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Good afternoon and welcome to the City Club of Cleveland, where we're devoted to conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive.

It's Friday, November 21st, and I'm Cynthia Connolly, director of programing here at the City Club.

And pleased to introduce today's forum, which is presented with support from Greater Cleveland Partnership and part of the City Club's Health Innovation Series, in partnership with Medical Mutual.

Quantum computing may sound like something out of a sci fi TV show, but the future is here and it's right in our own backyard.

In 2023, Cleveland Clinic and IBM deployed the first quantum computer dedicated to health care research.

It was part of a ten year partnership to accelerate that research in healthcare and life sciences.

Unlike supercomputers, quantum computers uses qubits that harness the laws of quantum mechanics, making it possible to explore certain complex problems and calculations calculations that are impractical or even impossible for supercomputers.

For context, in what would take a supercomputer years to execute, a quantum computer can complete it in hours, if not minutes.

This is a complete game changer when it comes to research bottlenecks and identifying new scientific discoveries.

And it's not just Cleveland Clinic tapping into this innovative technology.

Have we entered a new race to the top in tech?

And what does it mean to have one of the first quantum computers powering advanced biomedical research right here in Northeast Ohio?

Joining us on stage are three experts directly involved with the quantum computer here in Cleveland.

We have Allison Botros.

IBM Discovery Accelerator engagement program director at IBM research.

Brandon Musarra , program administrator of computational life sciences at Cleveland Clinic, and E.G.

Nadhan, IBM Quantum senior ambassador.

And of course, moderating the conversation today is Betsy Kling, chief meteorologist and anchor at WKYC.

Before we begin, a quick reminder for our live stream and radio audience.

If you have a question during the Q&A portion of the forum, you can text to (330)541-5794, and City Club staff will try to work it into the program now.

Members and friends of the City Club of Cleveland, please join me in welcoming our guests today.

Cynthia, thank you so much.

You know, when I was asked to moderate this forum today, I was excited because I love science, and I was like, oh, yeah, I'm in.

And then I started to read it and I realized, wow.

Ooh, we got a lot to talk about here.

It's fascinating.

And I had a bit of a light bulb moment during my deep dive, my crash course on quantum computing.

And I know enough to help to guide the conversation.

And that's all I need to know for now.

So we are going to learn a whole lot more.

And I think when you come away from today, my goal is that you all will have that same idea.

I know enough to ask more questions.

That's what this is all about.

So not and we're going to turn to you first because you're the ambassador after all.

So, I, I'm just so fascinated by the fact that quantum computing is just different.

We are used to binary computing right now.

Classic computing.

Can you explain to us what the difference is and take us kind of down the roadmap of why it is so important?

Absolutely, Betsy, so glad to be here.

To Betsy's point, when you think about classical compute the way at least I have grown up learning about computing.

It is basically, you know, it's a flip flop.

It's a bit which has got two values, either 0 or 1, true or false.

And the whole classical compute is based on that one premise.

We work with the thousands of bits and so on.

But whatever we do, it is that flip flop state of 0 or 1.

Let's equate that to a coin toss.

You know, Cleveland Browns games.

There are so many times that we actually use the coin heads or tails.

And in the classical compute when you flip it it lands.

And then we call and then we see whether we are right or wrong, yes or no and so on.

Now let's go back to the same coin toss it, toss it and it's flipping right.

What if every state that it is in, including, you know, the topsy turvy then is going on and off every one of those states you can track?

Let's just say it is a 100 states.

That is what the qubit allows you to do with the same amount of hardware, chip, memory and all of that.

So you're going from two possible values to let us say a hundred possible values.

So what you could do with ten what think about what you can do with ten qubits versus ten bits.

So that's the type of computing power just for, you know, just for getting a basic understanding.

Pick the word.

You know, the number 100.

It's at least 100 times.

But you know how much it is.

It depends on various other factors, but it by an order of magnitude, your computing power just skyrocketed.

Well, if you've never seen a picture of a quantum computer, at least the one in the lobby of the clinic is just a big box, right?

But inside it's all these tubes and it looks really cool.

And it all comes down to a processing unit about yay big.

Can you explain what all the stuff is and how it relates to the processing unit?

So it's basically the hardware that it takes to keep track of all the states.

And another, you know, metaphor.

What I would give for you is like, if you think of a sphere, if every point on the sphere, you can actually have coordinates for and track it, and the probability of the values being in those areas, the wiring and the tubing, it's all for, you know, making those computations.

And Betsie will get a kick out of this.

The temperature in the, you know, for that computer it's like way, way below.

And I'm going to let Betsie talk to you.

So what is the weather like?

Right now?

So the weather is a little chilly.

We're average right now would be about 5052 degrees today.

So we are talking -273 degrees Kelvin somewhere in the -400°F.

That's the type of cooling that you need for these things to do what it does.

But the chip itself is, you know, it's all for this teeny weeny chip.

It's, you know, I think I can fit it in the palm of my hand.

So that's what is going on.

It's it's amazing to me that, you know, we are so in tune with the on or off.

Yes or no, true or false.

And when you have a computer that's happening fast with multiple, you know, different computations that are happening at once.

So we have not just the on or off happening, but it's on and off happening simultaneously all over this little sphere along with the probability.

There you go.

What's the probability that you know that that qubit is going to be in this particular state.

And that's what we work with.

And that is what allows us to, you know, compute and add a whole lot more compute to address different use cases.

So I just keep imagining Captain Kirk yelling down, Scotty, we need more power, right?

And that's where quantum computing comes in.

That's the more power.

So let's talk about how we get to use this.

Now.

We have all this computational power.

Where can we use this.

So the biggest application would be around problems we can't address today.

So if you think about trying to simulate certain data or simulate certain molecules or proteins, we can't do that today.

Even with the most US supercomputers combined together, it still wouldn't be able to simulate those things.

So we're looking at problems that we couldn't address in the past.

So things like material design, new molecules, new drug discoveries.

So some of the projects that we're doing with the Cleveland Clinic is early stage drug discovery.

So looking at those molecules at the very small minute level of things that we couldn't even define before.

So that's what you need to do is look at problems that you can't address today, that you need to look at at that really granular level.

And that optimizing across those different areas not in brought up the probability side of things.

And, you know, the old yes or no capability was one calculation at a time.

And I've seen the analogy with, a maze.

Right.

The mouse in the maze.

So the mouse will go into the maze and try one turn at a time and back up and try and find its way through quantum.

It would do all of the possibilities at the same time, and find the most likely path and take it.

That's the probability side of things.

You were going to say something.

I'm going to use that analogy.

I stole it from somebody else, so don't credit me.

I just want to give you some numbers to Allison's point about the supercomputer.

So I'm sure I'm just going to make a statement.

Bold statement.

Every one of you, you have a laptop.

Just going to say the laptop is about past a power of about 32 qubits.

Okay.

The equivalent.

So, work with me here.

The supercomputer that Alison referred to is about 48 qubits.

All right.

Now you take all the classical computers in the world together.

Let them, you know, how about it?

That comes to about 60 qubits.

So what I mean by that is 60 qubits can do the work that all the classical computers in the world do together.

All right.

Now the IBM chip today is 120 qubits just by itself.

And in 2029 we are targeting 200 qubits that so laptop 32 qubits all computers together 60.

And the chip that IBM is working on is 200 qubits.

Just to, you know, get a sense for the scale and the possibilities.

So Alison, I'm going to bring you in on this.

We briefly talked about this before, but if you take all this computational power and now you combine it with AI as well, think about that friends.

Like we have huge buildings filled with servers doing calculations for AI right now.

This comes down to a chip, right?

It's fascinating.

So we've already combined we like to think about it in terms of bits and qubits and neurons.

So neurons are the AI side okay.

So taking how the brain operates that's your neurons.

The bits are like the zeros and ones.

Right.

So those are things that people are doing today.

And then the qubits are the, you know the the permutation.

So we've already combined Cleveland Clinic's high performance computer with their classical with their, quantum on premise computer.

So that combination makes it even easier for the users of the quantum machine to use it more quickly.

Now, we're looking forward to how we combine AI with the quantum computer and looking at new algorithms and new applications that can be applied with the Cleveland Clinic to help.

So we get towards quantum advantage by 2026.

So really exciting time to be part of this partnership.

It is.

And I mean, it just kind of just opens up all kinds of possibilities for research, which is where Brandon kind of comes into the conversation now.

So specifically in the medical and life sciences side of things, when you started to kind of get the introductory introduction to this quantum computing, what was your first thought?

What did we get ourselves into?

We're we're just scratching the surface with what I can do.

It's kind of table stakes right now.

You walk into any professional or personal forum, someone references AI.

So the the upskilling of the workforce of the future is really what we're focusing on.

Not only do we have a plethora of PhD researchers, clinician scientists at the Cleveland Clinic that know enough to be dangerous, but, you know, we're not asking a clinician to learn quantum computing overnight, but what they can do is partner with the right data scientists, the right engineers, that know how to do the coding, quite frankly, because this is a whole new language.

So I guess I raise you your question and say that we were excited, but we knew that we had work ahead to really build that, that workforce.

And, and really, what underpins putting the Cleveland Clinic's quantum computer or putting IBM's quantum computer in Cleveland was the Cleveland Innovation District, which is bringing jobs, bringing economic development to the city.

And Cleveland Clinic is one of those anchor institutions.

We feel like this is just one tool in our toolbox.

What kind of questions are being asked?

Sure.

So right now, we are asking a questions keyword, asking it and experimenting because right now we are quite literally using quantum physics.

And so there's going to be probabilistic and there's going to be some area that you have to look at.

So right now but we're using it for things like drug discovery.

How do proteins fold in the human body.

How do you, drugs actually bind to the human body.

So really that granular level.

There's one anecdote, if you don't mind, real quick.

So we have a lung doctor at the Cleveland Clinic who's actually using quantum computing to push the envelope.

His best test that he has found in industry can predict that you have lung cancer with about 60% certainty.

And that's what's on the market right now, 60% certainty of being able to poke you and draw blood before you even present in clinic to have lung cancer, independent of you being a smoker.

That's great, but do we make decisions on 60% certainty?

Do we go give that person, the therapy that they, you know, risk to benefit analysis.

And so he's pushing the envelope by doing these experiments with IBM to see if he can get that greater than 60% so that he can transform medicine someday.

60% certainty in medicine is a lot different than 60% certainty.

And whether I will tell you that it most certainly stakes are slightly higher.

Let's talk about, kind of the usage of this.

The Cleveland Clinic is not just holding this hostage, you know, in the lobby there, as a tour stop.

But this is actually a part of the community.

The community is starting to take advantage of this, too.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the program?

Yeah.

Thanks, Betsy.

So we call it science on display is the way our fearless leadership describes it.

And there were, I believe, about what else in ten different locations that we looked to put it at one different time.

And believe it or not, every one we actually had to do seismic studies to understand what the, the scale showed us, because if it was too close to Carnegie Avenue, the ambulances going by would throw it off because it needs to be in such a perfect state.

At one point, one of our leaders wanted to put it in the main lobby of the Cleveland Clinic.

As soon as you walk in.

But there was too much patient foot traffic, and you would probably advise not putting it in the truly wide open like that.

So anyway, we landed in our research commons, or a lobby.

And, and so we call it science on display.

And so although you don't just walk up to it and plug into it with a USB drive or anything like that, please don't do that.

You know, we did have to notify senior leadership at IBM.

We are putting it in the wide open, and they were up for the task.

And so what's been really nice, Betsy, though, is we're able to bring people in in the community.

So I've had middle schoolers and high schoolers, which I see our president today, actually come in and say, I didn't even know this existed, but I want to do that when I grow up.

And so that has been like those, if we would have put it.

So our we have a data center, obviously, like every big business does, if we would have put it in a fireproof, waterproof, earthquake proof building in a remote location, I wouldn't have been able to do that.

And so having it 500ft from Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio is actually really cool.

I want to make a connection real quick.

We'll kind of pause a second on the vibration and the control factor, and that's where the cold comes in.

Can you address you know, we talked about it having to go to near absolute zero.

Why is that so important.

And then put that vibration part in there too.

So error mitigation is something that is very critical when you're working with probabilistic techniques.

And the same number of qubits, the more errors that we can mitigate, the more the accuracy.

And for the wiring that is inside to do its job right, it is important that from a hardware standpoint and an environment standpoint, the, you know, we reduced the number of possible errors.

There are multiple techniques.

The first the environment.

And then software wise, we are working on more and more techniques to aiming for error correction versus error mitigation.

So the fundamental reason for the temperature and the environment is to reduce the possibility of errors.

It still happens.

So that is why the mitigation techniques are in place and growing 2029 is when we are aiming for error correction and fault tolerant computing.

So that's that's the reason.

So we're slowing those molecules down so they don't move.

We can predict the way they're going to move.

Yes exactly.

And if we don't have that there's the error okay.

There you go.

Molecular motion is a thing.

It's an important thing to right.

Just the capability to take anything.

The near absolute zero is amazing.

But to be able to do it on such a small scale, it's next level again, we need more power.

The quantum innovation catalyze our program.

This sounds really cool.

And it's kind of, a really good way for Cleveland Clinic to do a little flex, get a little something for it.

Can you tell us a little about that?

Yeah.

Thanks for bringing that up.

So we're in the middle of our second cohort of the Cleveland Clinic.

Quantum innovation catalyze our program.

I'll let you repeat that.

So, so that being said, everyone, we actually partnered with a venture capitalist firm out of, Silicon Valley, and they've committed to bringing almost a quarter million dollars to the table per company that's going to be matched by Cleveland Clinic through some type of in-kind contribution, whether it's time on the computer or our expertise, our knowhow.

But, Betsy, we were talking earlier, so I really believe in that.

If you build it, they will come.

If you all are sports fans and know that Field of Dreams quote.

So we built this computer and we have people flocking to us.

As much as we want to reach out, people are flocking to us.

And so this catalyze our program is actually a sanctified way for us to go ahead and, you know, screen them.

You bring the biomedical problem.

Maybe we didn't think of that.

I know we didn't think of that already because we're still early in our journey.

And how can we collaborate and partner with you.

So, we have almost 20 applications and they're from around the world.

Betsy.

So it's not just Cleveland based startups.

These are startup companies that are looking to partner with the Cleveland Clinic and dabble in venture capitalism to actually fund this, high stakes research.

So who how do we know?

When will we know who is in and who is out?

So we'll be announcing in December and then they're going to start early next year.

So, so that'll be our second.

As I said last year, we, we kind of did a pilot and we had some companies already publish in the nine months we gave them.

Publish is a big deal in medicine and academia.

Publishing your findings in peer reviewed journal, peer reviewed journals and such.

So yeah.

So stay tuned.

But we look forward to, selecting those committees.

That's what I'll be doing over Thanksgiving is looking at applications.

So Cleveland is on the map, y'all.

The global stage yet again.

Allison, when we talk about these quantum computers, there's not many of these around right now.

I was just going to say building on the build it, they will come.

I think the special thing about having an on premise system that's dedicated to health care.

So this is the first IBM quantum computer in the world that is dedicated to healthcare and life sciences.

And it's right here in Cleveland.

So really, really excited to be a part of that.

And by building it, we're bringing in not just startups and things like that, but also bringing in international programs that are now coming to Cleveland.

So one example is the coding school.

That's an international program that does education and AI and computation and quantum computing.

So they have a program called Qubit by qubit.

Well, normally kids would sign up and join online because we have a system here.

And we partnered with the coding school.

They hosted a class for a week, a full summer camp here.

Physically in Cleveland.

So we partnered with Cleveland State University and, the Cleveland Clinic and IBM and hosted them in person.

We also educated, educators.

So high school and middle school teachers came for that.

That wouldn't have happened if we didn't have a physical system here and the investment from these different parties to do that.

Another example with the Greater Cleveland Partnership and get reaching out to the community.

We ran and I've spoke on a couple of different occasions for large scale educational opportunities for students in the community.

And what I think is really special about Ohio and Northeast Ohio in particular is, the connection with, you know, the very first high school in Ohio focused on technology.

I don't know if you all knew that John Marshall School of it.

Is the very first school an entire state focused on technology.

And they're here and our first intern is part of the Discovery Accelerator project with IBM and Cleveland Clinic was a high school student from that school.

Similarly, the state of Ohio is the very first state in the country to have computing standards defined for K through 12 education.

For quantum computing.

Who does that right.

Like that's really special.

It's really great.

So it's one of those things that, you know, yes, it helps to have a PhD and know physics and high advanced math.

But you can start early.

You can, start to tackle these concepts early on at a young age.

And that just makes me so proud to be part of this partnership and proud to be a Clevelander.

And part of, you know, making an impact in the community garden.

I wanted to.

So in addition to what Allison said, I wanted to give a broader perspective on what IBM is doing.

The fact that, you know, Cleveland Clinic is doing this with IBM is incredible.

But globally, I wanted to share some numbers, and I cannot remember these numbers.

Like Betsey remembers, temperatures happened, I just guess.

Anyway, it's like.

There is an IBM quantum network that has got, you know, companies around the world, and there are 300 plus companies that are part of that with 600,000 users, 50 industry clients, 40 quantum innovation centers is being Cleveland right here in your backyard.

There is 139 others around the world with eight of them have on prem dedicated systems like Cleveland does.

There are 125 plus members in the chassis, 170 academic and research institutions.

So last time I was here, you know, there was, you know, the faculty from different universities in Cleveland, Cleveland State and others were there.

And there was a session that Cleveland Clinic organized as an accelerator program.

So being part of that network is, you know, extremely important for such collaborations.

Since two 2016, IBM has deployed 60 quantum devices, less than 100 qubits, 25 quantum computers, more than 100 qubits, 85 systems deployed, and then 3 trillion plus circuits run on our systems.

So just wanted to give a sense for, you know, who Cleveland Clinic is partnering with.

I mean, you see the three letters, but there is access to a global network, a global ecosystem.

So yes, locally in Cleveland, but can scale globally.

But you got to have people to run it.

Yes.

And you got to have people to service it and you got to have all that infrastructure around the actual hardware to make it all happen.

So let's kind of dive in on the future now, right.

How do we establish Cleveland as the place to be for quantum computing?

How do we do that?

Alison.

So I think it starts with these educational programs that we have we have some internally with the Cleveland Clinic.

So it started as Brandon said, building up the skills.

And there was a lot of, linguistics education for each other.

Right.

So teaching the Cleveland Clinic the language of quantum computing and AI, and similarly teaching, the Ibmers, we have a lot of people focus on health care, but also a lot of people who are just specialists in computing.

So learning each other's language and how to communicate that and then building those skills.

So we have a lot of training programs that are free and open to the community, but also specialized programs for researchers at Cleveland Clinic to build up those skills.

Then we branch out to the community, right?

So the training that we have to offer, anyone can go online, at all levels.

So there's business education of just what is compute, what is quantum computing.

Or you can get into the very granular steps.

And then I think it goes to the educational programs at the different universities as well.

So locally, Cleveland State, Kent State, Case Western University have classes on quantum computing.

And Miami University has now a whole new major in quantum computing.

So having more and more opportunities like that will help build that workforce of the future that's needed to help run these and and know how to take advantage of the increased computational power that's coming.

And so just to piggyback off of that, so, believe it or not, everyone there is no that we know of no undergraduate degree in quantum computing right now.

That just kind of tells you how new it is.

You can go get a master's, you can get a PhD, you can get certifications.

And so Miami strategic plan Miami University of Ohio in Oxford, in case you're not familiar, they actually approached Cleveland Clinic and said, next fall we are coming up with the first undergraduate degree in quantum computing.

Can our students trained on your hardware being the computer.

And we said, absolutely.

So that just goes to show you that you don't have to actually be in Cleveland to reap the benefits of this machine.

It's all access to the cloud.

That's when I made the joke about plugging in with a USB drive.

We don't actually have people in the basement, like coding in the dark or anything like that.

We actually, this is all access through the cloud.

And so, what's amazing, Betsy and I know we're nerding out on you, but these are students.

These are students that are actually using real hardware.

Not And Ellison would know that a lot of students don't actually get to use that.

They use what are called simulators.

And simulators are great for what they're they're intended for.

But this is actual hardware.

So long way of saying that, in the spirit of if you build it, they will come our neighbors all the way down in, what is that?

Southwestern Ohio.

They actually want to be part of the Cleveland Innovation District as well.

Not so, the students of today going to a college, they can avail the, you know, the courses that Allison and Brandon talked about.

But if you think about, you know, the kid who is going to middle school today, you know, kids, grandkids in the community, in your families, what can they do so that when time comes, they can be better prepared to go for the very same courses in the future?

And I have some tips on that because you asked about the future.

So we need to prep the children of today for the future, right?

So it starts with courses.

And what children can focus on is from a mathematic standpoint, linear algebra.

That's fundamental probability theory.

These are all subjects that they can come to grasp with, so that they are better prepared on physics, quantum mechanics, in the comp science, you know, the classical computing principle.

So I want to digress a bit here.

Please don't think that the quantum computers are replacing the classical.

That's not what is happening.

The classical computers still exist.

They will reach out to the shepherds, the quantum processing units for quantum computing, just like we reach out to GPUs.

Graphical processing unit for AI.

Excuse me, I want to paint a broader map for you.

Let's say you're going from point A to point B. You can walk, you can bike, you can, you know, drive or you can take a flight.

So in this journey you can continue to use the classical bits, the classical, the CPUs that have long stood the test of time for certain use cases.

When you feel that you need more power, do you want to explore new problems?

You take a flight for a different type of problems.

You take a different flight.

That would be the GPU with AI.

So you're kind of continuing the same journey, but you now have more resources for different scenarios, which is why in being prepared for quantum, you still need the back to the basics classical computing principles.

You need to educate yourself on that because I'm still trying to figure out parental permissions on devices at this point.

So I got a long way to go.

Right.

We got to fill that gap.

All right.

Well, we are about to begin the Q&A portion of our, forum today.

For those that are just joining us via the live stream and of course, our radio audience, I'm Betsy Kling, the chief meteorologist and anchor at WKYC channel three here in Cleveland.

I'm the moderator of today's forum.

We're talking about the new quantum computer with representatives from both IBM and Cleveland Clinic.

It is an on premise quantum computer at Cleveland Clinic.

Here with me on the stage is Allison Buttrose, IBM Discovery Accelerator engagement program director at IBM research.

We also have Brandon Massara, the program administrator of computational life sciences at Cleveland Clinic, and of course, Needham, who is the IBM Quantum Senior ambassador.

So it's a really awesome talent up here on the stage to answer all these questions.

I know there are more questions.

So we, encourage everyone city club members, guests, students, those joining via the live stream at City club.org or on our course, our live radio broadcast, 89.7 CSU idea stream public media to ask those questions.

Now, if you want to text a question, you can text it to (330)541-5794.

Again, that's (330)541-5794.

And city club staff will try to work it into the program.

Do we have questions already?

You have questions.

All right.

Thank you for an in the room.

Fascinating presentation.

It might be hard for you, but I'm going to ask you to address two potential downsides to quantum computing.

Number one, I've read that it could lead to the cracking of long established encrypted, security codes and passwords.

Please address that.

And number two, talk about the energy required by quantum computing compared to classical computing.

And shouldn't we be concerned about that?

Thanks.

I can speak to the first part of your question.

So when we try to do something good, there are always bad actors.

That's a fact of life.

And so we do today the it is factorization that is actually used to encrypt the passwords.

Our password miners, everyone's and the classical decryption mechanisms cannot be I mean, to take years, decades.

But when quantum computing gets there and I'm not saying they have when the bad actors get to it and quantum computing is able to your point, those passwords can be decrypted much faster.

So the question is not so much when it if it will happen, it will happen.

And it's like, when is it going to happen?

It's going to be a few years at least.

So the I will paraphrase your question to so what can we what can the good people do about it.

So the good news is that there are encryption algorithms that are approved by Neste, the government agency for security, that can actually protect the classical assets, including our passwords, so that even a quantum computer with a bad actor on it cannot, you know, exercise the decryption.

It will it will not work.

However, it's on us as the good world, so to speak, to make sure that those encryption algorithms are in place.

Maybe a couple of years back, I could not have sat here and said, we have encryption algorithms that will block the bad actors from decrypting the passwords, but now we do.

But just because they are available doesn't mean you're protected.

The companies that you know who serve us, whether it be an airline, a bank, a telco, whoever it is, they need to make sure that those encryption algorithms are now exercised on those classical assets.

So there is a to do, but we have the tools to address your concerns.

So for the first part of the question and then I would I agree.

And Adam, you know, us as an academic medical organization, aside from our employees, we call them caregivers.

Our data, our patient data is our most precious and most valuable asset.

And so we're not using it right now.

To be clear, legal would say that I preface with that we're not using quantum to protect our secrets right now, but I could see there being a roadmap that healthcare organizations will fall in line with some of these other big industries and actually use quantum cryptog Just to segue into your second question and nail this home.

So the quantum computer isn't actually even connected to our internet.

It's actually connected to a whole separate network that we had to bring in.

And so that's just how all in we are on keeping our secrets safe, but also being a good steward of this resource because yes, we did have to sign on the dotted lines when we put this machine in Cleveland that we weren't going to use it for bed.

So that's, part two of the first question and answer the second, really quickly.

So believe it or not, this doesn't actually use much more than like an MRI or a CT machine.

It's still on kilowatts.

So if any electrical engineers in here speak that.

So our engineers tell us that it's still on kilowatts.

I think the well it's not up there anymore, but probably the least eco friendly part of the device is actually the helium isotope that keeps it colder than outer space.

So that's probably hopefully answer your question.

Yeah.

Server farms, it's all about cooling the actual servers.

Right.

So there's a lot of energy that's consumed in air cooling or now liquid cooling is a thing.

So this is a totally different beast because you don't have to deal with that as much.

You still have to cool, you know, your little computers and whatnot.

But I don't know about you guys, but my phone, when it starts to heat up, you know, that's that's the little transistors or little bits and bytes working in there.

This is a little bit of a different animal.

The flip side of it too, is that some of the problems you'll be able to answer so much more quickly.

So something that might have taken several years to compute in the future, will you be able to compute very quickly?

So that's much less energy from that perspective, can we get the next IBM's, quantum computer to the, BMV?

That would be excellent, right?

We're going to speed things up a little bit too soon.

No, I know no no disrespect to our BMV partners.

We have another question in the room.

Good afternoon.

I'm a student from Davidson Aerospace and Maritime, and my question is how much money and resources was put into building this supercomputer?

Yeah, so I'll take that.

I won't disclose the price tag because as my friends, can understand, you can't just walk up to IBM and buy a computer.

Quantum computer.

You can buy time on it.

You can reserve time.

But just to order of magnitude, I'll let you use your imagination.

The market rate right now to run a quantum computer job is $1.60 US dollars per second.

So, yes, some air was let out in the room.

So you have to be you have to be a good steward of your resources.

So you can't just, as cool as it would be to flip a coin 100,000 times and figure out if the Browns get the ball in the first half or the second half.

We we have to be good stewards of that.

But anyway, I just wanted to nail home the point that that is what you're talking about when you're using this technology.

Technology gets more expensive and it gets bigger before it gets cheaper and smaller.

I want to add from a different by the way, I'm I'm very impressed with your question.

You know, as a middle school high school student and, you know, it's a very kind of I can you are the future, by the way.

You know, thinking about you know, what it takes, right?

Yeah.

But I want to come at this a different way.

And that is there is $55 billion that is globally being invested in quantum computing today.

I mean, I don't have the specifics for any organization, but that's the kind of funding that is going in globally and in the United States.

In the Quantum Initiative Act, there is $1.2 billion.

So, you know, you won't see this type of investment unless you see promise.

And that's what you know, Cleveland Clinic is an example of that.

Just some a little more specific.

So in financial services, you know is the stock going to go up.

How is my portfolio doing.

The risk management is 10 to 20 billion.

Energy environment and utilities.

It's for solar conversion.

It is 10 to 30 billion healthcare and life sciences overall drug development.

It's 40 to 80 billion.

So it is incredible investment happening.

I hope that addresses another aspect of the question you posed.

Dollar 60 a second.

That's what I came away with.

My dollar 60.

You better be on point when you ask that question.

You know what I'm saying is not like AI where you're like, oh, what's this?

No, I didn't mean that.

What about this?

Yeah.

No.

You want to be specific?

Another question in the room.

Hi, I'm Nakshatra, I'm a high school senior and I'm part of the city club of Cleveland's Youth Forum Council.

Recently, I've become interested in computational neuroscience.

I know you guys talked about what the youth can do to get involved in this field, but what strengths specifically, do you think that our generation, the youth, has to bring to this field specifically?

Great question.

I'll start.

So I think it's your adaptability and learning that growth mindset and learning new things.

So staying curious and adapting to new technologies, I saw a statistic that was something like, by the end of the 19, 2030s, 40% of skills today will be not needed.

So if you think about some of us who grew up and, you know, developers skills and that's your skill for life that won't exist anymore.

And I think the next generation, that is not how the world works, right?

You're always adapting and learning new things.

So I think embrace that and continue to have that curiosity to learn new things and be adaptable to new technologies.

Oh, I was just going to say as, selfishly, the largest employer in Ohio, the state of Ohio, the Cleveland Clinic is, I would if I could go back in time.

I love this question.

I would take more math, more math and, more sciences.

So I originally wanted to be a clinician.

And then I pivoted to going into health care, business.

Anyway, the Cleveland Clinic will always be in the news about how many nurses and doctors we can hire.

But don't forget, we have an entire research enterprise of thousands and thousands of caregivers and so by taking these classes, even all the way middle school, high school and graduate, etc., we just want to make sure that we're building that talent pipeline, because the clinician, the people at the bedside get a lot of the attention as they well deserved.

But we also hire data scientists, we hire PhD researchers, what's called a postdoctoral.

So just wanted to to layer that in.

Are you going to say something?

Yes.

So, if I were to go back, and learn what I learned when I went to school, what I would do differently is think about how do you apply what you learn.

And I was a student.

I would just, you know, go to class, do the homework, get the, you know, whatever scores needed and move on.

I myself never really thought about where can it be applied.

So my recommendation to you, I'm not going to get a second chance, but you have your chance now.

So think about for your generation, for your mindset.

What are the outcomes that you are looking for that you are not getting today?

And let me tell you, I cannot do that.

I'm not of that generation.

So you are the best person in your generation, you know, to look for what outcomes you would want and then try to see which technology is going to best address that.

Is it quantum?

Is it AI?

Is it cognitive computing?

And you know, there are many different technologies.

So then you start with the end in mind.

That's what I would say, which I didn't do when I went to school.

I. There's definitely some things that, you know are going to continue to grow.

And they're they're really not inherently going to change.

Right.

Basketball 20 years ago, 40 years ago, 80 years ago, it was still basketball.

Computing is totally different.

I hand my phone to my ten year old daughter for her to fix stuff.

That, and she just knows and she's not afraid to play with it.

You know, I test software for our weather computer vendor, and they hand it to me because they go break it.

They want to know where the where it's going to.

I got no problem.

I'm.

Buckle up.

Let's go.

Right.

So, I think it's just that that innate curiosity of our younger kids, combined with their just adaptability to technology, you don't have to learn all the background that we have had to try to learn.

And, you know, we're kind of old.

We're set in our ways.

I still have very specific ways that I do things.

I write my forecast on a piece of paper.

I have people on my team that only put it in the iPad so they can keep it.

I have notepads stacked in a closet and they have off file, so it's just a little bit different way of thinking, but it's just going to continue to catapult into the future.

It's really cool.

what's the possibility the next steps of maybe some other companies can take advantage of this and explain to us why they should all be clamoring to come to Cleveland to take advantage of this.

Thanks.

Yeah.

Do you want to touch on the, what it takes to build a quantum computer real quick.

And then I can augment the questions.

So just pass on.

Do you like.

Because this is very Cleveland specific.

Yeah.

Yeah sure sure sure.

So I think, you know, we want to be a frontier.

We want to be that pioneer that goes.

And, really sets the path of what quantum is going to be good at.

And what's it not going to be good at?

Because hopefully it's been clear today.

It's not going to take over what we call classical now.

But to your point about using it in other industries, we already talked about security.

We already talked about, but think about the widgets at the end of the day.

So Cleveland Clinic is using it on a molecular level to come up with drug discovery.

But imagine if we could work with a big, healthcare life sciences vendor in this in the region to come up with that next best durable medical equipment or that next best way to care for patients.

So, I hope I'm not taking too many liberties with your question, but, you know, if you come to Cleveland Clinic and have a life care, health care, life sciences problem, we wouldn't, you know, close the door.

I knew we'd entertain the idea of working together, especially a Cleveland based company.

So that those swage lock dials that you're seeing could actually be found on the floor of the building of the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Center or something like that.

My question is to extend all of these research investigations dependent on funding from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation.

Yeah, so I'll take that one to start.

But I know you guys aren't immune to the funding cuts and what have you.

So we're a heavily NIH funded institution at the Cleveland Clinic Research Enterprise.

We were detrimentally hit, but we found a way to persevere by all of the chaos that ensued at the beginning of this year.

But that doesn't mean that we we stopped our research.

So the projects still go on.

As a matter of fact, that, anecdote I said about the pulmonologist using quantum for lung cancer detection, he actually has a philanthropic grant from our foundation at the Cleveland Clinic.

So I guess that's just one another example of if the government's not going to pay for it, we've still feel that, that we can proceed.

And we reached out to our gracious donors, to actually fund that project for a couple of years.

But I don't know how much time we got Betsy to talk about the government funding.

Just just a line.

Just one sentence, please.

Does that help?

Help with your question?

So if if we don't get the NIH, NSF resources that we're looking for, that's great.

This is a big space race of of quantum computing.

But we still want to make sure we're good stewards of our finances and come to partner.

So another example, I'll conveniently use that venture capitalist firm that I talked about during our quantum catalyze, our program.

You know, we weren't looking.

So we're a not for profit health care organization.

We weren't necessarily looking for a handout, but actually the venture capitalists, $250,000, 250, $100,000 is actually, a drop in the bucket for them.

And so for them, funding for companies is making a huge impact.

But to them, it's, it's, low risk, if you will.

I just want to.

And this is just a data point.

Which it is in context here.

Our VP of research, he, he was leading, all the research, including quantum, is now the under-secretary of state in the Department of Energy.

Why am I sharing that?

Because the administration is obviously seeing promise in quantum.

Otherwise, why would they want an industry leader like that to be in that role?

So to me, that is a ratification that, you know, it's not like all funding is going to go away.

That is incredible interest in seeing what quantum can do for the humankind overall.

It's a great point to make.

Another question.

Hello, my name is Alexander.

I'm from Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School.

Thank you guys for having us.

My question is, how can organizations prepare for a post quantum world?

And what is that timeline?

Let me address that.

So, now this is IBM specific.

We have a program.

So when I go and talk about PKI post-quantum cryptography, which is what the question was about, we have technologies.

We have tools that enterprises can use.

The first tool is, it's a Guardian cryptography manager.

What that does is it will go through all the I.T assets.

It could be an application, it could be an Http server.

It could be, you know, a hardware, it could be an operating system.

It will do an inventory of all the assets that are likely to be compromised because of, you know, the post-quantum, concern.

And then that is, what we call, a mediator and what that that is explorer.

Sorry.

The explorer actually sees.

Okay.

Are there things happening?

Is it in the code, in the application?

Are there violations that can be detected?

So you kind of assess the probability of them being compromised.

And then there is that a mediator.

What that does is it actually, you know determines which what encryption to be applied to that and how to go about doing that.

So these are tools that help enterprises to be better prepared to protect the classical assets.

And IBM provides that.

So that's a step that companies can take to be safeguarded against a potential breakthrough in the future.

Not of do you think that we're going to have quantum computers in our pocket someday?

That's a loaded question.

The quantum chip can be in the pocket.

Yes.

And, size that over time you will see how.

I mean, this didn't exist.

I don't know, 20 years back.

And look at how much power that is in the handheld device.

So I see quantum kind of going the same route, but it'll take a bit more time.

Yeah, I think facetious, because the only thing I would add to that is, I like to use the example.

I don't imagine us having them in our pocket anytime soon, but maybe Apple or Google will encrypt our precious data on our phones with quantum cryptography.

So that is done at a remote center.

But I get asked that all the time when we give questions, when we give tours of the machine, are we going to have this in our pocket someday, just like we thought, with computers as big as rooms back in the day?

Yeah, yeah.

It always reminds me of, the, the computers that were in, you know, NASA.

That was literally an entire room.

And now we have phones that we're carrying around with us.

It's just incredible.

Another question.

So you've mentioned how, the different chemical processes going on with the quantum computer, also with, neurons.

Does the investment in Cleveland Clinic, with the Neurological Institute and also the largest brain study ever, is there any correlation with, brain figuring out the brain and quantum computers, and how those chemical processes might go about or anything in that sphere?

Do you have any thoughts you want me to, So the building itself, thank you.

Michael.

So the building itself is not going to be quantum powered or anything like that.

However, we are up here talking for 60 minutes about quantum, but as part of the Discovery Accelerator partnership, this ten year, 100 million plus partnership that we have with IBM, we're using all their spectrum of technology.

So that just underscores the point of quantum in and of itself isn't going to take over.

We actually have some projects right now that are looking using IBM's AI technologies, for instance, to, look at sleep disorders and look at aging and other things.

And so that all relates to the neurological part of your question.

Out of the gate, though, will the brain study want to use quantum someday?

I would imagine, for research, but it's not like powering anything or it's not, doing anything with the Institute just yet.

I meant more.

Could the brain study be an advantage to figure out figuring out quantum computers?

Does that have any correlation with how the brain functions?

Could that be an advantage point for Cleveland?

Let's say?

I don't think so because it's very different approach to how the technology works.

So the way neurons work with AI is just a fundamentally different, way of, computing and accessing data and representing data and computation than it is for quantum computing.

So I don't see, the connection there.

I'm not now at least.

But, we live in this notion of creating digital twins.

So maybe I'll augment your question by saying, imagine there being a day, ten years or so from now, 5 to 10 years, that we can actually create a digital twin of you and have enough data points on you, which you could argue mimics the way the brain works, but we can actually run a clinical trial on you in situ or in simulation.

That would be our ten year goal is to not have to poke you as much as a Cleveland Clinic research subject, but rather if we've amassed so much data, with your permission, how can we actually run a clinical trial to see if this drug that's approved for this use case actually could help you in another, disease state?

So I would kind of pivot your question more towards I look forward to the notion of creating digital twins.

Think about that with medically complex people, like all the different things they have to go through.

Right.

And then you're going to try and treat them with one drug that's that's incredible.

One last question and we're going to keep it quick.

I want to ask real quick about time, money and education.

So a buck 60 a second for running this.

That's great.

Props to the clinic for bringing this into town.

But we're educating all these students right now and IBM, Google, Microsoft.

Everybody's talking every year.

Oh we're going to try quantum supremacy quantum advantage whatever everyone's calling it.

But we still don't have these devices everywhere yet.

We're educating a new workforce.

Are we doing that too early?

Do we need more interventions by private industry or government to bring these devices into play?

So we don't have a bunch of trained workforce, not actually in jobs and not actually have an economic impact.

So we have about one minute left.

So Tldr on that is that, we are still experimenting.

It's not like we have, you know, success coming out.

An advantage.

And we are still experimenting.

So to do that we need to work with the computers we have today before it scales out to a device in our pocket.

So we will get there.

But not really.

I don't and I don't think it's too early because, there is access to quantum computers online today.

Right?

So anyone can go on to IBM, and get ten minutes of it.

So doesn't sound like a lot, but it actually is a fair amount just for learning and starting some experiments.

So I think it's important to start now.

Yeah.

The good question though, it's a really good question, is definitely something a lot of, parents are starting to think about, like, wait a minute, you know, where's where's JR going to go in ten years?

What should we study.

Is there going to be a job he's going to live in my basement is what my parents asked me when I went to journalism.

But anyhow, thank you so much, everyone, for joining us today.

And, of course, Allison, Brandon and Nadhan for, being a part of our City Club forum this afternoon.

Forums like this one are made possible thanks to general generous support from individuals like all of you and all of you, on the radio and online as well.

You can learn more about how to become a guardian of free speech at City club.org.

Today's forum was presented with support from Greater Cleveland Partnership and part of the City Club's Health Innovation Series, in partnership with Medical Mutual.

The City Club would like to welcome students joining us from Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School.

So thank you.

I hope you found lots of inspiration for future studies.

And of course, we would also like to welcome guests at the tables hosted by Crown Castle Data Infrastructure and Fiber, Cuyahoga Community College and Greater Cleveland Partnership.

The City Club will be off next Friday for November 28th.

Of course, that's the holiday break, but we will be back Friday, December 5th with Congressman Greg.

Men who represent southwest Ohio.

He's going to be discussing his new Great American Comeback Plan, which was just announced earlier this week.

You can learn more about this upcoming forum and of course, others, and get your tickets at City Club Dawg.

Thank you once again to our guests, to our members and friends of the City Club.

I get to ring the gong.

This forum is now adjourned.

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