AI might be king of the tech zeitgeist, but a little further down the road, just out of sight, quantum computing is growing. As a technology, AI is a lot easier to understand and far more tangible than quantum computing. We see it all the time, be it a standard update to our device, or as another LLMs horribly viral attempt to create art. Meanwhile in 2025 we celebrate 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics, which lead to this powerful yet baffling computing style that can't even run Doom.
Still, AI is widely misunderstood, while quantum computing is often thought of as something too complex to begin to understand and thus forgotten about. This has led to a world where almost everyone I talk to is freaking out about AI, but can only offer me a "huh" when I tell them what they should really be worried about for the future of tech is quantum computing. Especially when AIs and quantum meet.
The next few minutes are usually me badly explaining my low level understanding of quantum computing to someone who is very unsure how any of this relates to a ghastly recreated video of Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Thankfully, in this the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, UNESCO has put together a series of events all around the world with the goal of a greater understanding around Quantum. Something we all desperately need.
The events kick of today, May 13 2025, with a two-day in-person conference in Amsterdam called Quantum Meets '25. There are a few events in the lineup that are accessible online, like the public lecture with Gerard Milburn on the real-world applications of quantum computing. This will take place in Brisbane Australia, but has an online signup as well for anyone else looking to attend the free talk.
If you need a bit of a primer before jumping into the quantum content, Q-CTRL, a quantum technology company, has made its introductory seminar free, which should help to get familiar with the basics. The seminar is a series of videos available at the bottom of the page, and each will become available as they are recorded. It starts with a video to help you get up to speed which has just released. You can register for each before it's available to recieve a reminder.
There's also free trial portion of a course that also requires an email signup, and is just the 30 minutes introduction, which I did in about five, but it does provide a foundational understanding to get you started. There are also a few helpful articles on the Q-CTRL website.
With events scheduled on the quantum 2025 website running right up until December, there are talks, workshops, panels, and displays across all facts of quantum. If you've been waiting for a time to understand the move from bits to qubits then 2025 is a great year to broaden your binary horizons.
