{"id":4249,"date":"2023-06-20T15:21:24","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T19:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/?p=4249"},"modified":"2023-06-20T15:21:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T19:21:24","slug":"quantum-hype-a-review-of-quantum-supremacy-by-michio-kaku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/?p=4249","title":{"rendered":"Quantum Hype: A Review of Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Ivan Handler<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special to the OUL<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 16, 2023 – There has been a continuous stream of extremely impressive technical advances in the world ever since the closing days of WWII. The invention of the computer was in many ways the most significant since almost every other advance has depended on the computer and its amazing evolution post war. But add to the computer, nuclear weapons, the transistor, the discovery of DNA, the Internet, CRISPR and you see how completely scientific discoveries have profoundly impacted society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looks like quantum computers are going to be the latest advance with many far flung applications that are just starting to appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But along with new technology comes a lot of speculation and especially hype<\/strong>. Hype plays a special role since it takes lots of resources to develop technology which means investors need to be convinced of its profitability and government agencies need to be brought onboard the bandwagon. Hype generates excitement, and in the US, excitement appears to have magical powers over investors. For example, remember “Pets R Us” and the thousands of failed, ridiculous internet startups in the late 90s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new book, Quantum Supremacy<\/em>, fits into this scenario neatly. It is written by a prominent physicist who is an excellent expositor of both the technical details behind quantum computing as well as someone with broad knowledge of many areas of science and engineering. This allows him skillfully to hype the implications of quantum computing (QC) to the public, especially potential investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, despite the hype, a reader will learn a lot about quantum mechanics, quantum computing, and many other areas of science when reading the book. The writing is clear, concise, and enjoyable. It is worth reading for those reasons alone. Kaku isn’t that clear about how these computers function because, at this point, you need to know a lot about quantum mechanics to understand much more. That really shouldn’t be a problem for the average reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problems I have with the book are with Kaku’s unfortunate ignorance of what is happening in agriculture and the relationship with many of the technologies and projects related there, such as the invention of fertilizer and the green revolution. It is significant that Kaku mentions global warming and a bunch of possible technical approaches to reducing greenhouse gasses and ignores the crisis in biodiversity[1] which includes warming and much more and is far more serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, there is a difference between what we can do with technology and what we should do. Kaku is high on the former and human survival depends on the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku starts with some announcements of quantum computers that have accomplished remarkable results: Google’s ‘Sycamore’ quantum computer could solve a mathematical problem in 200 seconds that would take 10,000 years on the world’s fastest supercomputer. The Quantum Innovation Institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences went even further. They claimed their quantum computer was 100 trillion faster than an ordinary supercomputer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chapter touches on the themes in the book without much detail. While Kaku mentions that quantum computers are not like the current programmable ones, he gives the reader the impression that quantum computers will replace current computers because of their computational abilities. This is not true. So far, quantum computers are attacking many problems. But it is not at all clear that there aren’t many problems that can’t be solved by quantum computers that are solvable by traditional ones. This is an aspect of the hype that continues throughout the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heroes of this chapter are Big Tech: Google, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Rigetti and Honeywell. This excites Wall Street and someof its projections: “… that the market for quantum computers should reach hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2020s and tens of billions of dollars in the 2030s.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does mention on page 6 that: “Despite the impressive technical achievements made by Google and others in recent years, a workable quantum computer that can solve real-world problems is still many years in the future.” Kaku probably should have put this disclaimer in each subsequent chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then mentions that Richard Feynman, a Nobel Laureate, wrote a groundbreaking paper in 1959 that directly led to quantum computing. He then sketches the idea of a qubit and how it replaces the ‘bit.’ The ‘bit’ in standard computing has a value of ‘one’ or ‘zero,’ the basis of binary coding. The qubit, drawing on the varying states of atoms and their electrons, can have vastly more values than ‘one’ or ‘zero’ on the quantum level. Hence the ‘q’ is added to ‘bit,’ making the qubit. Thus, the phenomena of numerous superpositions on the atomic level make using qubits in calculations quite powerful. The rest of the chapter previews how Kaku sees quantum computing impacting other areas of society. Each description of a fantastic outcome comes with little else than his enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, on page 18, under his Feeding the Planet<\/em> headline, he lauds the green revolution as well as Microsoft’s attempts to improve fertilizers with quantum computing. This is quite sad since the green revolution did more to feed dogs and cats than it ever did to feed people – see How The Other Half Dies<\/em> by Susan George published in 1977. The environmental damage done by fertilizers is well known and is one of the main reasons people turn to organic agricultural practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here Kaku does a great job recounting the development of computing technology from the Ancient Greek Antikythera<\/em> mechanism (and the thinking behind its calculations) through the work of Alan Turing on the formalization of computing. Even here, there is a certain amount of hype. “While the Antikythera represents the beginning of computer technology, the quantum computer may represent the highest stage of its evolution” Too bad he didn’t add the word ‘today’ at the end of that quote. It should be clear reading this chapter that the quantum computer, for whatever its promises and perils, is just another step down the road of scientific innovation. (CONTINUED)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

He does a great job explaining the results of Goedel[2] and the relationship to Turing’s work. Definitely worth reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a great recap of the history of the discovery of quantum mechanics. He starts with Newton’s concept of the clockwork universe and goes through Plank’s discovery of quanta in black body radiation through Einstein and the photoelectric effect, the double slit experiment, Schroedinger’s equation, as well as his cat, and finally, quantum entanglement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this chapter, Kaku covers the invention of the transistor, Feynman’s creation of quantum electrodynamics, and then quite a bit of time on Feynman’s \u2018Path Integral’ which is central to the functioning of a quantum computer. He does a great job explaining the concepts involved using no mathematics at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he goes on to discuss photosynthesis. He implies that photosynthesis has solved a quantum computer problem called ‘decoherence’ but doesn’t explain why this should be an issue with photosynthesis to start with. Decoherence is a problem for quantum computers, but he offers no reason to believe that it has anything to do with photosynthesis. This is another example of how he replaces very clear reasoning with what appears to be more unsupported hype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku then talks about parallel universes and the many worlds theory. As usual, his exposition is very clear and well-written. It’s definitely worth the read. Then he summarizes quantum theory and discusses the potential problems with quantum computers making security software obsolete, which will throw a huge wrench into the way we use the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku explains the six different approaches now going on concerning quantum computers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Superconducting Quantum Computer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Ion Trap Quantum Computer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Photonic Quantum Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Silicon Photonic Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Topological Quantum Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf D-Wave Quantum Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As usual, this is well written and very clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part II, Quantum Computers and Society (chapters 6 – 9).<\/strong> The chapters are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf The Origin of Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Greening the World<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Feeding the Planet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Energizing the World<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These chapters are in line with the previous critiques. Lots of hype mixed in with really good descriptions of current technical approaches to solving problems. Most of the rest of the book is dedicated to describing some interesting technologies with the assertion that quantum computing will play a major role in their advance. He presents no evidence for that — he can’t. The field is still in its infancy, if not baking in a technology womb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is most disturbing about this section, and every time he mentions biological systems, is how apparently unaware he is of the critiques of agribusiness, starting with the green revolution and its role in destroying the environment, increasing poverty and starvation as well as how current agribusiness practices threaten food security. I recommend books by Vandana Shiva such as Seed Sovereignty, Food Security<\/em> or Reclaiming the Commons<\/em>. These big topics are far more complex than Kaku’s treatment in the book. It looks like he takes press releases from big tech and related huge corporations at face value and then trips out on how quantum computing will help these dangerous practices along. This is sad given how good a physicist he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part III (chapters 10 – 13) is on Quantum Medicine. \u25cf Quantum Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Gene Editing and Curing Cancer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf AI and Quantum Computers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Immortality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea that nature is imperfect and needs humans to correct its mistakes goes back at least as far as the Greeks. Plato saw the abstract world of Forms as being behind nature and not subject to any of nature’s flaws. Kaku sees diseases as flaws in natural selection that are being solved with technology. For example, on page 172 he states: “There was a belief that science would enable us to rewrite the code of life, correcting the mistakes of Mother Nature.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is clear that technology is crucial to how we approach curing diseases, it’s far from clear that this is a problem with nature as much as a necessary condition for natural selection to work in the first place. This in many ways represents the current danger of the modern corporate mentality, and it’s pretty much universal. Capitalist or socialist, very few industries or businesses are willing to take on the anthropocentrism implicit in the approaches to integrating technology into human culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku’s treatment of the development of antibiotics and antiviral meds is excellent. As usual, he speculates on how quantum computing may eventually help create new drugs with no real evidence because none currently exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His treatment of cancer is similar – a great exposition about what we understand about cancer and the way he thinks quantum computing will be engaged in the future. With so little evidence available, he can speculate all he wants without fear of contradiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, he takes on all the hype around AI over the last few decades and doesn’t see his wild enthusiasm as another example of hype getting ahead of reality. He hypes neural networks as possibly being the technology behind how brains function\u2014another gigantic tripout. Science still has much to understand about neurons, let alone what kinds of networks they form or how they function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he does a great job explaining the scientific issues entailed in Artificial Intelligence, or AI. He also does a great job describing the problem of protein folding and computational biology. He also explains prions, what we know about them, and the history behind their discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku next attacks the problem of aging and sees the second law of thermodynamics behind aging. It isn’t surprising that thermodynamics probably plays a role in the aging process, but that doesn’t mean that aging is not a function of natural selection either. This goes back to seeing nature as flawed rather than humans as overly simplistic and caught up in our hype. And in keeping with the rest of the book, he speculates how quantum computing might be used in AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part IV (chapters 14 – Epilogue)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Global Warming<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf The Sun in a Bottle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Simulating the Universe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf A Day in the Year 2050<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Epilogue – Quantum Puzzles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku sees technology as the solution to global warming but never mentions the biodiversity crisis. That indicates he has very little interest in critical questions about the survival of humanity, as much as tripping out on how technology rather than policy and social organization can eliminate the threats to the environment. It’s too bad since he clearly has the intellectual capacity to look at the environmental catastrophe from a deep and creative perspective. He presents all of the current technical proposals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Carbon Sequestration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Weather Modification<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Algae Blooms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Rain Clouds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Plant Trees<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Calculating Virtual Weather<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does a good job of explaining each of the alternatives as well as their strengths and weaknesses. His real interest is how quantum computing can help simulate the weather, which may be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees nuclear fusion as a critical technology for fighting global warming. If you are interested in nuclear fusion, he does a great job of explaining how it works, its problems, and how quantum computing may help solve them. In the 1980s, Barry Commoner explained an inherent problem with nuclear (fission or fusion) power. Namely, that water boils at 212 F, and a nuclear power plant raises the temperature of the circulating liquid to many thousands of degrees. So, whether or not there is a radiation problem, there will always be a huge waste of heat when we try not to add more heat into the environment. Secondly, no evidence-based argument I have ever seen shows that nuclear power is needed or is the solution with the smallest environmental cost. Kaku, like many others, is not interested in that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quantum computing may help in modeling aspects of the universe, from cataloging all the observable bodies in the universe to finding killer asteroids before they are threats, finding exoplanets to possibly discovering extraterrestrial life, predicting solar flares, simulating black holes, and more. It’s fun reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaku is a string theorist. String theory is the latest attempt to complete Einstein’s desire for a unified field theory. It’s not clear that such a theory is possible, but Kaku covers it well while not mentioning skeptics – see The End of Physics<\/em> by David Lindley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, he ends the book with a trip out on life in 2050 when all of his predictions come true and we are living in a kind of quantum Jetson’s world. The epilogue is pretty metaphysical, looking at questions such as: “Did God have a choice in making the universe?” or “Is the universe a simulation?” or “Do quantum computers compute in parallel universes?” and more. Fun stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore Kaku has an unquestioning belief in technology and a very dim view of people and nature as a result. But is this justified? How well is technology serving us? Has it made life better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, there are a lot of advantages to our current technologies. But there are many downsides for which Kaku shows no appreciation. While computers have made many important and revolutionary changes in human culture, it hasn’t all been positive. In particular, Social media has been causing problems that defy any technical fix. Technology has been delivering a great deal of chaos and unhappiness, from scams and fake news to unwanted messages on all social media and email platforms to identity theft. Will quantum computing make things better or worse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about how the complexity of the internet has increased along with the complexity of the technology. The smartphones we carry around in our pockets are vastly more powerful than the supercomputers of 20 years ago. What happens when we add the power of quantum computing to these devices? It appears that we are entering an epoch of technology-induced chaos where our problems – racism and sexism, for example – are getting amplified with technology. What is unfortunate about this book is that it increases techno-optimism when we should be questioning how we want technology to intersect with human culture. Kaku appears to believe that technology will magically solve all the problems it has caused. That position doesn’t deserve any credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The crisis in biodiversity is that the amount of variation in ecologies is quickly plunging. Since variation is a crucial component of natural selection, this erosion of variation is dangerous for all forms of life. The fact that it has hit agriculture really hard means that food production is under serious threat. Global warming is part of this problem since it disrupts weather patterns that are part of local ecosystems causing disruption of the local ecologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Godel proved his famous incompleteness theorem in 1931. In essence, he proves that mathematics is incomplete in that in any system at least as complex as the integers, there will be true statements that can’t be proven to be true and that no logical system can prove its own consistency.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Ivan Handler Special to the OUL June 16, 2023 – There has been a continuous stream of extremely impressive technical advances in the world ever since the closing days of WWII. The invention of the computer was in many ways the most significant since almost every other advance has depended on the computer and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,31,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature","category-science","category-theory"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4249"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4252,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4249\/revisions\/4252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ouleft.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}