Despite working in quantum computing for decades, Akira Furusawa, a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan, has no idea what the quantum-computer era will look like. “It’s going to transform society, but it’s very hard to predict how,” he says. “It’s a similar situation to the internet, which has radically altered many aspects of life, but often in ways we couldn’t have imagined beforehand.”
That’s because quantum computers won’t just be faster and more powerful than current computers — they will be fundamentally different. “Unlike conventional digital computers that perform processing using ones and zeros, quantum computers can use a continuous range of numbers. And quantum computers employ complex numbers, effectively adding another dimension,” explains Furusawa. “So we’re talking about a very different beast.”
Although Furusawa doesn’t know how quantum computers are going to impact society, he is convinced that the quantum computers of the future will be powered by light.
“The ultimate goal is to develop quantum computers that are ultrafast and ultralarge scale,” says Furusawa. “I believe that optical computers are the most promising way to realize that goal.”
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