Quantum computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor.
量子计算机最近一直萦绕在我的脑海中。一位朋友一直在给我发文章，介绍量子计算机如何帮助解决我们人类面临的一些最大挑战。我还与两位量子计算专家进行了交流。其中一位是计算机科学家克里斯·约翰逊，我认为他有助于保持该领域的诚实。另一位是物理学家菲利普·泰勒。
For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.”
几十年来，量子计算只不过是实验室的一项好奇。现在，大型科技公司已经对量子计算进行了投资，许多小型公司也是如此。据《商业周刊》报道，量子机器可以帮助我们“治愈癌症，甚至可以采取措施将气候变化转向相反的方向”。这是一种炒作，让约翰逊很恼火。他担心研究人员正在做出他们无法兑现的承诺。约翰逊写道：“新消息是，现在量子计算研究人员有可能获得数百万美元。”
As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum.
随着量子计算吸引了更多的关注和资金，研究人员可能会误导投资者、记者、公众，最糟糕的是，误导他们自己的工作潜力。约翰逊警告说，如果研究人员不能信守承诺，兴奋可能会让位于怀疑、失望和愤怒。许多其他技术都经历了激动人心的阶段。但约翰逊建议，量子计算的某些方面使其特别容易被炒作，也许是因为“量子”代表了一些你不应该理解的很酷的东西。”这让我想起了泰勒，他建议我读他的书《量子Q》。
After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum.
在我读完这本书后，泰勒耐心地回答了我关于它的问题。他还回答了我有关PyQuantum的问题，PyQuantum是他于2016年共同创立的公司。泰勒和约翰逊一样担心炒作，但他表示，这些担忧不适用于PyQuantum。
The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”
他说，该公司“在很大程度上”比任何其他公司都更接近于制造一台“有用”的量子计算机，一台“解决了一个我们无法解决的有影响力的问题”的计算机。他补充道，“人们自然会对我的意见不以为然，但我花了很多时间将我们正在做的事情与其他公司进行定量比较。”
Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.
PyQuantum真的会像泰勒所说的那样“以很大的优势”领先所有竞争对手吗？我不知道。我当然不会建议我的朋友或其他人投资量子计算机。但我信任泰勒，就像我信任约翰逊一样。
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