DISCUSSION "Strategy for the Development of Quantum Computing and Post-Quantum Cryptography in Slovakia"
Quantum computers promise a breakthrough in science and industry, but they also present a fundamental challenge to today’s encryption. A panel of experts warned that although the technology is still mostly in laboratories, we need to prepare for the threats now. Slovakia and the EU are launching strategies to contain the risks and seize the opportunities. A quantum computer solves certain tasks in a way that is out of reach for classical machines. Instead of a fixed sequence of instructions, you set up conditions and the system "finds" its way to a solution — like a coin that doesn’t just land heads or tails, but for a moment "balances on its edge." This approach is different from the universal programming we are used to in conventional computers. Today’s quantum devices remain mostly in laboratory conditions at extremely low temperatures. Their building blocks are very unstable and last only briefly, making it difficult to run longer algorithms. Scaling is hard: from roughly a thousand qubits we see today to the millions needed for "big" tasks will not proceed at the pace of Moore’s law. As the panel noted, doubling the number of "unruly" qubits is not like adding another server — it’s far more complex.How a quantum computer works and where we are today
Anton Jelenčiak
Michaela Abel
