advantage?<\/p>\n Chow: When I started, we had maybe eight to ten people, very much focused on just building better devices. Then around the mid-2010s, we made the decision to take what we\u2019ve built and actually put it on the cloud to take things out of the physics laboratory and into a computational experience. Suddenly, we started thinking less about it as turning knobs and controlling voltages and more in terms of how to actually use this as a computational tool and computational platform. Today, most of our systems are deployed in quantum data centers around the world as well as on client locations.<\/p>\n And we\u2019re starting to see a lot of that engagement. For example, our collaborators<\/a> from the RIKEN Institute in Japan are using quantum plus their HPC to study molecular structure<\/a>. Since then we\u2019ve been able to start to push that energy level [needed for calculations] down closer and closer to this hallmark level of what\u2019s best done classically, at which point we start to really be able to do these comparisons.<\/p>\n Gizmodo: What\u2019s an important part of IBM\u2019s strategy in this field?<\/p>\n Chow: Now, just building it is not enough. We need to derive quantum computers\u2019 usefulness, and a big part of that is the community. We need them to really demand the necessity for advanced computers and work with us to find quantum advantage and useful applications. That\u2019s a big part of our ecosystem strategy and why we have a quantum network of nearly 300 members. We\u2019re not the industry experts in various verticals, but the opportunity is there for health care<\/a>, life sciences<\/a>, oil and gas, and energy industries.<\/p>\n Gizmodo: So quantum computers aren\u2019t actually a thing of the future. They\u2019re already here.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chow: Yes. Quantum computers are real things that are usable. Obviously there\u2019s a lot of marketing, a lot of buzz out there. But also, like, literally, you can go and run quantum circuits for free on our machines over the web. There\u2019s so much to learn in terms of learning content that\u2019s out there. There\u2019s a huge community base of people to help you get started. You can tell ChatGPT to install Qiskit<\/a>. People don\u2019t need to just experience it through marketing; get your hands dirty!\u00a0<\/p>\n Gizmodo: Okay. If quantum advantage is incremental, what, then, is the next quantum milestone? What are you most looking forward to in the next ten, maybe five years\u2014or even in the next few months, perhaps\u2014for quantum computing?<\/p>\n![\"Riken](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/RIKEN-Fugaku-supercomputer-02-1280x853.jpg\")
At the RIKEN Center for Computational Science in Kobe, Japan, researchers use a combination of the Fugaku supercomputer (pictured) and IBM\u2019s System Two quantum computer to probe molecular structures. \u00a9 RIKEN <\/p>\n