Will quantum be bigger than AI? |
There's an old adage among tech journalists like me - you can either explain quantum accurately, or in a way that people understand, but you can't do both.
That's because quantum mechanics - a strange and partly theoretical branch of physics - is a fiendishly difficult concept to get your head around.
It involves tiny particles behaving in weird ways. And this odd activity has opened up the potential of a whole new world of scientific super power.
Its mind-boggling complexity is probably a factor in why quantum has ended up with a lower profile than tech's current rockstar - artificial intelligence (AI).
This is despite a steady stream of recent big quantum announcements from tech giants like Microsoft and Google among others.
Broadly speaking, we tend to think about quantum more commonly in the form of hardware like sensors and computers, while AI is more software-based – it requires hardware to operate.
Put them together, and we might one day have a new form of technology that's more powerful than anything we have ever created… although the word "might" is doing some heavy lifting in that particular prediction, warns Brian Hopkins, VP and principal analyst in emerging tech at research firm Forresters.
"The potential is there, but the jury is still out," he says.
"Initial experiments suggest promise, but they all indicate that we require much more powerful quantum computers and further innovative research to effectively apply quantum effects to AI."
In terms of their value, both are lucrative. The quantum sector could be worth up to $97bn (£74bn) by 2035, according to market research group McKinsey.
Meanwhile, AI's value is forecast in the trillions. But they both live under the shadow of hype and the bursting of bubbles.
"I used to believe that quantum computing was the most-hyped technology until the AI craze emerged," jokes Mr Hopkins.
In mid-October analysts warned some key quantum stocks could fall by up to 62%, while mutterings about an AI bubble grow ever louder.
Quantum and AI have one more thing in common - errors. While we are largely familiar now with the "hallucinations" of generative AI tools, quantum is plagued by a different kind of........