When big technologies like cell phones, 5G networks and e-commerce arrive, it is important to get on the ground floor. That's why the U.S. government is building 12 new research centers, funded with hundreds of millions of dollars, to advance artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Congress has already allocated most of the funding for the projects. The White House on Wednesday detailed the work to be done, the names of the laboratories and universities that competed to house the 12 centers, and the reasons it believes the two technologies will work for the U.S. economy and national security are so important.
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The Department of Energy's five quantum computing centers, housed in US national laboratories, are funded through a five-year project valued at $ 625 million, backed by help from companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Applied Materials and Lockheed Martin $ 340 million is supported. The funds came from the $ 1.2 billion made available through the National Quantum Initiative Act, which President Donald Trump signed in 2018. However, the contributions of the private sector add a new influence.
Artificial intelligence is already being used extensively for tasks like speech recognition and spam filtering and is a top priority for Google, Facebook, Tesla and every other tech giant. Quantum computing has now become a highly competitive subject, and while it is very immature, many researchers believe that the strange physics of the ultrasound will revolutionize the development of new materials, financial forecasting, and delivery services. Although companies are already interested in both areas, government programs aim to promote more basic research than before.
The idea is to combine government, private and university research to accelerate key areas in the US. It's the same recipe used for previous U.S. tech triumphs such as the Manhattan Project to Build the Atomic Bomb in World War II, the Apollo Program to Send People to the Moon, and the military-funded efforts that Establish Internet.
Challenging US opponents
"The USA will continue to be the home for the next major technological advances," said US chief technology officer Michael Kratsios in a press conference. "We know our opponents are following their own progress."
US-led AI improvements would not stop the Chinese government from using facial recognition to identify protesters in Hong Kong or members of the Uigher ethnic minority. But they could mean breakthroughs will benefit US businesses - both those who build next-generation products and those who use them. And AI has military uses like identifying targets.
When it comes to quantum computers, various national security applications are possible: navigation sensors that work even when GPS satellites are disabled; a new class of secure communication; and quantum computers that can decipher the previously secure communications of others.
The U.S. government has a great cautionary history about American technology leadership: 5G. The largest players in building the all-important new cellular network technology are outside of the United States. This includes China-based Huawei, which the US sees as a security risk.
Private sector already eager
The private sector is already investing billions of dollars in AI and quantum computing research. Federal funding will multiply that investment and help reach areas beyond today's marketing plans.
"That gives us a roadmap for the next three to five years," said Dario Gill, head of IBM's quantum computing program.
The five quantum computers will be located in the national laboratories of Argonne, Brookhaven, Fermi, Oak Ridge and Lawrence Berkeley. Research areas are materials science, quantum networking and quantum sensor networks.
The AI centers will be at universities including the University of Oklahoma at Norman, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of California at Davis, and the Massachusetts Institute of technology.
"Improving quantum practicality will be a team sport," said James Clarke, Intel's director of quantum hardware, in a statement.
Quantum sensors, networks and error correction
A large quantum computer partner from industry is IBM, which has been investing aggressively in technology for years. It's involved in three areas, Gil said.
The first is the work of the Brookhaven Center to improve quantum computer error correction, a key technology for making large, widely useful quantum computers. The Argonne Center will work on quantum networking to connect multiple quantum computers for greater performance. The Oak Ridge Center will work on quantum algorithms, applications and sensors.
Although there are strong competitors involved, the centers are in the centers of collaborative work.
"The idea is to do basic research, advance the state of the art and share it," Gil said.
