This afternoon I attended a report release webinar for a US National
Academies committee examining the  feasibility, prospects, and
implications  of quantum computing.  This is a very complex technical
area which has been subject to a considerable amount of (sometimes
inaccurate) hype recently; at the same time, it is an area with
considerable promise and a vast number of open questions.

The rate of progress here is an area where there have been many
predictions that differ wildly. It's very useful to have a rigorously
reviewed and through National Academies consensus study to put
developments in perspective. And this report is not just about the
details of the technology; it looks carefully at potential evolutionary
paths and impacts in various sectors.

You can find an announcement about the main findings of the report,
along with a link to the report proper, here

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=25196

A direct link to the report, which can be downloaded as a free PDF
(about 200 pages), or you can just get the summary section.


Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI