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The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the Defense Ministrys Directorate of Research and Development (MAFAT) announced on Tuesday that they will allocate NIS 200 million (about $62.1 million) to build Israels first quantum computer.

Quantum computation ability will lay the technological foundation for an Israeli ecosystem that will lead to future developments in security, economics, technology, engineering, and science, the organizations said.

Quantum computers, unlike classic computers, are based on the properties of quantum physics to store data and perform vast amounts of computations. They can be extremely beneficial for certain tasks where they could considerably outperform even the best supercomputers.

Quantum computing significantly reduces calculation time frame and therefore constitutes a significant leap in computational capabilities, a joint statement from IIA and MAFAT said.

Israels investment in the quantum computer will be directed towards two tracks. In the first track, the Israel Innovation Authority will focus on building and developing a quantum computational infrastructure for running calculations directly or via cloud access, to optimize or improve different elements in quantum computing. The infrastructure will assess existing algorithms and will implement research and development in all layers of software and hardware, but will not include fabless installations. Technology from abroad may be partially used initially, but then the infrastructure will be integrated with Israeli-developed quantum processors and technologies.

The Defense Ministry said MAFAT will establish a national center with quantum capabilities that will be at the center of an Israeli ecosystem that will establish local capabilities. The center will collaborate with academia, industry, and the organizations that make up the National Research and Development Infrastructure (TELEM) to deal with the numerous layers in developing a quantum processor, such as hardware, control, optimization, algorithmics, and interfacing aspects. The goal is to develop a complete quantum computer

Quantum computing, on all levels, is showing signs of being an important future component of the states security and its technological superiority. Starting this process in the framework of the national program constitutes a significant step towards achieving Israeli independence in this area. said Dr. Danny Gold, head of MAFAT.

The investment in quantum computing is added to the investments of tens of millions of shekels that has been carried out so far in the technological development among companies and researchers, as part of the National Quantum Science & Technologies Program, which was launched around two years ago by the TELEM Forum (National Research and Development forum), with a budget of NIS1.25 billion (about $388 million.) This forum is made up of MAFAT, the Israel Innovation Authority, the Planning and Budgeting Committee, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and the Finance Ministry. Implementation of this key element constitutes an important milestone in the national program.

The Israel Innovation Authority and the Defense Ministrys Directorate of Research and Development ( will continue to work to position Israel as one of the international leaders in quantum.

Quantum computing is a technology Israeli industry cannot ignore. The industry must develop knowledge and access to infrastructure in which it can develop growth engines for activities in which it will decide to lead, said Dror Bin, Israel Innovation Authority CEO.

In December, NoCamels called quantum computing one of its 7 Tech Trends Where Israel Could Make An Impact In 2022.

Prior to the announcement that Israel would build its first quantum computer, the Israeli government made a strong effort to push Israel forward in this field.

In 2019, the Knesset committed nearly $400 million to a five-year National Quantum Initiative which included $60 million towards the effort of producing a quantum computer at the time. Israels National Quantum Initiative is a joint venture between the Council for Higher Education, the Israel Innovation Authority, the Ministry of Science, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance. The organizations confirmed that activity in quantum computing is booming and that there is already there is a 30 to 40 percent increase in academic activity, and a jump from a small number of industries to several dozen industries, both small and large.

The Israel Innovation Authority under itsMAGNET Consortiums project, has created a consortium that includes members from the industry and academia. DubbedThe Quantum Technologies Development Consortium, the group includes companies like Quantum Machines, the creator of complete hardware and software solution for the control and operation of quantum computers, QuantumLeap, a startup specializing in quantum-as-a-service (QaaS) solutions, and Nitromia, a privacy solution that bridges and enables quantum-safe transactions on any platform (on private or public networks) to provide complete privacy for any type of data, among others.

The consortiums research is aimed at gaining improved technologies by cooperation between the researchers, which will boost the industry towards improved quantum sensors, namely, atomic clocks, quantum magnetometers and quantum gravimeters.

In October Physics Today magazinereported that Israel has become a powerhouse in quantum technologies, thanks to a supportive govermment, available capital, and world-class academic institutions, as well as other factors. The publication also reported that there has been a leap from five to 30 quantum-based companies in Israel over the last two years.

Also in December, Hebrew University Physicist, Dr. Shlomi Kotler, won Physics Worlds 2021 Breakthrough of the Year award, presented by the UK-based Institute of Physics to two research teams who advanced the understanding of quantum systems.

His team successfully quantum-mechanically entangles two drumheads that can be used as quantum sensors or nodes in a quantum network.

Physics World editors chose this years winners from nearly 600 published research articles andwrotethe winners demonstrated important work for scientific progress and/or the development of real-world applications.

Itamar Sivan, CEO and co-founder of Quantum Machines toldPhysics Todaythat he has no doubt that quantum computing will become influential and its ultimately a question of When?He also credited his companys success to the easy accessibility to funding for quantum based-firms.

Jon Medved, CEO of Israeli active crowdfunding platform OurCrowd said 2022 will see quatum computing atract continued strong inerest from investors and that global quantum VC investment will more than double from 2021s $1 billion.

In a decade from now, Quantum will be ubiquitous, and will be an order of magnitude larger in investment and revenues, he told NoCamels.

With reporting by Adam Shnider

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Israel To Invest More Than $60M To Build First Quantum ...

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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: Ibrahim Almosallam, Consultant , Saudi Information Technology Company

It is hard to underestimate the power of quantum computers. Compared to a classical computer, a quantum computer is like a plane is to a car. They operate fundamentally differently and no matter how fast a car is, it cannot fly over a river. Quantum computers use different physical principles, or quantum mechanics, to communicate and process information in such a way that no classical computer can ever do using classical physics.

A classical computer can only hold one bit of information at a time (0 or 1), whereas qubits in quantum computers can be in a superposition state and have aspects of both 0 and 1 simultaneously. However, the result of an operation will also be in a superposition state and manipulating superposition states to extract the desired answer is the field of quantum algorithms. The focus of this article is on how to govern this technology to ensure a secure future.

We now live in a Wright brothers moment in quantum computing history. But when a commercial jet version arrives, it will deliver a new leap in information technology similar to what classical computation delivered in the 20th century, and, just like with any general-purpose technology such as the internet, electricity, and, for that matter, fire alongside great benefits, comes great risks.

Among the benefits are that quantum computers could be used to simulate quantum physical processes for much faster drug and material design; to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development and to provide new levels of security and information communication. But they could also be used to break public-key encryptions, to amplify current AI risks at a faster pace, or be misused in biotechnology to design bio-weapons or other risks.

As such, it is hard to imagine the success of such technologies without strong regulations and governance policies. Can you imagine a world without electricity regulations, internet protocols and fire safety standards? However, even though the risks of quantum computers are well understood, little has yet been done to mitigate them due to the unclear horizon as to their future.

Proper governance is key to minimizing the risks and maximizing the benefits of quantum computing. However, it is easy to get lost in all the detail about potential benefits and risks and, as an extension of classical computing, it will inevitably inherit them both.

So when forming quantum computing policies, it is more effective to first examine current policies to determine which needs to be:

One promising area of quantum computing is optimization, which will accelerate AI development, and, consequently, its risks, such as data bias. Therefore, it is vital to distinguish between what quantum computing will add and what it will multiply.

Taking cybersecurity as an example, without loss of generality, governance approaches can be grouped into three categories:

All three are equally important, but the latter is often overlooked. Procedural approaches are based on classical economic theory that assumes humans are rational, selfish and profit maximizers. On the other hand, behavioural techniques are based on modern behavioural economics that understands that humans are not perfectly rational and are influenced by their emotions and cognitive biases.

There are many ways to mitigate quantum risks through behavioural tactics, but well highlight two examples here.

A fault-tolerant quantum computer will be able to break most public-key encryptions that secure our modern communications. Even if the threat is still far away in the future, preparation has to start now because an adversary can store encrypted data today, then retroactively decrypt once the technology is mature enough.

This threat is an excellent example of how all the above tactics can be employed. A technical take on the problem, for example, is to develop new encryption schemes that are quantum-proof, which is already an active field of research in cryptography. Another technical approach is to use quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols combating quantum computers with quantum communication channels to exchange keys.

On the procedural front, the NISTs post-quantum cryptography competition and EUs OpenQKD projects are great examples of putting standards and agreements in place to pave the way for a quantum-secure future.

However, people need to be incentivized to walk down this path and this is where we think behavioural approaches can help. Simply raising awareness will not cut it; anti-smoking campaigns being a case in point.

Instead, creating a sense of urgency might be a more effective behavioural approach such as drawing an artificial deadline to transition to post-quantum cryptography. Deadlines, even if self-imposed, have shown to be effective in improving performance.

For example, after the NIST standards are announced, say within five years that any data encrypted using pre-quantum cryptography would no longer be protected legally. This way, consumers will pressure vendors to provide quantum-safe solutions, and, as a result, vendors will accelerate their transition efforts.

It is well known in the sociology sphere that humans tend to overestimate, and sometimes underestimate, their performance compared to their peers. A famous Swedish study published in 1981 found that 88% of US drivers think they have better than average driving skills.

This is an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge tend to overestimate their abilities. Although the key term here is limited knowledge, it is also shown that people tend to acknowledge their weaknesses and improve themselves with performance feedback, especially when compared to others.

One experiment showed that people worked harder when told they would learn their ranking compared to another group where no feedback was given. We can imagine such tactics working on the macro scale. Accordingly, a global quantum-readiness index can be considered a form of feedback that would help nations assess their performance and track its trajectory.

Moreover, such relative rankings would create the social pressure needed to incentivize governments in order to enhance their quantum readiness. Although, such indices should be designed carefully not to discourage nations at the bottom of the list. For example, by subdividing the lists by regions and diversifying the metrics, such as having a dimension for quantum sensing, governments would be pressed to give it more attention, even if otherwise they are ranked at the top of the overall list.

Quantum computing is a new problem that requires our latest solutions. It is crucial not to let the old threats make us lose sight of the new ones. Behavioural approaches are very effective and inexpensive in that regard.

Cybersecurity

Next-generation technologies such as AI, ubiquitous connectivity and quantum computing have the potential to generate new risks for the world, and at this stage, their full impact is not well understood.

There is an urgent need for collective action, policy intervention and improved accountability for government and business in order to avert a potential cyber pandemic.

https://www.weforum.org/videos/a-cyber-attack-with-covid-like-characteristics

The Forums Centre for Cybersecurity launched the Future Series: Cybercrime 2025 initiative to identify what approaches are required to manage cyber risks in the face of the major technology trends taking place in the near future.

Find out more on how the Forum is leading over 150 global experts from business, government and research institutions, and how to get involved, in our impact story.

That being said, this is not an argument to use behavioural approaches in place of technical or procedural approaches when considering governance for quantum computing, but instead to include them in the mix of possible solutions and considered when designing new quantum computing-related policies.

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Quantum computing will change the cyber landscape, heres why we need proper governance - The European Sting

Sanctuary is focused on creating the world's first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots.

The strategic industry investors reflect applications for human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots across a wide range of industry verticals and tasks. Using breakthrough technology in artificial intelligence (AI), cognition, and robotics, Sanctuary will improve the quality of the work experience, assist humans with difficult or dangerous tasks, create new jobs, bring new opportunities to those who might be less capable of physical work, and reduce the impact of labour shortages around the world.

Many companies are developing special-purpose robots and AI to address singular tasks or activities. In contrast, the Sanctuary team is taking a much more general-purpose approach to both hardware and software, drawing from fields including AI, cognition, computer vision, machine learning, theoretical physics, and quantum computing. Sanctuary general-purpose robots are similar to a person in size and shape because the world is designed for people. The robot's cognitive architecture is also designed to mimic the different subsystems in a person's brain. This approach defines the scope of the work to something that can be broken down into manageable and achievable pieces.

Sanctuary also announced today that the first female private space explorer, Anousheh Ansari, and former astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield, joined the Sanctuary Advisory Board. In the not-too-distant future, Sanctuary technology will help people explore, settle, and prosper in outer space. But first, Sanctuary robots will train alongside people here on Earth, helping them work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

"With unfilled vacancies, workplace safety considerations, increasing employee turnover, worldwide aging populations, and declining workplace participation, one thing is clear: many labour-related challenges are outside the scope of current specialized AI and robotics technology," said Geordie Rose, Co-Founder and CEO of Sanctuary. "We are addressing a systemic problem across the global economy. I am excited about the group of industry partners and investors we assembled. With interest from customers representing a dozen different industry verticals, we are working hard to make work safer, more accessible, and ultimately more productive."

"At Verizon Ventures, we believe that breakthrough ideas need extraordinary support and execution," said Michelle McCarthy, Managing Director, Verizon Ventures. "Sanctuary's novel approach and progress set them apart, as they look to build transformative innovations of tomorrow with the potential to reshape the future of work."

"Our investment in Sanctuary is in complete alignment with our mission at Evok Innovations to protect the environment and strengthen the economy," said Marty Reed, Partner, Evok Innovations. "We believe that Sanctuary has the fastest, lowest-cost, and most commercially viable path to building human-like intelligence in machines. It's been exciting to participate in this funding round, and I look forward to what's in store for the future."

"Globally-leading networks like Bell's pure fibre broadband and Bell 5G enable emerging technologies like Sanctuary's to flourish," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. "Bell is proud to help support the work Sanctuary is doing and the opportunities it will bring for Canadian industry in the years to come."

Interested parties can learn more at the official Sanctuary website: http://www.sanctuary.ai.

About SanctuaryFounded in 2018 by Geordie Rose, Suzanne Gildert, Olivia Norton, and Ajay Agrawal, Sanctuary is a Vancouver, Canada-based company. Sanctuary is on a mission to create the world's first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots that will help us work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably. And in the not-too-distant future, help us explore, settle, and prosper in outer space.

Members of the Sanctuary team foundedD-Wave(a pioneer in the quantum computing industry),Kindred(first use of reinforcement learning in a production robot), and theCreative Destruction Lab(pioneered a revolutionary method for the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind). The team has experience launching market-defining innovations rooted in previously unsolved and deep scientific problems.

SOURCE Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation

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Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Closes C$75.5 Million (US$58.5 Million) Series A Funding, Accelerating its Mission to Create the World's First Human-Like...

That raises an important questionwhen will quantum computers be powerful enough to do this? After that date, any information protected by this form of encryption becomes insecure.

So computer scientists have attempted to calculate the resources such a quantum computer might need and then work out how long it will be until such a machine can be built. And the answer has always been decades.

Today, that thinking needs to be revised thanks to the work of Craig Gidney at Google in Santa Barbara and Martin Eker at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. These guys have found a more efficient way for quantum computers to perform the code-breaking calculations, reducing the resources they require by orders of magnitude.

Consequently, these machines are significantly closer to reality than anyone suspected. The result will make uncomfortable reading for governments, military and security organizations, banks, and anyone else who needs to secure data for 25 years or longer.

First some background. Back in 1994, the American mathematician Peter Shor discovered a quantum algorithm that outperformed its classical equivalent. Shors algorithm factors large numbers and is the crucial element in the process for cracking trapdoor-based codes.

Trapdoor functions are based on the process of multiplication, which is easy to perform in one direction but much harder to do in reverse. For example, it is trivial to multiply two numbers together: 593 times 829 is 491,597. But it is hard to start with the number 491,597 and work out which two prime numbers must be multiplied to produce it.

And it becomes increasingly difficult as the numbers get larger. Indeed, computer scientists consider it practically impossible for a classical computer to factor numbers that are longer than 2048 bits, which is the basis of the most commonly used form of RSA encryption.

Shor showed that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could do this with ease, a result that sent shock waves through the security industry.

And since then, quantum computers have been increasing in power. In 2012, physicists used a four-qubit quantum computer to factor 143. Then in 2014 they used a similar device to factor 56,153.

Its easy to imagine that at this rate of progress, quantum computers should soon be able to outperform the best classical ones.

Not so. It turns out that quantum factoring is much harder in practice than might otherwise be expected. The reason is that noise becomes a significant problem for large quantum computers. And the best way currently to tackle noise is to use error-correcting codes that require significant extra qubits themselves.

Taking this into account dramatically increases the resources required to factor 2048-bit numbers. In 2015, researchers estimated that a quantum computer would need a billion qubits to do the job reliably. Thats significantly more than the 70 qubits in todays state-of-the-art quantum computers.

On that basis, security experts might well have been able to justify the idea that it would be decades before messages with 2048-bit RSA encryption could be broken by a quantum computer.

Now Gidney and Eker have shown how a quantum computer could do the calculation with just 20 million qubits. Indeed, they show that such a device would take just eight hours to complete the calculation. [As a result], the worst case estimate of how many qubits will be needed to factor 2048 bit RSA integers has dropped nearly two orders of magnitude, they say.

Their method focuses on a more efficient way to perform a mathematical process called modular exponentiation. This is the process of finding the remainder when a number is raised to a certain power and then divided by another number.

This process is the most computationally expensive operation in Shors algorithm. But Gidney and Eker have found various ways to optimize it, significantly reducing the resources needed to run the algorithm.

Thats interesting work that should have important implications for anyone storing information for the future. A 20-million-qubit quantum computer certainly seems a distant dream today. But the question these experts should be asking themselves is whether such a device could be possible within the 25 years they want to secure the information. If they think it is, then they need a new form of encryption.

Indeed, security experts have developed post-quantum codes that even a quantum computer will not be able to crack. So it is already possible to safeguard data today against future attack by quantum computers. But these codes are not yet used as standard.

For ordinary people, there is little risk. Most people use 2048-bit encryption, or something similar, for tasks like sending credit card details over the internet. If these transactions are recorded today and broken in 25 years, little will be lost.

But for governments, there is more at stake. The messages they send todaybetween embassies or the military, for examplemay well be significant in 20 years and so worth keeping secret. If such messages are still being sent via 2048-bit RSA encryption, or something similar, then these organizations should start worryingquickly.

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1905.09749 : How To Factor 2048 Bit RSA Integers In 8 Hours Using 20 Million Noisy Qubits

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If you can barely wrap your head around the basic functioning of a PC (as is my situation), then prepare to be even more confused by quantum computers. Luckily, you dont need a physics doctorate to get how they will likely change the world.

Quantum computing applies the properties of quantum (also known as subatomic) particles to solve computation problems more efficiently than traditional computers. The extra computational power it unleashes could be a game changer for companies running simulations of biochemical reactions for drug discovery or modeling scenarios for investment portfolios. Meanwhile, quantum communication allows for the transmission of classified information in a virtually unhackable way. It can also be weaponized to decrypt messages transmitted with traditional encryption methods.

The discipline of quantum computing has existed as an offshoot of quantum theory since the 1980s. Superposition or the ability of a quantum particle to take multiple values at once underpins the functioning of a quantum computer. Unlike traditional computers that run on bits that take the value of either 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits (short for quantum bits), which can be equal to both values at once. This makes them exponentially more powerful than computing devices that run on regular bits, capable of solving certain problems that are out of reach even for the mightiest Stanford-built supercomputer. Given the possibilities, its not hard to appreciate why countries are in a race to conquer this new technology. The competition is especially heated between the U.S. and China. We looked at the state of research in the field and its industry applications across both nations to see who may have an edge in reaching quantum supremacy.

While a number of governments and private sector entities around the world are pushing forward quantum computing innovation, the U.S and China have emerged as leaders in the field. Both countries are home to some of the foremost research institutions in quantum technology and have produced remarkable achievements in the field.

It is difficult to identify a clear winner since each country has its own strong suits and weak points. We looked at a number of metrics to compare the state of quantum computing research in the U.S and China. They included the number of patents granted, the development of the private sector ecosystem, quantum and the level of government support for the quantum computing ecosystem.

The U.S is winning the patent game with over a thousand quantum computing patents granted within its borders in the ten years preceding 2021. It is important to note that some of these patents have been filed by entities located outside the U.S. But the high number of granted patents within the U.S is an indication that the U.S is an attractive market for quantum innovation.

In the same time frame, the Chinese patent office granted less than 400 quantum computing patents. China has ho surpassed the U.S in the total number of international patents filed in 2019 and has maintained that lead into 2020.

The advantage of the U.S lies in its rich private sector quantum computing research and development ecosystem, including Google, Microsoft, IBM and 12 other public companies. It is also home to 78 quantum computing startups, according to Tracxn, a website that tracks companies by industry. The U.S leads the world in quantum computing private equity, with 110 deals closed between 2016 and 2021, compared with Chinas 30.

In 2019, Google was first to achieve so-called quantum supremacy, or the creation of a quantum computer that is able to solve specific problems faster than a classical computer. The landmark achievement has since been surpassed by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), who claim to have built two quantum computers that are more powerful than Googles.

China is ahead of the game in quantum communications, with considerable victories in the domain. In 2016, it became the first country to launch a quantum satellite that enables extremely secure transmission of information without traditional encryption methods. It followed up on this achievement with the establishment of an integrated quantum communication network in 2019, connecting two satellites to fiber optic cables on the ground.

Chinas success in quantum technology innovation can be credited to strong government support for basic research in the field. This is manifested by the fact that the universities that are responsible for Chinas strides in quantum technology are all public. In its 13th five-year plan released 2016, the Chinese government named quantum communication and computing among the priority areas for the government innovation strategy. The next year, it announced a $10 billion investment in a National Laboratory For Quantum Information Sciences.

Meanwhile, the U.S government has been playing catchup with the passage of the National Quantum Initiative in 2018. The congressional act established a national strategy for quantum computing and a framework for government agencies to support research efforts, in addition to earmarking $1.2 billion in funding. The Department of Energy is using $625 million of the earmarked cash to finance five quantum information research hubs composed of national labs, universities, and companies.

While the U.S may lag behind China in terms of total government spending on quantum computing research, it has the advantage of counting a number of quantum-forward nations among its allies. It has so far made steps towards quantum collaboration with the UK, Japan, and Australia.

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Whos winning the quantum computing race? China and the U.S. are neck and neck - The Business of Business