Paper regarding ethics in Quantum computer.
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research_paper_quantum_computing_0_1.docxRunning head: QUANTUM COMPUTING
QUANTUM COMPUTING 9
Research Paper: Quantum Computing
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Abstract
Quantum computers are a new era of invention, and its innovation is still to come. The revolution of the quantum computers produced a lot of challenges for ethical decision-making and predictions at different levels of life; therefore, it raised new concerns such as invasion of privacy and national security. In fact, it can be used easily to access and steal private information and data, while on the other hand, quantum computers can help to eliminate these unethical intrusions and secure the information.
Quantum computers will be the most powerful computer in the world that would open the door to encrypt the information in much less time. On the contrary, the supercomputers sometimes take so many hours to encrypt, whereas quantum computers can be used for the same purpose in a shorter time period making it harder to decrypt the data and information.
Many years from now, quantum computers will become mainstays throughout the world of computing. It will serve the individual and the community, but there is a significant concern that quantum computers could be used to invade people’s privacy (Hirvensalo, 2012).
Literature Review
The study area that is aimed on the implementation of quantum theory principles to develop computer technology is called Quantum computing. The field of quantum mechanics arose from German physicist Max Planck’s attempts to describe the spectrum emitted by hot bodies and specifically he wondered the reason behind the shift in color from red to yellow to blue as the temperature of a flame increased.
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
There has been tremendous development in quantum computing since then and more research is been done to realize its full potential. Generally, quantum computing depends on quantum laws of physics. Rather than store information as 0s or 1s as conventional computers do, a quantum computer uses qubits which can be a 1 or a 0 or both at the same time. The quantum superposition along with the quantum effects of entanglement and quantum tunneling enable computers to consider and manipulate all combinations of bits simultaneously. This effect will make quantum computation powerful and fast (Williams, 2014).
http://www.dwavesys.com/quantum-computing
Researchers in quantum computing have enjoyed a greater level of success. The first small 2-qubit quantum computer was developed in 1997 and in 2001 a 5-qubit quantum computer was used to successfully factor the number 15 [85].Since then, experimental progress on a number of different technologies has been steady but slow, although the practical problems facing physical realizations of quantum computers can be addressed. It is believed that a quantum co-processor could be a released within a decade, if the current pace of development continues.
http://homepages.cwi.nl/~rdewolf/qcnotes.pdf
Introduction
Quantum computation is the field that investigates the computational power and other properties of computers based on quantum mechanical principles. An important objective is to find quantum algorithms that are significantly faster than any classical algorithm solving the same problem.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/251988834_Complexity_considerations_quantum_computation
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
In such a situation, it indicates that whatever happens to one element will affect the other no matter how big the distance separating the two. Therefore, among other things, quantum entanglement can be used to create a super dense coding in which two classical bits can be encoded and transmitted through one qubit.
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
When quantum computers will be fully developed, they will have a broad impact on society and the areas that will benefit mostly are the ones that supercomputers dominate today; such as research, military applications, artificial intelligence and cryptography. The most well-known capability quantum computers can unlock is Shor’s algorithm, something classical computers cannot do
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
This algorithm is the backbone of modern day encryption methods which depends on the inability for the classical computer to easily search for a given number’s prime factors. A quantum computer will be able to do a task in minutes or hours that can take a classical computer years or much longer to accomplish (Oriyano, 2013).
Benefits of Quantum Computers to Intelligence Agencies
The aim of artificial intelligence is to develop machines to perform tasks in a better way than the humans, it also aims at understanding the actions whether it involves humans, animals or machines. Areas which artificial intelligence can be applied are: constraint processing, intelligent robotics, machine learning, natural language processing, high level computer vision and reasoning under uncertainty or imprecision (Rich, 2012).
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/artificial-intelligence/
Quantum computing and quantum algorithms can improve the ability to solve difficult optimization problems for missions in aeronautics, earth and space sciences and space exploration.
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/quantum/
Quantum computation principles suggest that every physical object, even the universe is in some sense a quantum computer.
Quantum computation principles suggest that every physical object, even the universe is in some sense a quantum computer.
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_97/journal/vol1/spb3/
Turing’s work indicates that all computers are functionally equivalent and thus quantum computers will be able to model every physical process.
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_97/journal/vol1/spb3/
Therefore, the quantum computer will be able to simulate conscious rational thought. The quantum computers will also expand data processing and permit the simulation of almost every natural phenomenon. This will be important in achieving true artificial intelligence.
Quantum algorithms for learning- Quantum computing will have many benefits to the intelligence agencies because it will be able to expand the machine learning algorithms. Today’s algorithms basically rely on pattern recognition, but with quantum computing, machines will be able to adapt to anomalous situations.
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
A highly refined machine learning algorithm as a result of quantum computing will help automated systems to handle non-routine tasks, an area that has been lacking in the digitization and automation of jobs.
http://www.dinocrat.com/?m=201507
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/approaching-quantum-leap-computing
This will improve upon the current research on autonomous cars, robots and drones (Vos, 2014).
Quantum search- Much of the early artificial intelligence was concerned with search techniques. Many AI problems like scheduling, planning and theorem proving and information retrieval can be reduced to searching. Grover algorithm shows that quantum computers solve search related problems faster than classical computers. Therefore, quantum searching technique will play an important role in Artificial intelligence.
Quantum algorithms for decision problems- Many decision problems can be formulated in terms of decision trees. Quantum algorithms based on Hamiltonian evolution will be able to solve the decision problems represented by a class of decision trees exponentially, in a faster way than classical random walks.
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.04206.pdf
Quantum game theory- Game theory is progressively been used in AI especially in multi-agent systems and distributed AI. Quantum games with more than two players have been developed and thus, it will offer new tools for solutions of some problems in artificial intelligence. Quantum computing will also help represent knowledge in the way of quantum superposition and also be able to speed up knowledge reasoning by the quantum parallelism. Quantum communication and distributed quantum computation will be used in multi-agent systems by utilizing entanglement for coordination.
Quantum Computers and Global Encryption Systems
Cyber security has transformed into an everyday reality for all users of internet connected devices. Joining wireless networks, shopping or paying bills online and logging into password protected web accounts presents a constant security challenge.
http://web.stevens.edu/research/single_news.php?news_events_id=3813
Conventional cryptographic systems offer computational security but does not ensure absolute or unbreakable security. The strength of the current cryptographic algorithms relies on complex mathematical problems such as integer factorization and elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem as explained.
RSA- It is a cryptosystem for public key encryption that is widely used for securing sensitive data when been sent over insecure network such as the internet.
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/RSA
In this cryptography, both public and private keys have the capability to encrypt a message. The opposite key from the one used to encrypt a message is used to decrypt the message. This attribute has made the RSA to be the most used asymmetric algorithm.
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/RSA
This technology is based on the fact that it is hard to derive the factors of the large integers that are the product of two large prime numbers. Generally, multiplying the two numbers will be easy but it will be difficult to determine the original prime numbers. This is so, because it will take much time using the computation power of the present day super computers (Mollin, 2012).
Quantum computers will be a threat to the modern day cryptography since quantum algorithms like Shor’s algorithm will have the ability to break an RSA key by working the possible factor combination within a short time compared to the classical computer that might take years to accomplish the same goal.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) - It was discovered in 1985 and it utilizes discrete logarithms to encrypt data. This technology is more difficult to challenge for equivalent key length compared to RSA. Quantum computers through the use of Shor’s algorithm will be able to break the math behind this encryption within a very short time.
It is clear that Quantum computing is a real threat to the major cryptography technology in use today because they will be able to execute the Shor’s algorithm that has been proved to break the popularly used cryptographic algorithms, which are RSA and ECC used in digital signatures and PKI. The two technologies are widely used for secure network communications like HTTPS websites, e-commerce and software updates. Therefore, quantum computing will be a big threat to the availability, integrity and the confidentiality of the stored data and the data in transit. Quantum safe algorithm can ensure even secure data encryption but realizing such an encryption will be hard and it can take time. It is therefore important to ensure that an alternative encryption method is developed before the powerful quantum computers come into existence.
Comparison of Classical and Quantum Computers
|
Classical Computer |
Quantum Computer |
|
Factoring 193 digits using a 2.2Ghz machine requires 30 CPU years. |
factoring 193 digits using a 2.2Ghz machine requires 0.1 seconds |
|
Factor 232 digits using a 2.2Ghz machine will require 2000 CPU years |
No estimate available |
|
Factoring 500 digits using a 2.2Ghz machine requires 1012 CPU years |
Factoring 500 digits using a 2.2Ghz machine will require 2 seconds |
From the table above, it is clear that data encrypted with the current technology and stored in the computers across the whole world will be at risk the moment quantum computing becomes a reality. Using Shor’s algorithm, the quantum computer will be able to almost instantly find the prime factors of very large numbers and also compute mod primes of discrete logarithm and discrete logs over elliptic curves. These mathematical computations are the secrecy behind the modern mostly used cryptography. Decryption of data like trade secrets or weapon technology can have serious consequences and thus will have to be re-encrypted with the new cryptography system once quantum computers come into use (cyberdefensereview.org, 2015).
Although it is important to point out that the quantum cryptography will be more secure because the quantum no-cloning nature will make it impossible for the quantum state to be cloned. Theoretically, this implies that messages that will be sent using the quantum cryptography would be in an unknown quantum state and thus will not be possible to be copied and sent on. Secondly, trying to measure the quantum state in one of the two states will disturb the state. This means that if a quantum message is intercepted by an attacker, it will become altered and therefore useless to the eavesdropper. Thirdly, the effects produced by measuring a quantum property cannot be reversed and thus it will be impossible for the attacker to put back the quantum message to its original form. The above three properties will make the quantum cryptography very secure and thus powerful.
It should be understood that in quantum cryptography, if an attacker intercepts a quantum encrypted message, he/she will alter the key by reading it and the recipient will be able to verify that the message has been tempered with. Therefore, news keys will be send, until a key is received that has not been interfered with (Gilbert, 2014).
Use of Quantum Computers to Counter Terrorism Attacks
The congress approved a law called the USA PATRIOT Act after the September 11 terrorism attack launched on its land. This act was aimed to give the law enforcement officials and the intelligence agencies the authority to collect data and wiretap subjects. In USA, the act of making a credit card purchase, sending email and making phone calls are recorded in many corporate databases. The information stored becomes part of each individual’s digital history. The counterterrorism body is well informed that the terrorists use all these channels of communications and financial channels in the disguise of law abiding citizens. These agencies are given relevant access to these databases. The intelligence bodies have been using sophisticated computer software to extract the data stored in such databases with the aim of trying to obtain patterns that can in one way or the other indicate the possibility of terrorist activity from among the millions of the transactions that are carried out each day (usnews.com, 2015).
If the data mining techniques employed are effective, they can speed the investigation process and be able to give a clear lead on what is happening. The intelligence uses such techniques to find out who might have communicated or transferred money to a known terrorist. This is based on the fact that terror activities are funded and thus been able to know the supporters of the illegal activity can help arrest them and cut their sources of revenue or most importantly understand their network so they can be made known to the world or even arrest them. The problem with the current searches is that there is little known about patterns that can be connected to terrorism. Therefore the programs that are used to scan the database for anomalous patterns are mostly turn up many false leads that can’t be considered much useful in dealing with the terrorists and terror activities. This implies that an innocent citizen can be accused of being a terrorist and subject to humiliation for no good reason.
Using quantum computing, the intelligence systems will be able to perform faster searches in the databases containing an individual’s digital history by the use of Grover’s algorithm. With a budget of a million operations, a classical algorithm is basically limited to searching through a million possibilities, but Grover’s algorithm has an advanced strength in that it will be able to use the million operations to search through hundreds of billions of possibilities. The possibility of having false leads will be eliminated as it is the case with the current technology, because instead of the algorithm checking the possibilities one by one, it will be able to create a uniform superposition over all possibilities and will repeatedly destructively interfere states that are not solutions. The increased computational power will also implicate that the results will be obtained faster and they will be reliable because they will be accurate.
Conclusion
Quantum computing has not been fully realized but there have been recommendable steps since the time it was initiated. Google and NSA have heavily invested in the research for this technology. China is also in the lead in the research about the Quantum computing. The governments and institutions have realized the huge benefits that are associated with quantum computing and thus why there are ready to channel a lot of resources in the research about the technology. Quantum computing will be beneficial to the field of artificial intelligence because it will facilitate the development of true intelligence systems as quantum algorithms like Grover’s will help expand data processing and permit the simulation of almost every natural phenomenon. Quantum algorithms based on Hamiltonian evolution will also help solve the decision problems represented by a class of decision trees exponentially faster than classical random walks.
Quantum computing is a threat to the current cryptography system since using the Shor’s algorithm, the quantum computer will be able to almost instantly find the prime factors of very large numbers and also compute mod primes of discrete logarithm and discrete logs over elliptic curves. These mathematical computations are the secrecy behind the current day cryptography technology. Therefore quantum computing will render them obsolete and as a matter of fact, secure quantum based cryptography system should be developed that can withstand the strength of the quantum computing so as to always ensure the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data before the quantum computing comes in to use.
Quantum computing will help intelligence agents in combating the terrorism activities because the Grover’s algorithm will facilitate an advanced search in the various entries in the corporate database and eliminating any entries that do not match known terror activities patterns. This will help establish the network of criminal activities as they either use one of the digital means to communicate or to receive money from those who fund them. Quantum computing will have much more benefits to the government and corporate world as data analysis and simulation will be improved which implies informed decision making from the accurate information obtained.
References
Hirvensalo, M. (2012).Quantum computing. Berlin: Springer.
Williams, C. P., & Clearwater, S. H. (2014).Explorations in quantum computing. Santa Clara, Calif: TELOS.
Cyberdefensereview.org (2015) Quantum Information Processing. Retrieved From:http://www.cyberdefensereview.org/2015/05/29/quantum/
Oriyano, S.-P.(2013). Cryptography. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
usnews.com (2015) Privacy or Terrorism. Retrieved From: http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/06/12/privacy-or-terrorism-a-question-of-risk
Mollin, R. A. (2012). RSA and public-key cryptography. Boca Raton, Fla: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Gilbert, G. .(2014). Quantum cryptography. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific.
infocusmazine.org (2015) Data Mining. Retrieved From:http://www.infocusmagazine.org/8.3/nsia_data_mining.html
Rich, E. (2012). Artificial intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vos, A. . (2014). Reversible computing: Fundamentals, quantum computing, and applications. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.
