Relevance of Near-Term Quantum Computing in the Cloud: A Humanities Perspective

Abstract

As quantum computers are becoming real, they have the inherent potential to significantly impact many application domains. In this paper we outline the fundamentals about programming quantum computers and show that quantum programs are typically hybrid consisting of a mixture of classical parts and quantum parts. With the advent of quantum computers in the cloud, the cloud is a fine environment for performing quantum programs. The tool chain available for creating and running such programs is sketched. As an exemplary problem we discuss efforts to implement quantum programs that are hardware independent. A use case from quantum humanities is discussed, hinting which applications in this domain can already be used in the field of (quantum) machine learning. Finally, a collaborative platform for solving problems with quantum computers – that is currently under construction – is presented.