NISQy Business
That old time rock-and-roll is really soothing The Quantum Dragon's soul this week....
In the Philippines, Q+AI means Brian Siegelwax speaks for 45 minutes then answers questions for another 15. But in New York City, Inside Quantum Technology will give you 64 speakers over 2 days, including some of my all-time personal favorites. Even The Quantum Dragon thinks you should click on the banner and register.
NISQy Business
I’m a child of the 80’s, so when Matt Swayne uses “NISQy Business” in a TQI QuickBits post while asking nicely to be included in The Quantum Dragon, I’m using it as an opportunity to show you something you’ve never seen before: a singing, dancing, red dragon in tighty-whities. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
I can count to 4.
I don’t know where the disconnect is between SemiQon and Sifted, but at the time I’m writing this the post says 4 companies and the link says 4 companies while the article both link to actually lists 5. I don’t have access to the Sifted article to see where the discrepancy might be. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
On October 7, 2024, the board of directors of the Company
approved cessation of the Company’s operations.
Another one (and zero at the same time) bites the dust.
This isn’t funny at all, but I hope I’ve got your attention. The end of Zapata AI isn’t just about a company and its management, but about the layoffs. We should learn what went wrong over there so others can avoid it, but we need to think 1st, 2nd, and 3rd about the job seekers and their livelihoods. Are you hiring?
Zapata AI Job Seekers
If you were laid off by Zapata AI and would like a free listing in this newsletter, please reach out and let me know. I’ll maintain a list in The Quantum Dragon until everyone on the list has been gainfully employed elsewhere or is otherwise no longer actively job seeking. I might extend this offer to all job seekers, but I’ll start with these layoffs.
Shawn Gibford Industrial PHDc: Quantum Applications in the Life Sciences
Dr. Francesco Benfenati Quantum Solutions Engineer
You don’t need to understand the physics of most
technologies in order to use and benefit from them
The Quantum Computing Elevator Pitch
No math. No physics. Just Russ Fein writing plain English for general audiences. What I enjoy most, as a history buff, is that there’s often a brief history lesson in his articles. You learn about quantum stuff, sure, but you also learn more than that. Maybe I should start including the history of dragon lore?
First 100 Quokkas
Prof. Chris Ferrie’s Eigensystems announced the shipment of the first 100 Quokka quantum computer emulators. The question that should be foremost on everyone’s mind is who the heck is at the North Pole running quantum circuits? This link might require a LinkedIn account. This link might require a Twitter account.
Qiskit Code Assistant
They say quantum is unintuitive, and nothing could be more unintuitive than training an AI on code that regularly breaks. The Qiskit team has been regularly breaking the code for years, and it intends to continue breaking the code for the foreseeable future. This must be their plan to stop the AI apocalypse, to which I say, “well played.”
Deterministic Entangled Photon Generation
I’m not a fan of quantum companies talking about millions of qubits — gotta let some air out of those hype bubbles — but the way Quantum Source generates entangled photons is interesting. And no cryo at all? That’s interesting. Plus, the visuals are interesting. Hat trick. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
Quantum Music Samples
Prof. Eduardo R. Miranda’s “QUBISM,” due out October 25, 2024, through 51beats, has 2 sample tunes publicly available for free, plus you can find a 3rd if you scroll a bit down the page. These tunes were composed by quantum computers and then sonified as ensembles of musical instruments.
How can we enable more dedicated QF community members to unlock new
career opportunities in quantum computing and other cutting-edge fields?
Quantum Formalism Academy
Quantum Formalism has announced the launch of a mathematics-centric, career-focused educational program, which will become available through an also-announced online Learning Management System (LMS). In other words, they’re adding career assistance for mathophiles.
Sloppy Precision
I don’t have a specific image to share, but optical benches fascinate me. You’ve got these ultra-precise lasers doing what they’re doing, based on the application at hand, and then you’ve got all these cables hanging around and lying around all willy-nilly. Do none of these laboratories have IT departments? That’s a real quick fix.
Register… literally… right NOW!
The deadline to register for this online Quantum Code Challenge is today, October 18, 2024. This hackathon, organized by CRS4, Open Campus, and QItaly for the CTE Cagliari DLAB project, will focus on quantum computing applied to smart cities and will use the qBraid platform.
Quantum + AI
Speaking of registering now, did you notice the banner at the top of this newsletter? I was just wondering if you’ve registered yet. You don’t have to tell me. You can keep it private, if you’d like. But I’m old and forgetful, so I’m including another banner just in case you scrolled past the first one too quickly.
Join the quantum task force!
How would you like to apply quantum computing to finance and risk management? You have a chance to work with Carmen Recio and Irene Papaefstathiou as a member of the Quantum Task Force at Moody’s. Watch the video to learn about the summer internships and early career rotation programs.
Quantum Game Night
Chicago Quantum Exchange will be hosting the first event that I’m aware of to introduce quantum computing through “family-friendly games.” Introducing QC through games is nothing new, thanks to Dr. James “The Dungeon Master of Quantum Computing” Wootton, but the “family-friendly” twist has got me curious.
The Forbidden Variable
The most erotic bug you can find in your quantum finance application is the accidental misspelling of lambda as lambada. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen this video in a few decades, and it seems to be far more disturbing to watch as a parent. For starters, don’t backhand your children.
Another one spits out the dust?
One week after seemingly exiting the quantum landscape — biting the dust — blueqat has launched its NEXT Quantum Leap Project with the goal to build a silicon spin quantum computer with 1 million qubits. I guess their roadmap involves head spins now and electron spins later?
This is puzzling…
Quantum Innovation Summit’s Truth or Dare Series continues to find its way into this newsletter. This week, the association of quantum mechanics with solving a puzzle is so good it’s hard to believe I haven’t encountered it already, especially since there are quantum games involving puzzles. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
Futurama Meme
Rob Joyce (@RGB_Lights) lays the smack down on both China’s non-exploits and quantum annealing with one tweet, embellished with a mainstream meme. Besmirching either one will get you into this newsletter; besmirching both grants you legendary status. This link might require a Twitter account.
This is newsworthy.
Thanks to Dr. Bob Sutor for this blast from the past. It’s a University of Bristol press release from 2013 announcing the first-ever quantum cloud, and it would feature an open-access (aka, “free”) photonic processor. Eleven years later, remarkably, we are still introducing quantum computing the same way it’s presented here.
Register NOW… um… again!
Thanks to Paweł Gora for this one. Today is the registration deadline for a Global Quantum Hackathon by the Quantum AI Foundation and QPoland. I see harmonic oscillator, Quantum Machine Learning, quantum games, Quantumz.io, and open tracks, each with cash prizes in US dollars.
Coffee and a Quantum Odyssey
Laurentiu Nita of Quarks Interactive got it all wrong when he posted that Quantum Odyssey is better than drinking coffee to “wake up your mind.” Quantum Odyssey is the chocolate glazed donut that you enjoy while drinking your coffee. They are complementary, not contrasting. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
Visualizing 3 Dimensions
You probably read that and thought, “wait a second… visualizing 3 dimensions isn’t all that hard,” and, of course, you’re right. But now that I’ve got your attention, let me thank Dr. Michaela Eichinger for sharing this visualization of a 3-dimensional superconducting quantum processor. This link might require a LinkedIn account.
Resuscitated Quantum Bullshit Detector
Thanks to Alan Ho and Prof. Michael Biercuk for the idea to resuscitate the Quantum Bullshit Detector. This Twitter account would controversially tweet a paper with a simple “bullshit” or “not bullshit,” but I’ll go one step further and provide links to the microscopic, chemical, microbiologic, and immunochemical analyses of the bullshit.
China used a quantum computer to hack military-grade encryption? Bullshit.
https://www.bing.com/images/create/a-young-red-dragon-dancing-in-white-socks2c-buttone/1-67094fded73b4254ba2cb79cf81cbb60?id=JF%2BTayLNeSHNgIbJ9Te1gQ.tPExktKSzrIv1PB8R2x%2FVw&view=detailv2&idpp=genimg&idpclose=1&thid=OIG3.QW5.NbT_df8n4TRTl1u3&frame=sydedg&skey=u0pbLGvpoqa0uLomPmMyulg3xyxXMycmsPR7B1XgJvI&form=SYDBIC
https://www.bing.com/images/create/a-young-red-dragon-using-a-metal-detector-as-it-fo/1-670e072b41c147ccbe458ae13dc82a23?id=dX%2F96yUaMDyo4lokyfOS2A.0m7MpjZxM3EdJMKC1vjf3g&view=detailv2&idpp=genimg&idpclose=1&thid=OIG4.81JFJBmadrAGb.6_DSk6&frame=sydedg&skey=u0pbLGvpoqa0uLomPmMyulg3xyxXMycmsPR7B1XgJvI&form=SYDBIC