Eduardo Reck Miranda (editor) - Quantum Computing in the Arts and Humanities: An Introduction to Core Concepts, Theory and Applications

Publications reporting research into quantum information processing started to emerge around the middle of the 1970s; e.g. Holevo (1973), Poplavskii (1975) and Ingarden (1976), to cite but three. Then, groundbreaking work by Feynman (1982) glimpsed at the possibility of developing a quantum computing device: Feynman proposed a mathematical quantum mechanical system capable of performing computations. This possibility commenced to break free from academic circles into the realm of industry after Deutsch (1985) proposed an abstract Turing-like quantum machine capable of universal computation.

The Turing machine is a widely accepted model of computation, which informed the development of commercial classical computers, as we know them today. With this in mind, the industry and investors gained confidence that it might be possible to harness quantum mechanics to build a somewhat different type of computer. That is, a computer that might be able to efficiently tackle problems that are not easily tractable today, such as predicting how biological molecules interact and making sense of colossal amounts of information. We will need to tackle these problems more efficiently than ever to overcome contemporary and future challenges. These include, for instance, climate monitoring and the development of vaccines to combat new pathogens. Deutschs machine also paved the way for the development of what is known as the circuit model for programming quantum computers, which is the norm nowadays.

Since then, large consumer electronics companies and many start-up ones have made tremendous progress in the race to build quantum computers, in particular in the last decade. But still, there is some leg to go before these machines become mainstream, if at all. Nevertheless, research and development are progressing fast in universities and companies all over the world.

Despite the hype surrounding this new computing technology, sceptics question the benefits of quantum computers over classical ones. What will a quantum computer be able to do that a standard computer would not be capable of? Todays high-performance supercomputers are rather powerful. And they will continue to improve. Consider the Fugaku supercomputer, developed by Fujitsu and RIKEN in Japan: it performs circa 600 quadrillion operations per second. To put this in perspective, a top of the range desktop computer does approximately 100 billion operations per second. That is, Fugaku is six million times faster than a decent desktop computer.

All the same, quantum computing is here to stay. What started as a desire to build a machine for physicists to study quantum mechanics has been evolving towards the ambition to develop general-purpose quantum computing technology for a wide range of applications, some of which we have not even dreamed of yet. And more, I advocate that processing speed is not the only benefit that such machines will bring to society. They will bring new philosophies, new approaches to design, new algorithms, new creative artefacts, new economies and so on. In the long run, using an actual quantum computer for mundane applications may as well become a matter of choice or luxury rather than necessity. Who knows?

Much ongoing research into quantum computing worldwide focuses on improving hardware and developing solutions for science and technology. Nevertheless, there also is growing activity within areas where quantum computing may impact beyond science and technology, including the arts, humanities and fringe interdisciplinary initiatives. These are exciting because they might influence developments in the quantum computing industry; e.g., create unforeseen new markets.

This book brings a collection of chapters by scholars championing research in their respective areas (such as Philosophy, Linguistics and Music, amongst others) informed by quantum computing. The authors offer thought-provoking discussions about cognition, perception, language, music, games, visualization of the sub-atomic world, brain-machine communication and more.

I am indebted to all contributing authors who enthusiastically supported this book project. They made possible what seemed impossible. We have here what is probably the first book ever on Quantum Computing in the Arts and Humanities.

Deutsch, D. (1985). Quantum theory, the church-turing principle and the universal quantum computer. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A, 400, 97117.

Feynman, R. P. (1982). Simulating physics with computers. International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 21, 46788.

Holevo, A. S. (1973). Bounds for the quantity of information transmitted by a quantum communication channel, Problemy Peredachi Informatsii, 9, 311. English translation in Problems of Information Transmission, 9, 17783.

Ingarden, R. S. (1976). Quantum information theory. Reports on Mathematical Physics, 10, 4372.

Poplavskii, R. P. (1975). Thermodynamical models of information processing (in Russian), Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk, 115, 465501.