Open Password – Wednesday, July 28, 2021
#953
Technological race – USA – China – Quantum computers – Lars Jaeger – Qubits – Superpositions – Schrödinger’s cat – Entanglements – Albert Einstein – Quantum information processing – Claude Shannon – Alan Turing – Alonzo Church – Information theory – Quantum error correction – Ions – Spin of atoms – Quantum dots – SQUID – Google – Microsoft – IBM – Intel – Topological quantum computer – Anyonen – Adiabatic quantum computation – Ground state – D-Wave Systems – Quantum Supremacy – Sycamore – National Quantum Initiative – Quantum Information Science – Jian-Wei Pan – National Laboratoy for Quantum Information Sciences – University of Science and Technology of China – Special Purpose Computers –
Audio usage – Pandemic – Podcasts – Streaming – Age groups – Vinyl (record) – Deloitte – Clubhouse – Lockdown – Klaus Böhm – Spotify – Radio – Podcasts – Christian Drosten – Sandra Ciesek – Ralf Esser – Clubhouse – current news – Socializing – facts office – Communications industry – press offices – PR agencies – coordination processes – technical equipment – empathy – virtual teams – hybrid teams
I
news aktuell GmbH: Where virtual collaboration most often fails
- Cover story
Technological race between the USA and China: Gigantic hopes, billions in investments, but the pragmatic breakthrough of the quantum computer is still pending – Delay the pace of the decay of qubits as much as possible – By Lars Jaeger
III.
Audio usage is changing: increasingly digital, increasingly fragmented – pandemic & podcasts as digital boosters
Where virtual collaboration most often fails
(news aktuell) “Socializing”, smooth exchange of information and fun are most often neglected in virtual collaboration. In places 4 and 5 of the biggest deficits in decentralized work: “Coordination that is too complex” and “Technical hurdles”. This is the result of a current survey by news aktuell and Aktuellkontor. The dpa subsidiary and Aktuellkontor asked specialists and managers from the communications industry where there are still the biggest problems in virtual or hybrid teams. 513 communications professionals from Germany and Switzerland took part in the survey.
For most respondents, “socializing”, i.e. casual and unplanned exchanges with colleagues, is neglected. 59 percent of those surveyed (companies: 60 percent, agencies: 57 percent) miss personal conversations or “chatting” in the kitchen.
However, press offices and PR agencies weigh the challenges of virtual collaboration very differently in some respects. Communication works better in agencies: While 37 percent of those surveyed from companies complain that information is only passed on insufficiently, only 24 percent of agency representatives denounce a halting flow of information. Coordination also runs more efficiently in agencies than in companies: only one in five PR service providers complains about processes that are too complex (21 percent), while 33 percent of companies complain about this.
In addition, agencies are already significantly better positioned when it comes to technology: While one in three companies cite technical hurdles as the biggest challenge of virtual collaboration (32 percent), the figure for agencies is less than one in five (18 percent). As a result, only a meager 9 percent of agencies denounce a lack of digitalization in their work environment, while it is 20 percent of companies. After all, management in agencies is significantly more empathetic than management in companies: one in four people surveyed from a press office complains about the lack of empathy from the executive floor (26 percent), while only one in seven does this in agencies (14 percent).
What is less problematic in virtual or hybrid teams? In last place – both in agencies and in companies – are a lack of motivation, excessive demands due to too much personal responsibility or even the formation of fronts between office and home office team members. It is also impossible to communicate enough: for only 7 percent of those surveyed, “too much” communication is the biggest challenge of virtual collaboration.
Where virtual teams in press offices most often fail:
- Too little “socializing” 60% 2. Stagnant flow of information 37% 3. Too complex coordination 33% 4. Fun is lost 32% 5. Technical hurdles 32% 6. Too many communication channels 27% 7. Too little empathy from managers 26 % 8. Unequal distribution of work 22% 9. Alienation from the company 20% 10. Lack of digitalization 20%
Where virtual teams in PR agencies most often fail:
- Too little “socializing” 57% 2. Fun is lost 29% 3. Too many communication channels 27% 4. Stagnant flow of information 24% 5. Alienation from the company 23% 6. Coordination that is too complex 21% 7. Technical hurdles 18% 8 . Unequal distribution of work 15% 9. Too little empathy from managers 14% 10. Lack of digitalization 9%
Source: Online survey in February 2021 by news aktuell and Aktuellkontor, 513 communications professionals from Germany and Switzerland (press offices: 344, PR agencies: 169), multiple answers possible.
Technological race between USA and China
Gigantic hopes, billions in investments,
but the pragmatic breakthrough of quantum computers is still pending
Delay the rate of decay of qubits as much as possible
By Lars Jaeger
Second part
__________________________________________________________________________________
How quantum computers should work.
__________________________________________________________________________________
How exactly does a quantum computer actually work? Classic computers use “bits” as the smallest possible information units, which have the state either 1 or 0 (i.e. can take on two values, hence the term “digital”). In them, the calculation steps are processed sequentially, i.e. bit by bit, based on digital information theory. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are subject to a completely different information theory and processing. The simplest system in quantum mechanics is the so-called “quantum bit”, or “qubit” for short. These have it all: Qubits can assume different states, i.e. 0 and 1, simultaneously, as well as all values in between (and even more, since their values are in the complex number level). So they can be “half 1” and “half 0” so to speak. This is due to the ability of quantum states to exist in so-called “superpositions”. These are superpositions of classically mutually exclusive states.
This bizarre property of quantum particles was once the trigger for heated discussions among the fathers of quantum physics, which found expression not least in the well-known Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment. In addition, various quantum particles can be brought into so-called entangled states. This is also a property that we do not know in our classical world (and about which there were no less heated discussions within the first generation of quantum physicists). It is as if the qubits are coupled together with an invisible spring. They are then all in direct contact with each other without any force between them. Each quantum bit “knows” immediately what the others are doing. Albert Einstein considered entanglement to be physically impossible and mockingly called it a “spooky long-distance relationship.”
Entangled qubits exist in a superposition of an infinite number of different states at the same time, which are connected to one another by an invisible and immeasurable bond. To put it bluntly: The many-body system assumes all of its possible states at the same time. Individual physical values are only realized (with a respective probability) during a measurement. Before that, they are objectively indeterminate – another strange property in the quantum world. With the help of a corresponding algorithm, entangled qubits can now all be processed at the same time. And the power of the quantum computer lies in this parallel processing. The more qubits are entangled with each other, the more states can be processed in parallel. Unlike conventional computers, whose computing power increases linearly with the number of computing components, the performance of a quantum computer increases exponentially with the number of qubits used. The performance of a quantum computer does not only double when another 100 qubits are added to 100 qubits, but rather when just a single qubit is added to the 100 qubits. If 10 are added, its performance increases a thousand-fold (more precisely, 1024-fold). With 20 new qubits, the quantum computer is already a million times as fast, and with 50 new qubits, it is a million billion times faster. And while the performance of a classical computer has only doubled with a hundred new information carriers, the increase in the performance of a quantum computer can hardly be expressed in numbers.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Delay the rate of decay of qubits as much as possible.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Why haven’t quantum computers been realized long ago? After all, quantum theory had long been established by the time the modern computer was created. Nevertheless, decades passed before physicists embraced the possibilities of quantum information processing. One of the reasons for this is obvious: for a long time, neither physicists nor computer scientists knew what to do with the phenomena of superposition and entanglement. But there is a second reason: In the 1940s, the American mathematician Claude Shannon founded classical information theory, which is based on the use of bits. His essay “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” is still considered the bible of the information age and is one of the most influential scientific works of the 20th century. Shannon claimed that the principle of bits applies to any form of information processing, and for a long time computer scientists followed this view. In addition, according to the (extended) “Church-Turing thesis” by the American mathematician Alonzo Church and the British logician Alan Turing, every physical system should be able to be simulated on a classical computer.
It was only in the 1980s that computer scientists realized that there are information concepts and physical simulations beyond digital bits that cannot be easily processed on classic computers, but can only be calculated on the basis of qubits. But this requires a completely new theoretical foundation, one that explicitly deals with superposition and entanglement of quantum states. Such a new information theory and algorithm was only created in the late 1990s through the joint efforts of physicists and information theorists.
There are still huge problems to be solved in the construction of quantum computers. The biggest of these is that entangled quantum states decay very quickly under the omnipresent influence of heat and radiation – often too quickly to carry out the desired operations without errors. Physicists speak of a “decoherence” of quantum states. Working with qubits seems almost like writing not on a piece of paper, but on the surface of water. While paper can last for centuries, anything written on water disappears after just a fraction of a second. So it’s all about mastering crazy speed. To overcome this hurdle, quantum engineers are pursuing a twofold strategy: On the one hand, they are trying to extend the lifespan of the qubits, that is, to reduce their susceptibility to errors. On the other hand, they develop algorithms that correct the errors that occur. Physicists are able to put a certain stop to decoherence with the help of ultra-cold refrigerators. They are developing increasingly better methods of quantum error correction to deal with errors in individual qubits caused by dehocoherence.
For many years, the concepts of qubits and quantum computers were largely theoretical. However, quantum engineers have made considerable progress in recent years in their efforts to translate these into concrete applications. Today there are numerous promising approaches to actually producing qubits and entangling them with each other. In principle, it is about “capturing” individual quantum systems such as atoms or electrons using tricks, entangling them with each other and manipulating them. Here are some examples of how this can work:
- Ions (electrically charged atoms) are held in place using electric and magnetic fields and are swung back and forth in a controlled manner and coupled together as qubits.
- The spins of atoms, which are aligned by external magnetic fields as in nuclear magnetic resonance technology, become entangled with one another.
- Qubits can be realized using so-called quantum dots. These are special places in a solid where the mobility of the electrons is severely restricted in all directions and which, following the laws of quantum physics, can no longer release or absorb energy continuously, but in discrete values. They therefore behave like giant artificial atoms.
- Other promising candidates for Qbits are electrons that are sent on an endless loop in circular superconductors, whereby this loop is interrupted by very thin insulator layers (so-called SQUIDs – superconducting quantum interference devices). This is currently a particular focus of research by companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM and Intel. The researchers use the so-called “Josephson effect”: the Cooper electron pairs of the superconductor can tunnel through the insulating barrier. The charge carriers can be in different quantum states – they then flow both clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time. Such superpositions can be used as qubits and entangled with each other.
- Special chemical compounds could also be suitable as qubits. An example is a complex of a vanadium ion that is surrounded by organic sulfur compounds. The shell shields the spin of the ion inside so well that its state and possible entanglements are preserved for a long time.
- A still purely theoretical concept is the so-called “topological quantum computer”. It comes from mathematics, and it is not yet clear whether and how it can be implemented physically. It is based on so-called anyons (not to be confused with the anions from aqueous solutions). Anyons are states with particle properties in two-dimensional space. They are therefore also referred to as “quasi-particles”. Anyonens occur, for example, at the interfaces of insulators. Such topological qubits should form relatively stable networks and would be far better protected against disturbances than according to other concepts.
- So-called “adiabatic quantum computation” (also known as “quantum annealing”) relies on the adiabatic behavior of quantum systems to perform calculations. (“Adiabatic” in physics means that an entire system changes without exchanging energy with its surroundings). A simple quantum system is placed in its ground state (state of lowest energy) and then slowly and continuously transformed into a more complicated quantum system, whose ground state represents the solution to the problem in question. The adiabatic theorem in theoretical physics states: If this transformation is slow enough, the evolving system will remain in its ground state throughout the entire process. A computer based on this principle was developed by the company D-Wave Systems in 2007. However, his results are still controversial today.
There are a dozen other attempts to generate entangled qubits that can then operate as computers. Most of them are still in their infancy.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The United States and China as the big rivals.
__________________________________________________________________________________
So far, the efforts of quantum physicists have not produced reliably functioning (and universal) quantum computers. However, companies such as IBM, Google, Microsoft and Intel have recently announced that they have built or will soon build quantum processors consisting of 50 or more qubits. At this size, they could – at least for some very specific computing problems – exceed the computing capacity of any current (classical) supercomputer. Google calls this “Quantum Supremacy.” The company announced in October 2019 that its engineers had succeeded in building a quantum computer that could, for the first time, solve a problem (albeit a very exotic one) that any conventional computer would “break its teeth” on. Specifically, their computer chip Sycamore needed just 200 seconds for this special computing task, which would take the world’s best supercomputer 10,000 years. However, Google’s competitor IBM doubts these results and claims that Google’s calculation contains an error.
In 2020, we didn’t hear much from major US tech companies about possible progress in building quantum processors. Could this be the calm before the storm? At the end of 2018, the US Congress signed the National Quantum Initiative Act, which will invest more than $1.2 billion in quantum computing technology over the next decade. China is investing even more heavily: Xi Jinping’s government is making ten billion dollars available for the National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences in Hefei. Chinese researchers have also announced progress in building quantum computers. The team led by the award-winning researcher Jian-Wei Pan, trained in Germany and Austria, from the National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China reported in December 2020 that their quantum computer called Ji?zh?ng is ten billion times faster than that of Google – at least when calculating a very specific problem, the so-called “Gaussian boson sampling” (for which the quantum computer was built exclusively). The qubits in Ji?zh?ng are realized as photons.
Quantum computers are not yet universal computing machines that can send emails, store and process files and carry out any calculation very quickly, but rather so-called “special purpose computers” that have so far only been able to solve a single, very exotic problem. This is done to demonstrate the general potential of quantum computing. Jian-Wei Pan already compares the speed between quantum computers and traditional computers to the difference between “nuclear weapons and machine guns or artillery shells”.
Lars Jaeger studied physics, mathematics, philosophy and history and researched quantum physics and chaos theory for several years. He lives near Zurich, where – as a busy, lateral thinker – he has built two of his own companies that advise institutional financial investors. He regularly publishes blogs on science and current affairs. Jaeger teaches, among others, at the European Business School in Rheingau. His enthusiasm for natural sciences and philosophy never left him. His thinking and writing repeatedly revolves around the influences of the natural sciences on our thoughts and lives. His latest book “Sternstunden der Wissenschaft” published by Suedverlag was discussed in detail in Open Password.
Audio usage is changing
More and more digital, more and more fragmented
Pandemic & podcasts as digital boosters
– Displacement effect: Streaming boom is coming at the expense of radio, especially among young listeners.
– (Back) to stay: Vinyl is growing again – albeit moderately.
– Clubhouse hype: There is still a lack of evidence of sustainable success.
(Deloitte) More digital and fragmented. This is how the current development on the audio market can be summarized. But during the pandemic, trends that had been emerging for some time have gained speed. Every two years, Deloitte surveys 2,000 media users in Germany about their consumption of audio services. But immediately after the regular survey in February 2020, the first lockdown followed and with it an unprecedented peak in media usage. To check how sustainable this development is, Deloitte conducted another survey in the second half of the year, when contact and exit restrictions were relaxed.
Klaus Böhm, Head of Media & Entertainment at Deloitte: “Developments become particularly clear when we take a closer look at streaming and radio. Within a few months, the proportion of daily listeners to Spotify, Deezer & Co. increased by 5 percentage points. Actually, it had “Growth in the streaming sector has recently slowed significantly, but the pandemic is acting as a digital booster.”
Streaming has hardly played a role for older users so far. The profits from streaming come at the expense of radio – especially among young consumers. Only a third of media users under the age of 25 listen to the radio every day; instead, the vast majority of this group uses streaming services every day (54 percent among 19 to 24 year olds and even 71 percent among 14 to 18 year olds). The 65+ age group, however, remains loyal to the radio. Here, 71 percent still listen to the radio every day and only the proportion of daily users of streaming services is negligible at 2 percent.
Fewer and fewer media users turn on the radio every day. But even seniors cannot stop the continuous downward trend that has been evident in radio for some time. In 2016, two thirds of Germans listened to the radio every day; the proportion is now at 54 percent. One reason for this is the triumph of new, digital alternatives such as podcasts, which are shaking up radio’s monopoly on information. Especially during the pandemic, podcasts with detailed information and expert discussions – such as the Corona update by Christian Drosten and Sandra Ciesek – were in demand.
Podcasts have entered the mainstream . One in two people in Germany now listen to podcasts more or less regularly. 23 percent of German media users say they listen to more podcasts today than before the pandemic. In addition, there are hardly any topics for which there is no podcast – everyone will find something suitable here. Only 5 percent of Germans don’t know what podcasts are.
Vinyl on a (moderate) growth path during the pandemic. Is the analogue audio world being overtaken by the digital triumph? No! An indomitable analog classic continues to resist: “The good old vinyl record is developing sustainably against the digital trend,” says Ralf Esser, Head of Industry Insights at Deloitte. “During the pandemic, their following even grew slightly, albeit at a moderate level. In the USA, vinyl has even surpassed CDs in sales for the first time since 1986. Vinyl is increasingly manifesting itself as a premium niche for audiophiles and fans of haptic products.”
Clubhouse is creating excitement in the audio space. Perhaps the biggest media hype in recent months also comes from the audio sector: Clubhouse, a mix of social network and audio-only discussion platform that was celebrated as a logical evolution of podcasts. Clubhouse shows that even very specific audio offers can gain an enormous amount of attention and build a critical user base within a very short time. It is still questionable whether the app will be successful in the long term.
OpenPassword
Forum and news
for the information industry
in German-speaking countries
New editions of Open Password appear three times a week.
If you would like to subscribe to the email service free of charge, please register at www.password-online.de.
The current edition of Open Password can be accessed immediately after it appears on the web. www.password-online.de/archiv. This also applies to all previously published editions.
International Cooperation Partner:
Outsell (London)
Business Industry Information Association/BIIA (Hong Kong)
Open Password Archive – Publications
OPEN PASSWORD ARCHIVE
DATA JOURNALISM
Handelsblatt’s Digital Reach
MARKET TRENDS
Library Trends 2022
What are the key trends in the library market for 2022?
Online-Publications | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | GPT AI SEARCH
Print Archive | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000
