Quantum Computers: The Coming Revolution

Quantum computers, unlike today’s, can perform a large number of operations simultaneously, which makes them infinitely more powerful. In the not too distant future, this new way of computing will enable unimaginable calculations to be carried out at great speed and solve problems that are unsolvable today. According to Ignacio Cirac, physicist and renowned researcher, this quantum breakthrough will be a real revolution. It is a paradigm shift that will transform all fields in which computing is used, with a scope that is still difficult to predict, as are its social implications. Will this new technology be able to make predictions that are currently unthinkable? Can it help us explain complex processes such as consciousness or the origin of the universe? How will it contribute to fields such as medicine? At the same time, quantum computing will be able to decrypt much of the information that is currently encrypted. Will it be a risk or an advantage for cybersecurity?

Ignacio Cirac, a pioneering physicist in quantum computing, will be talking about the revolution to come. Thirty years ago, he and other researchers set out to build a quantum computer, after which what had seemed like science fiction started to become possible. The first prototypes are now being developed, and Cirac predicts that in the next decade quantum computers will be a reality capable of transforming the world.

The session has a pedagogical dossier (in Catalan) so that the students can work on the contents beforehand in the classroom and thus make the most out of the lecture.