
Jian-Wei Pan, China’s “father of quantum” - ALee
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612596/the-man-turning-china-into-a-quantum-superpower/
======
cprasai
I think QKD encryption will be essential in the future for securing our data.
Data leaks as seen with big tech companies like Google, Facebook, etc. are a
massive problem and will only continue to become worse as big data grows. QKD
could nip the problem in the bud (may require large infrastructure investment)
and save us all a lot of privacy headaches as we move towards a data-fueled
future.

~~~
ardy42
> Data leaks as seen with big tech companies like Google, Facebook, etc. are a
> massive problem and will only continue to become worse as big data grows.
> QKD could nip the problem in the bud (may require large infrastructure
> investment) and save us all a lot of privacy headaches as we move towards a
> data-fueled future.

Can you go into more detail? I'm inclined to disagree because most "data
leaks" rarely seem to be about cracked encryption, but rather software bugs,
poor security practices, or just plain giving the wrong people access.

------
dikaio
Wait, I’m confused... how is a country like China that is known for the most
horrific human rights violations be a proponent for technologies like quantum
computing and encryption?

~~~
shdh
National security

------
xiaodai
If people think that China's is still a science backwater think again. China
actually ranks 2nd on many science research areas by the number of articles
published in prestigious journals (e.g. Nature), so China is one of leaders in
the 2nd tier. The 1st consists of US only and the 2nd tier consists of
contenders like Germany, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea
and Spain (just) if I remember correctly. I need to dig up the figures, but it
was compiled by a reputable publication.

~~~
KaoruAoiShiho
Nobody thinks China is a "backwater", but it's seriously underperforming vs
expectations from purported statistics. How come it only produces half the
worthwhile research while having double the scientists? Something is seriously
screwed up there.

~~~
PakG1
To be fair, I think extremely ignorant people who don't follow any updates
about scientific and technological progress probably still think that China is
a science backwater. But their opinions don't really matter because they don't
really get involved in the conversation anyway, and at the odd times they do,
they have large misconceptions like how coal usage is clean, beautiful, and
good for the planet.

