Is Google's Quantum Computer the Skynet of the Future?

The last few years have been choc full of amazing advances in science and technology. Smartphones today have more processing power than early space exploration expeditions. Satellite image mapping technology for in-car directions, big data analytics to help us streamline our businesses, song streaming websites– we’ve reaped the rewards of the many amazing technological advances which have happened in the past few years. In a decade, we’ve come from nearly needing a specialized degree to make a website to being able to build your own website in less than a day.

But thanks to one amazing development, e’ve come one step closer to the future in recent days… but it’s up to you to decide if that’s a good thing.

Dedicated researchers have been trying to develop something called a ‘quantum computer’ for decades. Since the ’80s, in fact. Now, don’t get any sci-fi dreams just yet: a quantum computer is nothing more or less complicated than a computer which can process information in dramatically larger pieces than previous computers: by whole orders of magnitude. This would allow such a computer to undertake immensely complex problem-solving.

Like, say, solving space-time theories. And no– that’s not a joke.

Google has recently released press releases to major news outlets confirming that it has developed such a computer, called the D-Wave 2X. Created in a joint project with NASA, not only is this quantum computer legitimate, but current information suggests that it’s as much as 100 million times faster than any other computer on the planet. To put that into perspective, if you developed a process so complex that it would take the newest Apple iMac ten thousand years to complete… the Google quantum computer could complete the same exact task in seconds.

Skynet, of course, is the computerized artificial intelligence of the Terminator franchise, which was so intelligent that it quickly gained self-awareness outside of its developer’s control, and launched a war of technology against humanity which left the Earth of the future a blasted, scorched wasteland.

Google hasn’t yet released any statements about the similarities, but the Google refers to the work being carried out at the NASA center with the quantum computer as Quantum Artificial Intelligence, according to a Washington Post article on the subject.

Google likely has ideas related to commercializing its product. And there are a great deal of immediately available applications: optimizing interstellar investigation or NASA space missions, for example. Or to help assist scientists in the search for the next effective antibiotic. But this level of computational power could be put to other slightly darker uses as well: cracking banking algorithms, or military encryption codes.

But the story doesn’t stop there: Google isn’t the only entrant into the quantum computing ring.

In what looks as though it might turn into a computing power arms race, IBM Watson has also announced that they intend to try their hand at making a quantum computing device in a press release earlier in 2015. Only, unlike Google, they’ve already got eyes on potential applications for the medical sciences. According to the International Business Times, IBM has recently unveiled a supercomputing chip, which could be the first yields in the beginnings of this project.

They’re joined in the ring by Yale, which according to news sources recently unveiled the Yale Quantum Institute, as well as other scientific and computing groups eager to jump on the bandwagon. And unfortunately, the capabilities of so much computing power on a single machine are so outside the realm of expertise of current lawmakers that there’s no telling if we can expect any protocols or limitations to be put on this advancing science to prevent a possible ‘Skynet’ scenario.