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In the thick of action, Cisco has revealed the technology trends that are expected to make a significant impact in 2022 and beyond.

Commenting on the trends and predictions, Osama Al-Zoubi, CTO, Cisco Middle East and Africa, said: Technology is always evolving and moving in exciting new directions. In a time of fast-paced digitization, we identified a range of trends and innovations our customers can expect to see over the next years.

Prediction: Ethical, responsible, and explainable AI will become a top priority

The extreme quantity of data being generated has already exceeded human scale but still needs to be processed intelligently and, in some cases, in near real-time. This scenario is where machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) will come into their own.

The challenge is that data has ownership, sovereignty, privacy, and compliance issues associated with it. And if the AI being used to produce instant insights has inherent biases built-in, then these insights are inherently flawed.

This leads to the need for ethical, responsible, and explainable AI. The AI needs to be transparent, so everyone using the system understands how the insights have been produced. Transparency must be present in all aspects of the AI lifecycle its design, development, and deployment.

Prediction: Data driving Edge towards whole new application development

Modern enterprises are defined by the business applications they create, connect to and use. In effect, applications, whether they are servicing end-users or are business-to-business focused or even machine-to-machine connections, will become the boundary of the enterprise.

The business interactions that happen across different types of applications will create an ever-expanding deluge of data. Every aspect of every interaction will generate additional data to provide predictive insights. With predictive insights, the data will likely gravitate to a central data store for some use cases. However, other use cases will require pre-processing of some data at the Edge, including machine learning and other capabilities.

Prediction: Future of innovation and business is tied to unlocking the power of data

Beyond enabling contextual business insights to be generated from the data, teams will be able to better automate many complex actions, ultimately getting to automated self-healing. To achieve this future state, applications must be created with an automated, observable, and API (Application Programming Interface)-first mindset with seamless security embedded from development to run-time. Organisations will have the ability to identify, inspect, and manage APIs regardless of provider or source.

Prediction: Always-on, ubiquitous and cheap internet key to future tech and social equality

There is no doubt that the trend for untethered connectivity and communications will continue. The sheer convenience of using devices wirelessly is obvious to everyone, whether nomadic or mobile.

This always-on internet connectivity will further help alleviate social and economic disparity through more equitable access to the modern economy, especially in non-metropolitan areas, helping create jobs for everyone. But this also means that if wireless connectivity is lost or interrupted, activities must not come to a grinding halt.

The future needs ubiquitous, reliable, always-on internet connectivity at low price points. A future that includes seamless internet services requires the heterogeneity of access meaning AI-augmented and seamless connectivity between every cellular and Wi-Fi generation and the upcoming LEO satellite constellations and beyond.

Prediction: Quantum networking will power a faster, more secure future

Quantum computing and security will interconnect very differently than classical communications networks, which stream bits and bytes to provide voice and data information.

Quantum technology is fundamentally based on an unexplained phenomenon in quantum physics the entanglement between particles that enables them to share states. In the case of quantum networking, this phenomenon can be used to share or transmit information. The prospect of joining sets of smaller quantum computers together to make a very large quantum computer is enticing.

Quantum networking could enable a new type of secure connection between digital devices, making them impenetrable to hacks. As this type of fool proof security becomes achievable with quantum networking, it could lead to better fraud protection for transactions. In addition, this higher quality of secure connectivity may also be able to protect voice and data communications from any interference or snooping. All of these possibilities would re-shape the internet we know and use today.

Also read:

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Link:
From ethical AI to quantum networking Cisco predicts the future of technology - ITP.net

A group of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys Ames Laboratory has developed computational quantum algorithms that are capable of efficient and highly accurate simulations of static and dynamic properties of quantum systems. The algorithms are valuable tools to gain greater insight into the physics and chemistry of complex materials, and they are specifically designed to work on existing and near-future quantum computers.

Scientist Yong-Xin Yao and his research partners at Ames Lab use the power of advanced computers to speed discovery in condensed matter physics, modeling incredibly complex quantum mechanics and how they change over ultra-fast timescales. Current high performance computers can model the properties of very simple, small quantum systems, but larger or more complex systems rapidly expand the number of calculations a computer must perform to arrive at an accurate model, slowing the pace not only of computation, but also discovery.

This is a real challenge given the current early-stage of existing quantum computing capabilities, said Yao, but it is also a very promising opportunity, since these calculations overwhelm classical computer systems, or take far too long to provide timely answers.

The new algorithms tap into the capabilities of existing quantum computer capabilities by adaptively generating and then tailoring the number and variety of educated guesses the computer needs to make in order to accurately describe the lowest-energy state and evolving quantum mechanics of a system. The algorithms are scalable, making them able to model even larger systems accurately with existing current noisy (fragile and prone to error) quantum computers, and their near-future iterations.

Accurately modeling spin and molecular systems is only the first part of the goal, said Yao, In application, we see this being used to solve complex materials science problems. With the capabilities of these two algorithms, we can guide experimentalists in their efforts to control materials properties like magnetism, superconductivity, chemical reactions, and photo-energy conversion.

Our long-term goal is to reach quantum advantage for materials to utilize quantum computing to achieve capabilities that cannot be achieved on any supercomputer today, said Ames Laboratory Scientist Peter Orth.

This topic is further discussed in two papers: (1)Adaptive Variational Quantum Dynamics Simulation, authored by Y.-X. Yao, N. Gomes, F. Zhang, C.-Z. Wang, K.-M. Ho, T. Iadecola, and P. P. Orth; and published in PRX Quantum; (2) Adaptive Variational Quantum Imaginary Time Evolution Approach for Ground State Preparation, authored by N. Gomes, A. Mukherjee, F. Zhang, T. Iadecola, C.-Z. Wang, K.-M. Ho, P. P. Orth, Y.-X. Yao; accepted in Advanced Quantum Technologies.

Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science National Laboratory operated by Iowa State University. Ames Laboratory creates innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions. We use our expertise, unique capabilities and interdisciplinary collaborations to solve global problems.

Ames Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Read the rest here:
Innovative New Algorithms Advance the Computing Power of Early-Stage Quantum Computers - SciTechDaily

PayPal head of emerging technology research, Hubert Le Van Gong.

PayPal

PayPal is looking to get in on the ground floor of a cutting-edge technology that could change the way the payments giant catches fraud and measures the creditworthiness of its customers.

Whether it's Goldman Sachs looking to speed up how it prices derivatives, or JPMorgan using quantum computing to test an algorithm that predicts options prices, top financial firms are exploring how and where the tech can be deployed.

Quantum computing, unlike traditional computing, uses a branch physics that runs on quantum bits rather than 1s and 0s. Because of this, quantum computing is helpful when executing large, complex calculations, like those in risk analytics or algorithmic trading.

The firm partnered with IBM in October 2020 to figure out how to use quantum computing to improve fraud detection, credit-risk operations, and overall security posture.

Early research shows quantum computing can be better than traditional computers in sweeping through large data sets and discovering patterns in data that can be indicative of fraudulent behavior or identifying credit-worthy individuals, Hubert Le Van Gong, PayPal's head of emerging technology research, told Insider.

Applying quantum computing to existing machine-learning capabilities could mean PayPal would improve its ability to detect fraud and save costs during the modelling process.

But it's a long-term play many of the benefits are theoretical and have yet to be proven.

"I wouldn't say this technology is going to detect fraud in a meaningful way anytime soon," Jay Gambetta, an IBM fellow and vice president of IBM Quantum, told Insider. "It's still very research-based," he added.

And even with "pretty aggressive" timelines in regards to quantum hardware and software, the technology won't be ready to implement until 2023, Gambetta added.

Even at such an early stage, it's a play the payments giant is ready to take on.

"It's not a matter of if, it's more a matter of when this is going to happen," Le Van Gong said. "The companies that are just sitting back and looking at it, waiting for it to become ready are going to miss out."

PayPal sifts through big, constantly changing data sets to detect fraudulent activity and make decisions around credit worthiness. However the data sets are large and can have millions of samples and up to 10,000 different properties like IP address, device type, or location, Le Van Gong said.

To cut down the number of properties and shave off computational costs of modelling, PayPal currently uses a method called "feature selection," Le Van Gong said. The process uses machine learning to pinpoint which properties are most useful in flagging fraudulent behaviors.

But even with feature selection, it's still an extremely complex, expensive, and time-intensive task to do with classic computers, he said.

"The scale at which PayPal operates in terms of machine learning is such that even classical computers, and the best computers you can find today, are going to be limited," Le Van Gong said. Quantum computers hold the promise of scaling beyond traditional computers when it comes to the number of data features and the size of the datasets, he added.

In addition to scale, quantum computers could help PayPal improve its prediction of important features and do so at a reduced cost compared with traditional computers, Le Van Gong said.

PayPal, which has been researching quantum computing for the past few years, is still in the learning stage of how the technology works and can integrate with classical computers.

The initiative is led by Le Van Gong's emerging technology research team, established in 2021, that explores the use of advanced technologies like cryptography and distributed-ledger security.

"It's still early in the process and it's very much humbling work," he added.

See the original post:
PayPal is experimenting with quantum computing to supercharge how it analyzes fraud and risk. An exec takes us inside the payment giant's playbook for...

The University of Michigan has formed a collaboration with Michigan State University and Purdue University to study quantum science and technology, drawing together expertise and resources to advance the field.

The three universities are partnering to form the Midwest Quantum Collaboratory, or MQC, to find grand new challenges we can work on jointly, based on the increased breadth and diversity of scientists in the collaboration, said Mack Kira, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Michigan Engineering and inaugural director of the collaboration.

U-M researchers call quantum effects the DNA of so many phenomena people encounter in their everyday lives, ranging from electronics to chemical reactions to the study of light wavesand everything they collectively produce.

We scientists are now in a position to start combining these quantum building blocks to quantum applications that have never existed, said Kira, also a professor of physics at U-Ms College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. It is absolutely clear that any such breakthrough will happen only through a broad, diverse and interdisciplinary research effort. MQC has been formed also to build scientific diversity and critical mass needed to address the next steps in quantum science and technology.

Collaborators at U-M include Steven Cundiff, professor of physics and of electrical engineering and computer science. Cundiffs research group uses ultrafast optics to study semiconductors, semiconductor nanostructures and atomic vapors.

The main goal of the MQC is to create synergy between the research programs at these three universities, to foster interactions and collaborations between researchers in quantum science, he said.

Each university will bring unique expertise in quantum science to the collaboration. Researchers at U-M will lead research about the quantum efforts of complex quantum systems, such as photonics, or the study of light, in different semiconductors. This kind of study could inform how to make semiconductor-based computing, lighting, radar or communications millions of times faster and billions of times more energy efficient, Kira says.

Similar breakthrough potential resides in developing algorithms, chemical reactions, solar-power, magnetism, conductivity or atomic metrology to run on emergent quantum phenomena, he said.

The MQC will be a virtual institute, with in-person activities such as seminars and workshops split equally between the three universities, according to Cundiff. In the first year, MQC will launch a seminar series, virtual mini-workshops focused on specific research topics, and will hold a larger in-person workshop. The collaboration hopes fostering connections between scientists will lead to new capabilities, positioning the MQC to be competitive for large center-level funding opportunities.

We know collaboration is key to driving innovation, especially for quantum, said David Stewart, managing director of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute. The MQC will not only provide students with scientific training, but also develop their interpersonal skills so they will be ready to contribute to a currently shorthanded quantum workforce.

The MQC will also promote development of the quantum workforce by starting a seminar series and/or journal club for only students and postdocs, and encouraging research interaction across the three universities.

MQC also provides companies with interest in quantum computing with great opportunities for collaboration with faculty and students across broad spectrums of quantum computing with the collaborative expertise spanning the three institutions, said Angela Wilson, director of the MSU Center for Quantum Computing, Science and Engineering.

Additionally, bringing together three of our nations largest universities and three of the largest quantum computing efforts provides potential employers with a great source of interns and potential employees encompassing a broad range of quantum computing.

See the article here:
U-M forms collaboration to advance quantum science and technology - University of Michigan News

In the first part of thisweek's technology segment on RNZ's Nine to Noon show Italk with Kathryn Ryan about some of the big trends in techthis year, starting with plugging gaps in broadbandcoverage, the work done by the RuralConnectivity Group and extending the 5Gnetwork.

By March 2022 willreach 87 percent of NZ.

As we get towards the endof the build the rate of filling in those gaps drops.Well see why later.

The RuralConnectivity Group built close to 300 mobiletowers. A lot of the work was done while the country was inlockdown.

The last announcement was in Septemberwhen it reached 272 towers.

Bigtech companies are making moves to head off regulatoryaction after all what do you think Facebook changing itsname to Meta was really about?

They think there will be soon bebreakthroughs in quantum computing that will let them readall that top secret material.

"Tech consultancyBooz Allen Hamilton has warned that China will soon plan thetheft of high value data, so it can decrypt it once quantumcomputers break classicalencryption.

If youre on this call youre partof the unlucky group being laid off, said Vishal Garg,chief executive of mortgage firm Better.com, on the call,later uploaded to social media.

The year we filled in the telecommunicationsgaps was first posted atbillbennett.co.nz.

Scoop Media

New Zealand technology news

Bill Bennett publishes technology news and features that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.

Covering enterprise and small business computing, start-ups, listed companies, the technology channel and devices. Bennett's main focus is on New Zealand innovation.

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The year we filled in the telecommunications gaps | Scoop News - Scoop