Isn't it strange how so many things seem out of control, beyond our ability to influence the outcome?
Yes, the heat and humidity engulfing many nations currently comes to mind, but what of other matters, such as an increase in attacks on people by sea creatures? Shark attacks, always reliable fodder for the news media, seem almost routine now, a dangerous rite of passage for the surfing community frequently on the menu for sharks hunting for chunk-style human body parts.
In the past several days tragic alligator encounters have almost matched shark activity, and the largest among alligators apparently have no trouble grabbing humans right off the river shores to administer their murderous deeds in the water where they feel most at home.
However, while some may find relief from the heat in novel ways, or quickly swim away from hungry sharks (though in need of a blood transfusion) or just barely avoid the snapping jaws of hidden alligators, there will soon arise an entity from which there is no escape anywhere on the planet. It's called quantum computing.
Forget the computers with which you grew up. According to standard definitions, quantum computers use "quantum-mechanical phenomena like superposition and entanglement to perform calculations." The cherished belief among scientists holds that quantum computers will eventually solve problems that are impossible for classical computers. Of course, we are already witnessing this outcome with AI facilities, with much more to come and all the more rapidly.
But like the alligator from which there is no escape, quantum computing will influence all of us. Know-all, see-all computerization will finally sweep away all protective curtains in our online lives. No more individual user names or secret passwords, no more safe bank statements in "the cloud," no more confidential anything online no matter where one puts the information or clicks/visits. Quantum computers will literally rip the face off every cherished digital fragment you thought was secure -- or deleted -- forever. How could things not end up like this? Our thirst for the chip, multiplied by our enemies' thirst for the chip, obliterates the words, caution or reckless. The live-or-die battle to be first on the quantum battlefield is now at the front of a very long war.
My question is, how will existing under the dominating influence of quantum computing be any better than living under the thumb of a communist dictatorship? Will a near-sentient thing capable of manufacturing a thousand identical ink pens gaze upon human lives as a single device with no space for the concept of individuality?
The weather is hot, the gators are biting and the masters of quantum computers are eagerly tasting the future, even as those most affected lose themselves in a daily self-reward of nonchalance.
