The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing this week to discuss the future of quantum computing with an eye toward making sure that the U.S. can stay ahead of other countries as a leader in the sector and achieve major milestones before others reach them first.
Whether or not the U.S. can continue to maintain quantum technology leadership is a relevant question, as China recently has been seen as making faster progress with the technology. This week a story from the South China Morning Post stated that a Chinese quantum computer was able to perform a set of AI tasks “180 million times faster” than a classical computer. Earlier this year, Chinese researchers also claimed that they could use a relatively primitive quantum computer to break RSA encryption. That claim was widely disputed, but the notion that quantum computers could be used to break current encryption is one of the reasons why the U.S. would be extremely concerned about an acceleration in China’s progress toward that goal.
Also of particular concern to legislators are reports like the one from McKinsey & Co. late last year that suggested the Chinese government is investing more than $15 billion in quantum computing, many times more than the amount allocated by the U.S. government and governments in the European Union.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government certainly has increased its commitment in recent years to supporting quantum technology. The Biden White House and the National Security Agency have issued key memos around the security threat posed by quantum computers, and Congress late last year passed the Quantum Cybersecurity Preparedness Act.
These efforts followed the 2018 passage in Congress of the National Quantum Initiative Act (NQIA) to help rally government support for U.S.-based quantum innovation, and this week’s hearing was convened to renew that legislation, which initially was given a five-year lifespan that comes to an end this September.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, said this week during the opening hearing, “Recognizing the importance of staying ahead of the competition [with China and other countries], this committee passed the National Quantum Initiative Act in 2018. Thanks to this legislation, the United States has maintained its position as the global leader in quantum research, development and technology. But our adversaries are catching up. China and Russia are investing heavily in the development of operational quantum systems.”
He noted China’s massive financial investment, and added, “If we want to maintain our leadership role in the quantum field, Congress needs to make smart strategic investments, but government cannot do this alone. A central tenet of the National Quantum Initiative Act is empowering U.S. researchers and businesses to innovate while the federal government plays a supporting role where appropriate.”
Many U.S. technology giants, such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, have played key roles in advancing the sector, and many more small start-ups have done their share of developing game-changing quantum innovations and applications.
But at the same time, a handful of start-ups have struggled financially, and the hearing this week yielded a collective belief that more needs to be done to unite the efforts of the public sector with those of the private sector.
That also extends to the government doing more to support quantum workforce development and education programs, something that the private sector has taken the lead on. Part of the workforce development efforts could involve easing immigration hurdles for workers from other countries with advanced degrees who want to come to the U.S.
However, that also comes with more national security concerns about the possibilities that workers from elsewhere, particularly China, could return home and share information gained in the U.S., according to Rep. Mike Garcia (R-California), who also spoke during the hearing. Garcia said the recently passed CHIPS Act did not give enough consideration to “how to protect the intellectual property across all of these efforts,” and he is concerned about the same happening as the committee advances on renewing the NQIA.
“I'm really concerned that we as a government right now are not looking at this as a national security program, and that we are only looking at this as sort of a commercial program.”