President Trump on Monday directed the federal government to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research and ordered the intelligence agencies to protect government systems from cyber threats.
Mr. Trump called his two executive orders spurring development of the advanced quantum computer “a big step forward.”
“We’re already the leader by a lot and we’re going to be now the leader by a lot more,” Mr. Trump said at an Oval Office event that included executives from America’s top tech companies, including Google and IBM. “Over the next five years, we’re going to be investing in American quantum leadership like never before to stay ahead of the pack. We’re way ahead right now. We’ll keep it that way.”
Quantum computers are advanced machines that harness the power of quantum physics to process information exponentially faster than traditional computers. Such advanced computers do exist but are in the very early stages of development, with physicists saying they can become much more advanced.
“There has been a big leap in the investment the private sector has made in this particular domain, and we are now at the moment where research is starting to pay off into commercial applications and what this executive order will do is turbocharge that,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The second order aims to protect government computers against computer-fueled cyberattacks by setting the goal of moving key government computing systems to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 or 2031.
Post-quantum cryptography is a field of algorithms that protects traditional computers from attacks or hacking from highly powerful quantum computers. They are extremely complex encryption algorithms that make it difficult for both conventional and quantum computers to solve.
The orders highlight the importance that the Trump administration is placing on boosting U.S. leadership in the quantum computer race against China, which could fuel advances in artificial intelligence materials science and chemistry — while also addressing the cybersecurity threat posed by the burgeoning technology.
Last month, the Commerce Department announced it would take $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum-computing companies, including a new IBM venture.
