McGill Professor Says Quantum Computers Will Be Able to Execute Otherwise Impossible Tasks

(McGillTribune) Claude Crépeau, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and a quantum computing pioneer, is interviewed here by The McGill Tribune.
Crépeau noted the importance of the leaked Google paper and quantum supremacy. “It is a milestone,” Crépeau said. “With limited technology [today], we can make things [that would have been] unbelievable 20 years ago.”
Companies are investing in quantum computing at a large scale because they already know of applications to take advantage of its strengths. One such applications is in cryptography. Investigating quantum secrecy for cryptographic use could have profound implications. It may not affect all cryptographic communication, but it could still allow us to keep our most important secrets safe. There are many other promising quantum applications, such as simulating chemical interactions and financial markets, in addition to breaking old and creating new cryptographic systems.
“[I can say with] 75 per cent certainty, something practical [will develop] in 20 years,” Crépeau said. “[But] I could be completely wrong about all that.” According to Crépeau, we could soon be looking at a world where people use quantum computers to execute tasks impossible to do otherwise.
The potential applications for quantum computers are as limitless as they seemed for classical computers in the mid-20th century.