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Top Quantum Researchers Debate Quantum S Future Progress Problems

Bonisiwe Shabane
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top quantum researchers debate quantum s future progress problems

The recently released MIT Quantum Index Report 2025 explores the current state of quantum computing — including the technology’s opportunities and challenges. Though the United States has more quantum computing than anyone, when it comes to quantum communications, China leads. Investments in quantum computing are roaring back after a one-year dip. And a survey finds that thinking about quantum cryptography makes one in four Americans nervous. These are among the many findings of the MIT Quantum Index Report 2025. Hot off the press, the nearly 120-page report offers a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of the current state of quantum computing.

The report’s editorial team was led by Jonathan Ruane (pictured above)— a Research Scientist with the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) and a Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School — and includes... Ruane and company say we’re now in quantum computing’s second revolution. The first revolution gave us the rules of the quantum world, then applied those rules to create groundbreaking technologies. By contrast, the second revolution is all about controlling and engineering quantum systems directly. That includes using qubits for computing and entangled photons for communications. The MIT report explores different quantum computing paths being pursued by global leaders.

For example, it shows how China is focusing on using quantum computing for specific national priorities, including infrastructure. Indeed, China leads the world in both quantum communications — particularly satellite-based systems — and patents. Joan Arrow is the founder of the Quantum Ethics Project and project manager for the Womanium Quantum Solutions Launchpad, based in Arizona. Throughout my career in quantum science, I have noticed a concerning pattern. Big technology companies announce major breakthroughs, and raise much investor capital. But some of these advances are questioned within months, weeks or even days.

And, in some cases, published landmark papers are later retracted from scientific journals. Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Receive 51 print issues and online access An illustration of how quantum error correction problems can be mapped onto an Ising spin-glass model. (a) The original syndrome measurement circuit.

(b) The detector error graph with circuit-level noise. (c) The corresponding Ising spin-glass model. Credit: Hanyan Cao and Dongyang Feng. In a quiet revolution that may reshape the foundation of quantum computing, scientists have solved a key problem in quantum error correction that was once thought to be fundamentally unsolvable. The breakthrough centers on decoding—the process of identifying and correcting errors in fragile quantum systems—and could accelerate our path toward practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers. The team, led by researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (BAQIS), has developed a new algorithm known as...

This isn’t just a modest improvement—PLANAR achieved a 25% reduction in logical error rates when applied to Google Quantum AI’s experimental data, rewriting what experts thought they knew about hardware limits. What makes this achievement so significant is that it challenges a long-standing assumption in the field: that a portion of errors—called the “error floor”—was intrinsic to the hardware. Instead, PLANAR reveals that a quarter of those errors were algorithmic, not physical, caused by limitations in the decoding methods rather than the quantum devices themselves. This insight not only breathes new hope into the quest for scalable quantum computing—it redefines what we thought was possible. Memon, Q.A.; Al Ahmad, M.; Pecht, M. Quantum Computing: Navigating the Future of Computation, Challenges, and Technological Breakthroughs.

Quantum Rep. 2024, 6, 627-663. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum6040039 Memon QA, Al Ahmad M, Pecht M. Quantum Computing: Navigating the Future of Computation, Challenges, and Technological Breakthroughs. Quantum Reports.

2024; 6(4):627-663. https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum6040039 Memon, Qurban A., Mahmoud Al Ahmad, and Michael Pecht. 2024. "Quantum Computing: Navigating the Future of Computation, Challenges, and Technological Breakthroughs" Quantum Reports 6, no. 4: 627-663.

https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum6040039 Memon, Q. A., Al Ahmad, M., & Pecht, M. (2024). Quantum Computing: Navigating the Future of Computation, Challenges, and Technological Breakthroughs. Quantum Reports, 6(4), 627-663.

https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum6040039 New machines will use individual atoms as qubits The goal of the quantum-computing industry is to build a powerful, functional machine capable of solving large-scale problems in science and industry that classical computing can’t solve. We won’t get there in 2026. In fact, scientists have been working toward that goal since at least the 1980s, and it has proved difficult, to say the least. “If someone says quantum computers are commercially useful today, I say I want to have what they’re having,” said Yuval Boger, chief commercial officer of the quantum-computing startup QuEra, on stage at the Q+AI...

This article is part of our special report Top Tech 2026. Because the goal is so lofty, tracking its progress has also been difficult. To help chart a course toward truly transformative quantum technology and mark milestones along the path, the team at Microsoft Quantum has come up with a new framework. SOURCE: QUANTUMZEITGEIST.COM DEC 24, 2025 SOURCE: QUANTUMZEITGEIST.COM DEC 24, 2025 SOURCE: QUANTUMZEITGEIST.COM DEC 05, 2025

SOURCE: QUANTUMZEITGEIST.COM DEC 05, 2025 Governments and tech companies continue to pour money into quantum technology in the hopes of building a supercomputer that can work at speeds we can't yet fathom to solve big problems. Imagine a computer that could solve incredibly complex problems at a speed we can't yet fathom and bring about breakthroughs in fields like drug development or clean energy. That is widely considered the promise of quantum computing. In 2025, tech companies poured money into this field. The Trump administration also named quantum computing as a priority.

But when will this technology actually deliver something useful for regular people? NPR's Katia Riddle reports on the difference between quantum hype and quantum reality. KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: Tech companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as the U.S. government, bet big on quantum computing in 2025. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Google Quantum AI is unveiling the first demonstration of verifiable quantum advantage. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Joining forces on quantum computing.

A Rigetti quantum computer displayed at the Nvidia GTC in October. Step aside, artificial intelligence. Another transformative technology with the potential to reshape industries and reorder geopolitical power is finally moving out of the lab: quantum. The United Nations dubbed 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. It’s been marked by a flurry of announcements — and a mountain of hype — around a mind-boggling field of science long dismissed as perpetually a decade away from usefulness. But that’s how people talked about AI, too, before ChatGPT spurred the current global arms race and investor euphoria.

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The Recently Released MIT Quantum Index Report 2025 Explores The

The recently released MIT Quantum Index Report 2025 explores the current state of quantum computing — including the technology’s opportunities and challenges. Though the United States has more quantum computing than anyone, when it comes to quantum communications, China leads. Investments in quantum computing are roaring back after a one-year dip. And a survey finds that thinking about quantum cry...

The Report’s Editorial Team Was Led By Jonathan Ruane (pictured

The report’s editorial team was led by Jonathan Ruane (pictured above)— a Research Scientist with the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) and a Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School — and includes... Ruane and company say we’re now in quantum computing’s second revolution. The first revolution gave us the rules of the quantum world, then applied those rules to create groundbreaking technologies...

For Example, It Shows How China Is Focusing On Using

For example, it shows how China is focusing on using quantum computing for specific national priorities, including infrastructure. Indeed, China leads the world in both quantum communications — particularly satellite-based systems — and patents. Joan Arrow is the founder of the Quantum Ethics Project and project manager for the Womanium Quantum Solutions Launchpad, based in Arizona. Throughout my ...

And, In Some Cases, Published Landmark Papers Are Later Retracted

And, in some cases, published landmark papers are later retracted from scientific journals. Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Receive 51 print issues and online access An illustration of how quantum error correction problems can be mapped onto an Ising spin-glass model. (a) The original syndrome measurement circuit.

(b) The Detector Error Graph With Circuit-level Noise. (c) The

(b) The detector error graph with circuit-level noise. (c) The corresponding Ising spin-glass model. Credit: Hanyan Cao and Dongyang Feng. In a quiet revolution that may reshape the foundation of quantum computing, scientists have solved a key problem in quantum error correction that was once thought to be fundamentally unsolvable. The breakthrough centers on decoding—the process of identifying an...