The US has just made quantum computing a national priority

The US is not willing to lose the race for quantum computing against China. Quantum computers are as important to these two superpowers as semiconductors or artificial intelligence (AI). It is even possible that in the future, when quantum machines arrive with the ability to correct your own mistakesif they finally do it, they will be even more so.

The scientific community has agreed that classical encryption technologies they will be vulnerable before the advent of large-scale quantum hardware. In fact, Google’s quantum artificial intelligence group holds that a quantum computer with less than half a million physical qubits will be able to decipher the algorithms used by current cryptocurrencies in a few minutes. There is no doubt that the stakes are high.

This is the scenario in which Donald Trump has signed Just a few hours ago two executive decrees made quantum computing a strategic priority of the State. The first sets as a goal the development of the first quantum computer powerful enough for scientific research before 2028. And the second forces the federal government’s civil systems to migrate to post-quantum cryptography before 2031, advancing the previous deadline set under the Biden Administration by four years.

The US is convinced that quantum computers will take off in 2028

“We are going to invest in American quantum leadership like never before,” declared Donald Trump during the signing of the decrees. Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, was even more precise: “We believe this can happen in 2028,” he said, referring to the arrival of a quantum computer competent in scientific research. Furthermore, Kratsios described that moment as the beginning of “a new era of commercial capabilities.”

These decrees have come a month after the Department of Commerce announced $2 billion in financial incentives for nine companies in the sector under the CHIPS and Science Act. In any case, these measures are essentially a geopolitical positioning statement. The text of the first decree, called Ushering in the next Frontier of Quantum Innovation (Inaugurating the next frontier of quantum innovation), opens with the phrase: “The United States stands on the brink of a quantum revolution.”

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy coordinates the Government’s strategy that integrates the departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce, NASA and intelligence agencies, with the explicit objective of ensuring American leadership against China in a technology that could radically transform artificial intelligence, materials science and chemistry. Surprisingly, this decree also requires the Pentagon to deploy quantum sensors by 2028.

These devices have disruptive military applications. In fact, they can be used to guide aircraft in conflict zones where GPS systems have been blocked, and they can also be installed on satellites to detect underground activity, such as construction of tunnels or missile silos.

The second decree is, if possible, even more urgent. Large-scale quantum computers could break the encryption schemes that today protect government, financial and critical infrastructure systems.

The second decree approved by the US Government sets the year 2031 for migration to post-quantum algorithms validated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which implies four years ahead with respect to the 2035 objective of the previous Administration. Agencies that do not meet this deadline must submit an explanatory report to the White House Budget Office.

Be that as it may, the NIST post-quantum standards they already exist. The career now is not technical, it is administrative, and requires migrating before someone takes advantage of what has been inevitable for years.

Image | Xataka

More information | Reuters

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