In this interview with Supertrends, Denise Ruffner, former business director for several tech companies, co-founder of DiviQ, and member of Supertrends’ experts network, dives into the current state of quantum computing, its potential impact on different industries, and the prospects of this technology for the future decades.  

Supertrends: How would you describe quantum technology to someone who doesn’t have a very clear image of it? What does this technology offer? 

Denise Ruffner: The way I talk about quantum computing starts with my experience in high-performance computing, where you can find these huge computers. They are the size of a basketball field. And when you look at a computer like that, you think it must be able to solve every problem in the world because it's so big, but it doesn't. If you want to double the performance of these computers, you need to buy a whole second one, so then you would have two basketball fields. Quantum computing is a new technology. It has been talked about since the 80s by Richard Feynman. It was only in 1995 when it was shown that it can work - since then, there has been a lot of work on building these computers. What is different about quantum computing is it uses physics to do the computation. It's going to be very powerful. It's even very powerful now. Because when you want to double the capabilities of these computers, you simply add one more quantum bit, also known as a qubit. There is quite a lot of power as the number of qubits increases. And what's exciting is to watch this market grow and see the results that the different companies are getting.

Supertrends: At what stage are we in the evolution of quantum technology?

D.R.: Quantum computing is still in its infancy. We have a lot to learn about growing these computers, dealing with errors, and developing software that can work on larger and larger computers.

Supertrends: What are the major areas or sectors that are expected to be impacted by the implementation of quantum technology?

D.R.: There may be more sectors as computers grow and people come up with creative ideas, but today we look at optimization. How do you fit boxes in a truck or in a shipping container to use as much space as you can? This is a problem for airlines or logistic companies and quantum computing can help with it. The second area is machine learning. We hear a lot about ML and AI, and there are quantum applications that could be applied to risk management and finance, marketing, customer segmentation... a lot of different applications can be done in this area. The third one would be what I call complex systems, like fluid dynamics. We could use quantum in simulations for automobiles and airplanes, helping to create better designs. And finally, I think what you all have been hearing about is cryptography and the security of your computer networks. Quantum computing will be powerful, and it will be able to break the current standards of security. There's a lot of talk now about adding quantum-resistant security. 

Supertrends: And regarding sustainability, does quantum computing have something to say?

D.R.: Yes! When we look at climate change, there are a lot of things that contribute. And there is a lot of work being done on weather and areas that pollute the climate - there's work on fertilizer, cement production, factories’ byproducts... When we look at climate change, we're looking not only at big things like weather, but we're also looking at different industries that pollute and how we can mitigate the pollution.

Supertrends: How is this technology going to impact everyday people? How are these people going to deal with quantum technology?

D.R.: I have two answers to that. First of all, quantum computing is a tool for complex problems, so it's not going to take over e-mail, billing, paychecks, Microsoft Word, or anything like that. Quantum computing is something that you and I are not going to have on our desks, at least not now. It will impact all of us differently. Quantum computing can look at how energy grids could be optimized, so we may have less downtime in them. We may have more optimization of where we can charge our cars... It’s going to affect us by making our lives easier in all sorts of ways, but it's not going to be on our desktop.

Supertrends: And what are the main challenges quantum computing is facing right now?

D.R.: Right now, we are in kind of phase one. We have shown that quantum computers can work and what we are doing now is growing the capabilities of a quantum computer. Earlier I mentioned qubits, and right now there is a lot of work being done to increase the number of qubits we need. Probably we need millions or billions of qubits to be effective. People need to slowly grow their computers and do it in such a way that there aren't a lot of errors. There's a lot of work being done and making the computers bigger.

Supertrends: Regarding the future, when would you expect quantum computing to become mainstream?

D.R.: To me, it is going to be in 10 years or so. People will hear a lot of different dates because some sectors are creating what I call very aggressive hype, so I look at 10 years to really grow these computers and get to know how to use them without errors.

Supertrends: How is the sector evolving business-wise?

D.R.: There is a shortage of people working in quantum computing. It's not only physicists, engineers, and software people that we need, but it's also businesspeople, accounting... A lot of people look at quantum computing and go, “Oh no, I can't do that.” But the jobs are very similar to other industries. It's just about taking the leap and saying, “Oh, quantum computing, sure.” We are trying to make it a little bit easier and be more open about what a company does and what a role is so that people feel more comfortable coming to the sector.

Supertrends: We have discussed the technology, but not your company. What does DiviQ do and what role does it play in this sector?

D.R.: In 2019 I left IBM, and I became chief business software officer of a company. And what happened is all these women started writing me notes or sending me stuff on LinkedIn and saying, “Help me get promoted”, “How do I solve this problem?”, “What should be my next step?”, “I just had a baby”… All sorts of questions. So, I started to answer them, and the questions turned into 30, 40, 50 a week, and I obviously couldn't do that and do my current job. So, I started a community called Women in Quantum. We had summits, mentoring, and different networking, and we did that to try to help women feel more comfortable in this industry and get the mentoring they were asking me for. The organization grew to 9000 people, so it got very big, and at the same time, I was getting approached by people suggesting having a chapter for LGBTQ, neurodiversity, and so on. We combined all these different areas into a new organization called Diversity and Quantum or DiviQ. Now it has 10,000 members and four different chapters led by different people. We have summits and we have a scholarship program that we are putting into place. We also have an SOS link where you can reach out to us if you're having problems with something, and we will help you. I'm really proud of it. It's a nonprofit, so nobody makes any money. It's completely volunteer. And you can find out about it at DiviQ.org.

Supertrends: You were recently awarded at the Quantum Innovation Summit celebrated in Dubai. What are your impressions about this award and what does it mean to your company and your mission?

D.R.: The award was shared, I want to be clear about that. But it was for leadership in quantum computing, and it was directed towards women. Getting a Leadership Award really meant a lot to me because I have been doing this since 2019 and it was a great recognition for me and DiviQ as an organization. I'm really thrilled to win it and it motivates me to keep on contributing.

Supertrends: How do you envision the company in 5-10 years? Do you think a lot of people will continue coming to your company? What projects are you aiming to develop?

D.R.: We already have funding for scholarships and mentorship. Right now, we are testing a software package that we were given access to so that we can figure out if it can help us manage all the people that are asking for mentorship. Those are the projects that are in process. Besides that, we are continuing to do summits that are open to everyone, and we have different topics. Our last summit was on failure, for example. All of us fail in life - how do people deal with it? Plus, we have a networking session so it groups people together randomly, and it's fun because you get to meet different people around the world and kind of form your own network.

Supertrends: How would you summarize the current situation and prospects for the future of quantum computing?

D.R.: Quantum is an amazing thing. I'm very positive about it and I suggest that everyone out there pays attention when they see an article in the newspaper or listen to something on the radio or TV. I think all of us need to learn in our lives and quantum is here to stay, so learn about it, even if it's just listening to the radio. Try to learn a little bit about it and that's going to help you as this industry grows. I think that's going to be really helpful to you in your life and your career.

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This text is a transcript of an interview conducted in March 2024. The interview was conducted as part of Supertrends “Interviews with Experts” series. Please note that the transcript may have been lightly edited for editorial reasons.