Jenna: Good evening, and welcome to MetroFocus.

I am Jenna Flanagan.

Will computers be humanity's savior or will they spell our ultimate downfall?

That has long been a question from science-fiction, but these days if there is a lot of anxiety around technology thanks largely to the rapid advancements in AI technology that has many people worried the technology is moving too fast and in an unpredictable direction, but a new book by a theoretical physicist puts things in perspective.

It is called quantum supremacy, and how the quantum computer revolution will change everything.

He is a professor of physics at the city University of New York, and he argues that advancements in technology could solve a lot of the world's biggest problems from climate change to food insecurity to deadly diseases.

Joining me now to talk about potential advancements in quantum computing is the author, Dr. michio kaku.

Let's just get right to it.

When you talk about advancements in computing technology helping humanity and not hurting, what does that look like?

Because I think there is a lot of anxiety on the part of a lot of people right now.

>> When you are in the third stage of computer power, we had levers, cranks, and police to do a calculation.

After World War II we enter the second stage where we started to use electricity.

We started to use binary, transistors.

Now we are entering stage three, the quantum era where we are no longer computing on levers, gears, and bullies, we are computing on Adams.

This is the ultimate computer.

We talking about computers millions of times more powerful than today's computers, and this means Silicon Valley may become a Rust Belt unless they get on the bandwagon and realize that we are entering stage III, computing on atoms rather than transistors, and that will affect the environment, energy, biology, medicine, you name it, it will change everything.

Jenna: So then one of that -- bear with me, because I know so precious little, and what most people understand about this third face as you describe it of computing technology comes from, you know, movies, comes from Hollywood, so I think there is a concern that there could be something almost a kin to the Terminator films where computers are becoming self-aware and they become more powerful than us, and I my being ridiculously over the top?

Dr. Kaku: There is a debate among scientists, most scientists say that is many decades away, and we have many decades to prepare for that.

In the meantime quantum computers will solve many of the problems facing us today.

We are talking about mobile warming about food supply, cancer, aging, we are talking about diseases like COVID-19.

All of them will be attacked by quantum computers that compute on atoms rather than on what we have today, which is transistors.

If you want to see a quantum computer, just go outside.

See the flowers, the trees, the, these are quantum mechanical devices converting sunlight, the carbon dioxide into oxygen and chlorophyll, and the food that we see around us.

Mother nature is the strongest, most powerful quantum mechanical ball, and we are trying to duplicate that in the laboratory now, which means ultimately using molecules to attack cancer , to attack different diseases like the aging process, things that are way beyond traditional digital computers can be attacked by quantum computers.

Jenna: OK, because that was going to be my question is what that looked like.

It sounds like you are saying this is something that we have lived with in the natural world, not in the man-made world, so it is maybe not something to be feared?

Dr. Kaku: That is right.

A digital computer computes on zeros and ones called binary.

That is the digital revolution.

Mother nature does not use digital.

That is what humans do because we are so feeble.

Nature uses waves, electron waves.

This is called the electron theory, the theory of the atom, and this is how mother nature creates life, photosynthesis, and we are not trying to duplicate that in the laboratory.

We are a few steps behind by their nature, but we are catching up.

We are using quantum theory in order to manipulate nature's quantum theory of diseases, of food supply, of weather, all of the things that we know and love and sometimes have to deal with are going to be dealt with at the quantum level.

Jenna: OK, so then, for example, because you talked about how nature works.

We just went through a global pandemic where we saw this virus jump from person to person, country to country so fast that sometimes we were racing to keep up with it as the virus mutated.

How does quantum physics or quantum computing -- how does that help warn us or prevent perhaps this happening again?

Dr. Kaku: Two ways.

First of all, how is it that the COVID-19 virus becomes so deadly?

When you look at a picture there are spikes on the surface of the virus.

These spikes are keys to the kingdom.

They hit the cell in our lungs and unlock the mechanism.

That is how it enters into the body.

We do not know exactly what these -- we now know exactly what these keys look like, and we can begin to use quantum physics to disarm these keys.

That is how viruses infect us at the molecular level.

This is way beyond a digital computer.

A digital computer cannot manipulate the spikes on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.

This is where quantum physics comes in.

We are using quantum physics in order to alter the quantum physics of diseases, aging, cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease.

All of these diseases operate at the molecular level.

We are clueless using digital computers, which only compute on zeros and ones.

Quantum computers compute on atoms, and that is what the universe is made of.

Atoms and molecules, and that is how we will attack diseases like cancer and Parkinson's, diseases that are incurable with digital computers.

Jenna: So you brought up Silicon Valley and tell potential late this kind of computing could make Silicon Valley a Rust Belt, but one of the things a lot of the engineers who were working in Silicon Valley when they were creating the apps did not necessarily take into consideration humanity or human experience, like how people would use the technology they were bringing forward.

So my question to you is is it possible with these incredible advancements like you were talking about, being able to work on a cellular level, anatomic level, is it a possibility that came who are complicated and frequently flawed, could this be used in a negative, nefarious way?

Dr. Kaku: Let's be blunt about this.

These computers are so powerful even the CIA is worried, because the crown jewel of any nation are in the codes.

We have these huge codes to protect our secrets, nuclear weapons secrets and armaments secrets, quantum computers are so powerful they can break through many of these codes.

That is why it is not surprising at the U.S. government is monitoring the developments of quantum computers very carefully , but there are ways to guard against it, but we have to start now thinking about these things.

The U.S. government recently issued a directive saying, yes, quantum computers today cannot penetrate our codes, but it is coming.

It is coming, and we have to be prepared for that.

Quantum computers are so powerful, they can go right through the barrier set up by digital computers.

This is one reason why Silicon Valley is also jumping on the bandwagon.

Who are the leaders in quantum computing technology.

The Chinese and the United States.

Those of the two countries way ahead of everyone in terms of perfecting quantum computers, so it is a good thing we are investing in this technology today, because, yeah, there are some downsides.

Computer secrecy could be a with quantum computers.

Jenna: Given what you just said then, because I also understand you would understandably be a fan of science-fiction, but the way a lot of science-fiction presents the technology that you were talking about, again, going back to the Terminator example, it is in a very dark, ominous kind of way.

Is this something for all of us to be afraid of, or is this something we can put in the effort and work to get out in front of it to make sure that it is used in a positive way?

Dr. Kaku: Any technology can be used for good or bad.

On one side you can cut against disease, poverty, and ignorance.

The other side could cut against people, but we have time.

Quantum computers are just beginning to enter the marketplace now.

Some of them are being sold commercially, so because of that fact we have plenty of time to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances that they unfolded the future.

But right now, we see tremendous plus signs.

Companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

Silicon Valley is saying, yes, we too have to be in the ballgame.

IBM and Google and Microsoft, they are all jumping in.

This is the next hot thing on Wall Street.

People are investing in this technology now, and we can anticipate future problems before they emerge, so we will be one step ahead this time.

We will not be caught off guard.

Oh my God, this quantum computer is more powerful than we thought.

Jenna: In your book title when you refer to quantum supremacy, it is about the supremacy of humans using the technology, not the technology ruling over humans?

Dr. Kaku: The term comes from the scientific establishment.

Quantum supremacy is the point at which a quantum computer can exceed the power of our mightiest digital supercomputer.

That was passed two years ago.

Two years ago we created quantum computers that are billions times more powerful than an ordinary digital computer for certain tasks, not in general.

For certain tests quantum computers have already exceeded quantum supremacy.

Years ago quantum computed computers that 3 times 5 is 15.

Quantum computers will never get off the ground if that is how you can compute.

Today quantum computers can outrace any down -- any known supercomputer for any certain task.

That is why Silicon Valley is jumping on the bandwagon.

This is one of the hardest things in the stock market.

Jenna: For anyone who wants to learn more, the book is called quantum supremacy: Aldo quantum computer revolution will change everything, and thank you for joining us and helping to explain and perhaps demystify what could be coming in our future.

Dr. Kaku: Thank you.

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