Interview: Marcos Allende Lopez, Technology Coordinator, LACChain
What are you most looking forward to at the Quantum.Tech conference?
What I am looking forward to the most is the opportunity to listen to and meet with the people that are leading the rise of the quantum industry. There are great speakers and very interesting topics in the agenda. I certainly think this is one of the first-of-its-kind summits, and I hope it becomes a yearly gathering.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the adoption of Quantum technology in 2019/ 2020?
Well, there are many challenges. As it tends to happen with new things, one of the main challenges is addressing the limited knowledge that both decision-makers and regular citizens have about the technology. It isn’t easy to understand the concepts behind quantum, and there is not enough quality information (even in the internet) because there aren’t enough people who are knowledgeable on the topic. In addition, quantum technology is at its early stages and today there aren’t many applications ready, which limits the goal of raising awareness among people. There is however, a great opportunity for the early investors, as there is a huge market to be discovered and filled, and this is the message we need to deliver.
Looking ahead a year from now, how do you see the adoption of Quantum computing progressing?
Quantum computers are not ready yet for real use cases, and neither will be in one year. What I think people could start doing is getting familiar with the quantum programming languages that are emerging, as #Q by Microsoft, and the online platforms that run simulations, such as the IBM Experience. That is a free path to becoming one of the first quantum developers, a job that will be highly demanded in the near future. In fact, demand already exists.
Top tips: What is the best single piece of advice you can give to an enterprise looking to start their Quantum journey?
My piece of advice is: do not rush for immediate results. There are not many real applications that can be developed today with most quantum technologies. However, there is a new technological era to come, and those who start positioning themselves today will be leading tomorrow.
What are the first steps an organization can take to start making their data and networks “Quantum safe”?
I think organizations should start by looking at the new recommendations from the international standards organizations, and at least upgrade their classical algorithms used for asymmetric encryption. Regarding quantum techniques, sooner than later there will scalable quantum encrypted networks available for telecommunications, that guarantee complete security against quantum computing. In the meantime, there is technology available for point-to-point quantum encrypted communications, which is useful for connecting HQ with back up centres, for instance. What is important is to keep in mind that anyone can “hack today, crack tomorrow”, meaning that if your data is intercepted today, even encrypted, it could be stored and decrypted tomorrow when quantum computers are ready.
What is your biggest professional achievement to date?
At the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where I lead the research on emerging technologies at the IT Tech Lab, I coordinated last year a successful proof of concept on quantum cryptography to encrypt all kind of data, including videocalls. Additionally, we have recently published a paper explaining what quantum technologies are, what is their potential impact on industries and other technologies, and what governments around the world doing to take advantage of this opportunity and be well positioned in this race. Also, I am a technology coordinator at the LACChain regional program, which is led by the IDB Lab to develop the blockchain ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean, where in our roadmap is to develop quantum-safe blockchain main-nets.
Independently from my work at the Inter-American Development Bank, I am co-founding the Quantum Observatory for Latin America, Spain and Portugal. This is a non-profit organization to lead and support quantum initiatives in these regions related to the research, development, and adoption of quantum technologies.
To view when Marcos is speaking at Quantum.Tech, go to: https://www.quantumtechcongress.com/speakers/marcos-allende-lopez