Twenty-four years ago, the world prepared for the risk of a global meltdown due to the "Y2K bug" - the potential for computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after the year 2000. The issue at the time was many programs represented four-digit years with only the final two digits, making the year 2000 indistinguishable from 1900.
Because many computer systems could not correctly distinguish dates, this had the potential to bring down worldwide infrastructures for computer-reliant industries.
Thanks to the awareness of this as early as 1985, many systems could be modified in time, and the impact of the Y2K issue was minimal.
However, a new threat is looming with the advent of Quantum computing. These mega-powerful computers will potentially be able to decrypt current-day encryption by 2030, with some cybersecurity experts suggesting it could even be as soon as next year.
What does this mean for businesses and consumers? Any currently encrypted data could be stored until such a time that quantum computers can decrypt it, exposing our most important secrets and personal information to bad actors and hackers.
Are you prepared for the quantum threat? In this first episode for season six, we discuss the risks and opportunities of quantum computing with Chris Johnson, Senior VP and Global Head of Enterprise at Nokia.
Chris explains how quantum computing will exponentially increase data volumes and processing power, potentially allowing encrypted data from today to be decrypted in the future. He stresses the importance of preparing networks and systems now to be "quantum safe."
We also explore the positive uses of quantum, such as accelerating research and optimizing complex systems, and Chris shares examples of how quantum could speed up vaccine development and financial analysis.
Tune in to learn what Nokia is doing in the quantum space, how edge and cloud computing will work with quantum and three actionable steps you can take today to future-proof against quantum threats.
It's a fascinating look at an emerging technology with worldwide implications.
About Chris
Chris is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Enterprise at Nokia.
A veteran sales and business leader, Chris focuses on delivering critical network solutions for the world's most essential industries. He is a passionate champion of industrial digitalization for enterprises and government organizations, with a deep understanding of how innovative and intuitive digital technologies can bring resilience, productivity, efficiency and sustainability to any operation.
Drawing on his experience defining business strategies, developing teams, executing initiatives and driving profitable growth, Chris helps Nokia Enterprise customers harness the exponential potential of networks to unlock new business models and build capacity for long-term success.
Connect with Chris on Linkedin
Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. Pre-order the book that showcases these episodes at digitallycurious.ai/pre-order
Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill
For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com
Andrew's Social Channels
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@AndrewGrill on Twitter
@Andrew.Grill on Instagram
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Actionable Futurist podcast, a
show all about the near-termfuture, with practical and
actionable advice from a rangeof global experts to help you
stay ahead of the curve.
Every episode answers thequestion what's the future on,
with voices and opinions thatneed to be heard.
(00:23):
Your host is internationalkeynote speaker and Actionable
Futurist, andrew Grill.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Today in the podcast, we are back talking about
quantum computing.
We last addressed this topicover a year ago on series 4,
episode 22, with Richard Hopkinsfrom IBM.
Today I'm delighted to welcomeChris Johnson, senior Vice
President and Global Head ofEnterprise Adnochia.
Welcome, chris.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Thank you very much, Andrew great to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Could you give us your definition of what quantum
computing is and how it'sdifferent to normal or classical
computing?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Imagine, at a high level, a data crunching problem.
A compute problem might take athousand years.
Imagine that quantum computingmight be able to do that in a
day.
So what we're talking about ata high level is a paradigm shift
in crunching zeros and ones tocrunching physical protons,
neutrons, electrons, whateveryou want to call them, but
(01:14):
basically taking compute tomulti-dimensional capability.
This is just a monumentalchange in the way that we can
crunch data going forward.
It would be my kind of highlevel view.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I was asked a few weeks ago to address an audience
and include quantum in there.
I'm not a quantum expert so Ihad to do some quick research.
Quantum you're saying is aquantum shift, pun intended.
What does it mean for businesswhen quantum really comes into
its own?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's a good question and I think the way we
look at the world today innetworking terms right and my
background is obviously Nokia.
Here we talk about three kindsof networks.
We talk about mission criticalnetworks.
These are sort of underpinningsome of the kind of big
infrastructure in society energyutilities, big transport
networks, railways, publicsafety, police defense, this
(02:01):
kind of thing.
The second type is what wemight call business critical
networks.
This is where we've gotenterprises, industries,
healthcare, finance, just aboutany vertical you can think of
again leveraging connectivityfor their advantage.
And the third category issocial critical networks.
This is really this human rightto get access to the internet,
to have a broadband network inyour home.
(02:23):
Now, quantum is going to have animpact in a couple of ways
right.
One is that it's going toexponentially impact the amount
of data that we're trying tonetwork, and so, from our
perspective, we look at the 2030horizon and we're probably
talking a hundredfold increasein the volume of data that's
going to be shifting aroundnetworks and quantum.
(02:43):
Of course, artificialintelligence and some other
technological impacts are goingto have a kind of a mixed impact
right to create thishundredfold increase.
And so, number one, we'retalking to the infrastructure
guys, the business guys andobviously social broadband
network roll out folks to thinkabout how they design and build
in that context.
But the second context is thatquantum, probably in the 2030
(03:07):
timeframe, opens up asignificant risk.
So we're now transporting somuch data that now can be
unencrypted or deciphered orwhatever by the raw compute
power that's associated withquantum, and so we've got to
stop preparing now for thateventuality.
To summarize, two impacts lotof data coming, ability of
(03:30):
quantum to disrupt that.
How can we take advantage ofquantum but at the same time,
protect ourselves?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We'll talk about those weeks in a minute, because
I think they're things thatpeople don't really think about
because they're so far off.
But you're right, if we'rehousing data right now, it can
be unpacked and unfrozen lateron.
But let's just back up a bit.
Nokia isn't a name I've heardlinked with quantum before.
So what's Nokia doing in thisspace and what's been the
journey to get here?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Connectivity is very central to some of these mission
critical nationalinfrastructures and it's very
critical to the so-calledindustry 4.0 movement in
business, creating moreproductivity.
And, of course, broadband isrolling across the world.
So we're very central in thisworld where the connectivity is
being created.
We can see the explosion and wecan see the impact of quantum,
(04:16):
or Q-Day as it's sometimescalled rapidly coming.
So what we're trying to do iscreate the quantum ready
ecosystem, quantum safe networksreally in.
Nokia terms.
So looking at classical keydistribution in networks,
quantum keys, post-quantumciphers we're doing a lot of R&D
in Bell Labs and Bell Labs isfundamental to a lot of
(04:38):
technological development innetworking, but also in the
quantum space for a couple ofdecades.
What we're trying to do isunderstand, prepare our networks
to be quantum secure, and we'vemade our first moves with our
optical networking technologywhere we are working to
integrate quantum keydistribution capability in those
(05:01):
networks and in fact there's atrial with Proximus in Belgium
happening as we speak.
We're trying to get very deepinto the technology side and
we're supported by Bell Labs,but we're also now implementing
real things in our deployablenetworks.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So you talk about Q-Day and this is something I'm
really interested in because inmy research of quantum, let's
just unpack what you said before.
Right now, we're usingencrypted networks, we use VPNs,
we have the padlock on ourwebsite and we're doing our
banking, but what you're sayingis, if someone's actually
recording even that encryptedtraffic, there will be a day
when someone can replay that and, unencrypted, using quantum,
just maybe expand more on therisks there and how far away are
(05:39):
from you.
So you mentioned 2030 and thatmeans I suppose it's imperative
now to start building quantumsafe networks.
But is that really possible,given quantum is going to be so
powerful?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I think we know enough about quantum and its
future capabilities.
I think where are we today withquantum?
There's few instances and therewill be.
This is incredibly freshtechnology.
It's expensive technology.
It will be deployed in certainresearch centers initially, and
it will become more available ascosts come down over time,
right?
So this is where the 2030 comesfrom.
(06:10):
By 2030, we think, it will beprevalent and available to both
those who can leverage it in apositive way and those who can
use it for negative cyberpurposes.
So that's the context of 2030.
It's just the availability ofthe technology.
So what we've got to do, then,is anticipate the retrospective
attack, and this is why Nokiatakes a view that we've got to
(06:31):
think about our networks and howwe build them today, because
they are going to be in place infive years time.
So I think you've got theretrospective view.
How can we protect networks?
Anticipating that people willhave quantum at their fingertips
and then going forward, startto future.
Check Cyber crime is all aboutstaying one step ahead.
Right, it's about anticipating.
(06:52):
So we've got to take someanticipatory steps, and that's
where Bell Labs will come inwith sort of advanced research.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
We believe so.
We're still at the researchstage, so it's not possible to
produce quantum proof encryptionat the moment.
Or are we on the path to that?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
We're looking across the portfolio number one.
So our portfolio at Nokia isvery broad, from submarine cable
to IP, optical, privatewireless mobile radio networks,
large, small data centernetworking.
So we're very broad in ourportfolio.
So the start point has been theoptical portfolio, where we're
(07:29):
implementing a quantum keydistribution technology which is
future proofing the opticalnetworks.
This is how we're running thislive with Proximus as we speak,
so there should be some publicavailable kind of feedback on
that.
This is something thatcustomers can launch today.
Across the rest of theportfolio we're taking a similar
approach to protectingretrospectively and then
(07:50):
predicting the futurepossibilities.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Now, you and I know about the Q-Day threats that are
out there because we're playingin this space, but do you
believe that cybersecurityexperts are even boards or even
thinking about this at themoment?
I mean, it seems a way off andI suppose if you're on the board
for five years, you don'treally care if, 20 years later,
all of your emails get exposed,because they're probably going
to be hacked anyway.
What should companies do now?
Should they be in exploratorystage?
(08:13):
Is it just awareness, lettingpeople know rather than
frightening them?
Because I mean, at the moment,ai is the hot topic and
everyone's saying, well, we'regoing to be replaced by robots.
Is it fair to say that peopleare taking this threat seriously
now?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think it's an emerging consciousness would be
my transparent view.
So I think we need to educate.
It's our responsibility and thetechnology industry to educate
the threat.
I think there's a really,really high understanding and
consciousness aroundcybersecurity today.
It's probably one of the toptechnology topics that I think
that the CIO and the board wouldrecognize.
(08:44):
I think quantum takes this toanother level and I think this
is where we've got to create anawareness, start educating about
the 2030 timeframe, thepossibilities, I think, to just
take responsibility as atechnology industry for making
sure that we're creating afuture world now that does as
much as possible to ward againstit.
(09:05):
So this is kind of falls intothe category of social
responsibility.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think, and podcasts like this.
This is to raise awareness,because my audience has seen
you've been as leaders andthey're going to hear about this
and go.
Oh, I need to ask my CISO aboutthis.
Are we aware of the quantumthreat, the Q-Day threat?
But let's look at the positiveuses.
So OK, with negative use ofquantum.
Let's assume we're in 2030,quantum is around.
It's available to mostconsumers and businesses.
Give me some of the positivethings that Nokia is working on
(09:32):
when it comes to quantum.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Our approach to the world of enterprise.
So you'll probably be aware ofNokia as a telco infrastructure
provider.
I run a part of the businessthat is focused on enterprise
pure and simple and we spend alot of time looking at all of
the vertical and really tryingto work with transport, energy,
public sector.
But the industrial sectors oiland gas, wind farms, renewables,
(09:56):
health care, education,research you name it right that
we've been building quite a lotof subject matter expertise
across all of these industriesand I think what we're noticing
is this pattern to shiftapplication processing to the
edge of the network.
So edge compute and edgeprocessing becomes very
prevalent and I think that sortof then harmonizes with where
(10:18):
quantum can come in.
So we're going to be basicallycreating I talked to you earlier
about 100 times more data, andedge computing contributes to
that.
Quantum computing can then takethat vast amount of data in the
more centralized format andreally take industry analysis to
a new level.
I think about industries youknow data intensive industries
(10:39):
today, like finance, the volumeof transactions, the complexity
of transactions.
Think about health care,particularly pharma, and a
really good example might be newvaccines.
We've been through the pandemic.
There was a certainacceleration of the COVID
viruses.
That gives an indication of howquantum processing can
contribute to really speeding upthe trialing process, which was
(11:01):
almost reduced to six months.
So research, clinical trials,seismic data, weather reporting
and analysis I think there'salmost endless possibilities.
But industry by industry, we'regoing to see specific high
growth of data that can beanalyzed at high speed to help
businesses make intelligentdecisions.
(11:21):
Those that harness newtechnology the fastest are
likely to be the ones thatsucceed in their industry.
And I think artificialintelligence, quantum compute,
of course, cloud compute,augmented reality, et cetera
these are all technologies thatcan be harnessed to give
businesses advantage, and it'sall about data, and quantum is
no different.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Quantum is just going to give us this enormous
compute capability to speed upthe journey and one of my guests
are talking about edgecomputing as something that's
going to become a standard.
And again, our global listeners.
This is where you put thecompute at the place where it's
needed.
A good example is I thinkVodafone were doing a trial up
in Cambridge with a Rigo thatrun autonomous vehicles, and so
some of the compute was actuallyat the 5G base station.
(12:01):
It's important to have thecompute where you need it.
What I've seen from the researchthat my old employer, ibm, has
done, a quantum computer thesedays is a large physical beast.
It has to be cooled to minus270 degrees Celsius so that the
electrons move a lot faster.
So that's not something there'sgoing to be in a base station.
We're going to see theinteroperability of quantum and
(12:23):
classical computing.
So, as you say, the heavylifting is done by quantum.
One thing I read about quantumis that it actually can really
emulate the way nature thinks,and so you're right.
We're things like vaccines anddeep financial problems.
But maybe we could look at acouple of examples where edge
and quantum work together andmaybe they offload some of the
computing power where it'sneeded.
But quantum isn't going toreplace classical computing, is
(12:43):
it?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
No, I don't think so, because clearly you've got the
whole context of edges that youcan run applications that need
the latency.
For example, in a manufacturingplant you have automated
machinery, increasingly roboticand the need to adapt those
robotics to the environment inmilliseconds.
Clearly the software and theapplications that are running
(13:04):
there are in real time and theyrequire classic compute kind of
power.
This is the edge computeparadigm Of course we create
fundamentally huge amounts ofdata that can be hosted in the
cloud.
Centralized.
The latency is less.
But really, looking at theanalytics, at the big batch what
we used to be called batchprocessing side of things the
(13:25):
ability to crunch huge volumesof, for example, financial data,
healthcare data, clinical trialdata, seismic data we can sort
of start to visualizepossibilities, I think this is
what quantum brings to us.
It brings the art of datacrunching to a completely new
level that allows decisionmaking to be made much more
(13:45):
rapidly.
We've got customers withhundreds of sites in, for
example, the chemical processingindustry.
How can we be crunching hugeamounts of data to optimize
across not just a singlephysical location, but to start
to apply machine learning andlearnings from deep data
analysis into multiple sitessimultaneously?
I think there's endlesspossibilities, many, many of
(14:07):
which, of course, we can't evencontextualize yet.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
We've touched on the word AI a couple of times.
I think contractually, we haveto mention AI on any podcast
these days.
You're head of enterpriseglobally.
What sort of questions arecustomers talking to you about
in terms of their aspirationsfor AI, and where does that
manifest itself in the quantumworld?
Speaker 3 (14:23):
A huge and very broad subject.
Ai really appears everywhere.
From my perspective, frommanaging networks in the Nokia
world, my daughter actuallyworks for an energy utility and
they implemented AI to replacecall center operatives to
increase customer satisfactionand it works and redeploy those
human beings to do to othertasks.
(14:44):
So AI is going to be startingto be prevalent in just about
everything.
I think that starts to driverapid, instantaneous decisions
based on the knowledge thatexists already.
Where does that dovetail withQuantum?
Quantum is going to be creatingthe intelligence that AI can
take advantage from.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
In terms of preparing for a Quantum world.
What should and what areclients doing right now other
than talking to you and seeingwhat's coming next?
What can they do to prepare interms of the way they structure
their data, in the way that theyhire, the way that they train
people?
What do they do to prepare forthis Quantum world?
Speaker 3 (15:20):
As new infrastructure is built, there has to be a
built-in awareness of thiscontext.
Coming In a Nokia customer world, there's a new network to be
deployed or a new networkstrategy to be deployed, then
Quantum needs to be a part ofthe thought process of designing
that network.
And certainly we as a vendor, asa technology creator, are
(15:40):
helping our customers to buildthat into the RFP process, the
tendering, supply process.
That needs to be in there, somesimple acknowledgement of the
existence of Quantum threat inthe future and then things that
can be done as the designprocess happens today, and this
sort of to me almost fallsalongside the sort of
sustainability topic, the ESGtopic and I revert back to my
(16:02):
point at the beginning aboutmission-critical networks the
deep technology that sort ofunderpins society.
We have got to make thisfuture-proof and so, whether
it's government or industry, Ithink we again have to take a
social responsibility to almostimplant these into any future
networking requirements to makesure that companies are asking
(16:22):
the right questions of vendorsand technology experts.
We've just got to reallysocialize this.
And you're right, this kind ofconversation we're having is
part of that journey.
But I think that the mostimportant thing that we can do
as a technology provider now ismake sure that this stuff starts
appearing in RFPs.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Are we close to the point where we'll actually see
stickers or labels that'll saythis network, this software,
this infrastructure is quantumready?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I think this is inevitable, coming through real
implementations of the like ofProximus that we're running at
the moment with our opticalnetworks.
Yes, I think we've got to startbranding, in the same way that
ESG needs to be prominent.
We need to understand who arethe companies that are
supporting the journey and thosethat are not.
You say there needs to be akind of bumper sticker on
(17:07):
everything.
I tend to agree.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
And AI is now so much in the talk track for
regulators and governments.
Should quantum and the Q-Daythreat be something that
governments are talking about?
Or is it too early?
Or are they seeing us too faraway to really worry about?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I don't think it's over too early.
I think the AI one is slightlymore advanced, I think, as we're
all aware.
I think, learning from that, weshould start early on quantum.
It's going to be huge societal,positive societal impacts of
quantum, but let's just makesure we're now preparing.
You know, andrew, sometimes youcan look back we had the whole
Y2K I don't know whether youremember the Y2K, some of the
(17:42):
audience may remember and thatwas probably quite a good
example of really predictivethought process, the collective
technology community reallytrying to mitigate risk well in
advance.
And I think this is somethingwe can look back on and learn
from that and make sure that,yeah, we're creating the right
level of consciousness.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I wonder whether we'll have people talking about
the 1st of January 2030, beingQ-Day and be preparing for it.
I do remember Y2K very well.
I was in Australia at the time,just before the millennium, and
hoping all the lights wouldstay on when it hit midnight and
it did.
That was certainly somethingthat consumers were aware of,
just as they're aware of AI, sogetting this into the consumer
mindset and into their thoughtsand concerns is probably
(18:21):
something that's getting in apush people to become quantum
ready.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
We've got to think about, at the end of the day,
kind of advancement oftechnology.
We've really got to be thinkingabout our energy grids, water
supply, our telecom supply, thefundamentals of our society are
vastly benefiting fromtechnology, there's no question.
But we also need to recognizethe frailties and the weaknesses
(18:46):
.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
So last question before we go to the quickfire
round what are you most excitedabout when it comes to quantum
computing?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I think it's the human advantage.
I think it's what contributionthis can have to healthcare, to
simplifying, maybe demystifying,the financial system.
I think there's just endlesspossibilities to simplify our
world for the benefit ofeverybody.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So my favorite part of the show, the quickfire round
, we will learn a lot more aboutour guests, iphone or Android,
iphone Window or aisle I'll Inthe room or in the metaverse In
the room.
Your biggest hope for this yearand next Happy family.
I wish that AI could do all ofmy clothes washing the app you
use most on your phone, whatsapp.
Best advice you've everreceived Be authentic.
What are you reading at themoment?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Pink Floyd.
Autobiography by Nick Mason.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
How do you want to be remembered?
So, as this is the actionablefutures podcast, what three
actionable things should ouraudience do today to prepare for
the threats and opportunitiesfrom quantum computing?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Be educated, read and understand, think about the
possibilities.
Number two, so let's bepositive.
And thirdly, let's protectourselves, our customers, our
families for the future bymaking sure that we're due
diligence in what we do everyday.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Chris, it's been a fascinating discussion.
You're raising the awareness ofquantum computing, its threats
and opportunities and this Q-Daythreat.
How can people find out moreabout you and your work?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Nokiacom, where we have a very big repertoire of
technology information, but alsohow Nokia uses that technology
in the world cross business,government telecoms
infrastructure and on LinkedIn.
You'll see me on LinkedInpretty regularly.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Chris, thanks so much for your time today.
Andrew, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Thank you for listening to the actionable
futurist podcast.
You can find all of ourprevious shows at
actionablefuturistcom and if youlike what you've heard on the
show, please considersubscribing via your favorite
podcast app so you never miss anepisode.
You can find out more aboutAndrew and how he helps
(20:43):
corporates navigate a disruptivedigital world with keynote
speeches and C-suite workshopsdelivered in person or virtually
at actionablefuturistcom.
Until next time, this has beenthe actionable futurist podcast.
Welcome to the Actionable Futurist podcast, a
show all about the near-termfuture, with practical and
actionable advice from a rangeof global experts to help you
stay ahead of the curve.
Every episode answers thequestion what's the future on,
with voices and opinions thatneed to be heard.
(00:23):
Your host is internationalkeynote speaker and Actionable
Futurist, andrew Grill.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Today in the podcast, we are back talking about
quantum computing.
We last addressed this topicover a year ago on series 4,
episode 22, with Richard Hopkinsfrom IBM.
Today I'm delighted to welcomeChris Johnson, senior Vice
President and Global Head ofEnterprise Adnochia.
Welcome, chris.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Thank you very much, Andrew great to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Could you give us your definition of what quantum
computing is and how it'sdifferent to normal or classical
computing?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Imagine, at a high level, a data crunching problem.
A compute problem might take athousand years.
Imagine that quantum computingmight be able to do that in a
day.
So what we're talking about ata high level is a paradigm shift
in crunching zeros and ones tocrunching physical protons,
neutrons, electrons, whateveryou want to call them, but
(01:14):
basically taking compute tomulti-dimensional capability.
This is just a monumentalchange in the way that we can
crunch data going forward.
It would be my kind of highlevel view.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I was asked a few weeks ago to address an audience
and include quantum in there.
I'm not a quantum expert so Ihad to do some quick research.
Quantum you're saying is aquantum shift, pun intended.
What does it mean for businesswhen quantum really comes into
its own?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's a good question and I think the way we
look at the world today innetworking terms right and my
background is obviously Nokia.
Here we talk about three kindsof networks.
We talk about mission criticalnetworks.
These are sort of underpinningsome of the kind of big
infrastructure in society energyutilities, big transport
networks, railways, publicsafety, police defense, this
(02:01):
kind of thing.
The second type is what wemight call business critical
networks.
This is where we've gotenterprises, industries,
healthcare, finance, just aboutany vertical you can think of
again leveraging connectivityfor their advantage.
And the third category issocial critical networks.
This is really this human rightto get access to the internet,
to have a broadband network inyour home.
(02:23):
Now, quantum is going to have animpact in a couple of ways
right.
One is that it's going toexponentially impact the amount
of data that we're trying tonetwork, and so, from our
perspective, we look at the 2030horizon and we're probably
talking a hundredfold increasein the volume of data that's
going to be shifting aroundnetworks and quantum.
(02:43):
Of course, artificialintelligence and some other
technological impacts are goingto have a kind of a mixed impact
right to create thishundredfold increase.
And so, number one, we'retalking to the infrastructure
guys, the business guys andobviously social broadband
network roll out folks to thinkabout how they design and build
in that context.
But the second context is thatquantum, probably in the 2030
(03:07):
timeframe, opens up asignificant risk.
So we're now transporting somuch data that now can be
unencrypted or deciphered orwhatever by the raw compute
power that's associated withquantum, and so we've got to
stop preparing now for thateventuality.
To summarize, two impacts lotof data coming, ability of
(03:30):
quantum to disrupt that.
How can we take advantage ofquantum but at the same time,
protect ourselves?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We'll talk about those weeks in a minute, because
I think they're things thatpeople don't really think about
because they're so far off.
But you're right, if we'rehousing data right now, it can
be unpacked and unfrozen lateron.
But let's just back up a bit.
Nokia isn't a name I've heardlinked with quantum before.
So what's Nokia doing in thisspace and what's been the
journey to get here?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Connectivity is very central to some of these mission
critical nationalinfrastructures and it's very
critical to the so-calledindustry 4.0 movement in
business, creating moreproductivity.
And, of course, broadband isrolling across the world.
So we're very central in thisworld where the connectivity is
being created.
We can see the explosion and wecan see the impact of quantum,
(04:16):
or Q-Day as it's sometimescalled rapidly coming.
So what we're trying to do iscreate the quantum ready
ecosystem, quantum safe networksreally in.
Nokia terms.
So looking at classical keydistribution in networks,
quantum keys, post-quantumciphers we're doing a lot of R&D
in Bell Labs and Bell Labs isfundamental to a lot of
(04:38):
technological development innetworking, but also in the
quantum space for a couple ofdecades.
What we're trying to do isunderstand, prepare our networks
to be quantum secure, and we'vemade our first moves with our
optical networking technologywhere we are working to
integrate quantum keydistribution capability in those
(05:01):
networks and in fact there's atrial with Proximus in Belgium
happening as we speak.
We're trying to get very deepinto the technology side and
we're supported by Bell Labs,but we're also now implementing
real things in our deployablenetworks.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So you talk about Q-Day and this is something I'm
really interested in because inmy research of quantum, let's
just unpack what you said before.
Right now, we're usingencrypted networks, we use VPNs,
we have the padlock on ourwebsite and we're doing our
banking, but what you're sayingis, if someone's actually
recording even that encryptedtraffic, there will be a day
when someone can replay that and, unencrypted, using quantum,
just maybe expand more on therisks there and how far away are
(05:39):
from you.
So you mentioned 2030 and thatmeans I suppose it's imperative
now to start building quantumsafe networks.
But is that really possible,given quantum is going to be so
powerful?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I think we know enough about quantum and its
future capabilities.
I think where are we today withquantum?
There's few instances and therewill be.
This is incredibly freshtechnology.
It's expensive technology.
It will be deployed in certainresearch centers initially, and
it will become more available ascosts come down over time,
right?
So this is where the 2030 comesfrom.
(06:10):
By 2030, we think, it will beprevalent and available to both
those who can leverage it in apositive way and those who can
use it for negative cyberpurposes.
So that's the context of 2030.
It's just the availability ofthe technology.
So what we've got to do, then,is anticipate the retrospective
attack, and this is why Nokiatakes a view that we've got to
(06:31):
think about our networks and howwe build them today, because
they are going to be in place infive years time.
So I think you've got theretrospective view.
How can we protect networks?
Anticipating that people willhave quantum at their fingertips
and then going forward, startto future.
Check Cyber crime is all aboutstaying one step ahead.
Right, it's about anticipating.
(06:52):
So we've got to take someanticipatory steps, and that's
where Bell Labs will come inwith sort of advanced research.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
We believe so.
We're still at the researchstage, so it's not possible to
produce quantum proof encryptionat the moment.
Or are we on the path to that?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
We're looking across the portfolio number one.
So our portfolio at Nokia isvery broad, from submarine cable
to IP, optical, privatewireless mobile radio networks,
large, small data centernetworking.
So we're very broad in ourportfolio.
So the start point has been theoptical portfolio, where we're
(07:29):
implementing a quantum keydistribution technology which is
future proofing the opticalnetworks.
This is how we're running thislive with Proximus as we speak,
so there should be some publicavailable kind of feedback on
that.
This is something thatcustomers can launch today.
Across the rest of theportfolio we're taking a similar
approach to protectingretrospectively and then
(07:50):
predicting the futurepossibilities.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Now, you and I know about the Q-Day threats that are
out there because we're playingin this space, but do you
believe that cybersecurityexperts are even boards or even
thinking about this at themoment?
I mean, it seems a way off andI suppose if you're on the board
for five years, you don'treally care if, 20 years later,
all of your emails get exposed,because they're probably going
to be hacked anyway.
What should companies do now?
Should they be in exploratorystage?
(08:13):
Is it just awareness, lettingpeople know rather than
frightening them?
Because I mean, at the moment,ai is the hot topic and
everyone's saying, well, we'regoing to be replaced by robots.
Is it fair to say that peopleare taking this threat seriously
now?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think it's an emerging consciousness would be
my transparent view.
So I think we need to educate.
It's our responsibility and thetechnology industry to educate
the threat.
I think there's a really,really high understanding and
consciousness aroundcybersecurity today.
It's probably one of the toptechnology topics that I think
that the CIO and the board wouldrecognize.
(08:44):
I think quantum takes this toanother level and I think this
is where we've got to create anawareness, start educating about
the 2030 timeframe, thepossibilities, I think, to just
take responsibility as atechnology industry for making
sure that we're creating afuture world now that does as
much as possible to ward againstit.
(09:05):
So this is kind of falls intothe category of social
responsibility.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think, and podcasts like this.
This is to raise awareness,because my audience has seen
you've been as leaders andthey're going to hear about this
and go.
Oh, I need to ask my CISO aboutthis.
Are we aware of the quantumthreat, the Q-Day threat?
But let's look at the positiveuses.
So OK, with negative use ofquantum.
Let's assume we're in 2030,quantum is around.
It's available to mostconsumers and businesses.
Give me some of the positivethings that Nokia is working on
(09:32):
when it comes to quantum.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Our approach to the world of enterprise.
So you'll probably be aware ofNokia as a telco infrastructure
provider.
I run a part of the businessthat is focused on enterprise
pure and simple and we spend alot of time looking at all of
the vertical and really tryingto work with transport, energy,
public sector.
But the industrial sectors oiland gas, wind farms, renewables,
(09:56):
health care, education,research you name it right that
we've been building quite a lotof subject matter expertise
across all of these industriesand I think what we're noticing
is this pattern to shiftapplication processing to the
edge of the network.
So edge compute and edgeprocessing becomes very
prevalent and I think that sortof then harmonizes with where
(10:18):
quantum can come in.
So we're going to be basicallycreating I talked to you earlier
about 100 times more data, andedge computing contributes to
that.
Quantum computing can then takethat vast amount of data in the
more centralized format andreally take industry analysis to
a new level.
I think about industries youknow data intensive industries
(10:39):
today, like finance, the volumeof transactions, the complexity
of transactions.
Think about health care,particularly pharma, and a
really good example might be newvaccines.
We've been through the pandemic.
There was a certainacceleration of the COVID
viruses.
That gives an indication of howquantum processing can
contribute to really speeding upthe trialing process, which was
(11:01):
almost reduced to six months.
So research, clinical trials,seismic data, weather reporting
and analysis I think there'salmost endless possibilities.
But industry by industry, we'regoing to see specific high
growth of data that can beanalyzed at high speed to help
businesses make intelligentdecisions.
(11:21):
Those that harness newtechnology the fastest are
likely to be the ones thatsucceed in their industry.
And I think artificialintelligence, quantum compute,
of course, cloud compute,augmented reality, et cetera
these are all technologies thatcan be harnessed to give
businesses advantage, and it'sall about data, and quantum is
no different.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Quantum is just going to give us this enormous
compute capability to speed upthe journey and one of my guests
are talking about edgecomputing as something that's
going to become a standard.
And again, our global listeners.
This is where you put thecompute at the place where it's
needed.
A good example is I thinkVodafone were doing a trial up
in Cambridge with a Rigo thatrun autonomous vehicles, and so
some of the compute was actuallyat the 5G base station.
(12:01):
It's important to have thecompute where you need it.
What I've seen from the researchthat my old employer, ibm, has
done, a quantum computer thesedays is a large physical beast.
It has to be cooled to minus270 degrees Celsius so that the
electrons move a lot faster.
So that's not something there'sgoing to be in a base station.
We're going to see theinteroperability of quantum and
(12:23):
classical computing.
So, as you say, the heavylifting is done by quantum.
One thing I read about quantumis that it actually can really
emulate the way nature thinks,and so you're right.
We're things like vaccines anddeep financial problems.
But maybe we could look at acouple of examples where edge
and quantum work together andmaybe they offload some of the
computing power where it'sneeded.
But quantum isn't going toreplace classical computing, is
(12:43):
it?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
No, I don't think so, because clearly you've got the
whole context of edges that youcan run applications that need
the latency.
For example, in a manufacturingplant you have automated
machinery, increasingly roboticand the need to adapt those
robotics to the environment inmilliseconds.
Clearly the software and theapplications that are running
(13:04):
there are in real time and theyrequire classic compute kind of
power.
This is the edge computeparadigm Of course we create
fundamentally huge amounts ofdata that can be hosted in the
cloud.
Centralized.
The latency is less.
But really, looking at theanalytics, at the big batch what
we used to be called batchprocessing side of things the
(13:25):
ability to crunch huge volumesof, for example, financial data,
healthcare data, clinical trialdata, seismic data we can sort
of start to visualizepossibilities, I think this is
what quantum brings to us.
It brings the art of datacrunching to a completely new
level that allows decisionmaking to be made much more
(13:45):
rapidly.
We've got customers withhundreds of sites in, for
example, the chemical processingindustry.
How can we be crunching hugeamounts of data to optimize
across not just a singlephysical location, but to start
to apply machine learning andlearnings from deep data
analysis into multiple sitessimultaneously?
I think there's endlesspossibilities, many, many of
(14:07):
which, of course, we can't evencontextualize yet.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
We've touched on the word AI a couple of times.
I think contractually, we haveto mention AI on any podcast
these days.
You're head of enterpriseglobally.
What sort of questions arecustomers talking to you about
in terms of their aspirationsfor AI, and where does that
manifest itself in the quantumworld?
Speaker 3 (14:23):
A huge and very broad subject.
Ai really appears everywhere.
From my perspective, frommanaging networks in the Nokia
world, my daughter actuallyworks for an energy utility and
they implemented AI to replacecall center operatives to
increase customer satisfactionand it works and redeploy those
human beings to do to othertasks.
(14:44):
So AI is going to be startingto be prevalent in just about
everything.
I think that starts to driverapid, instantaneous decisions
based on the knowledge thatexists already.
Where does that dovetail withQuantum?
Quantum is going to be creatingthe intelligence that AI can
take advantage from.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
In terms of preparing for a Quantum world.
What should and what areclients doing right now other
than talking to you and seeingwhat's coming next?
What can they do to prepare interms of the way they structure
their data, in the way that theyhire, the way that they train
people?
What do they do to prepare forthis Quantum world?
Speaker 3 (15:20):
As new infrastructure is built, there has to be a
built-in awareness of thiscontext.
Coming In a Nokia customer world, there's a new network to be
deployed or a new networkstrategy to be deployed, then
Quantum needs to be a part ofthe thought process of designing
that network.
And certainly we as a vendor, asa technology creator, are
(15:40):
helping our customers to buildthat into the RFP process, the
tendering, supply process.
That needs to be in there, somesimple acknowledgement of the
existence of Quantum threat inthe future and then things that
can be done as the designprocess happens today, and this
sort of to me almost fallsalongside the sort of
sustainability topic, the ESGtopic and I revert back to my
(16:02):
point at the beginning aboutmission-critical networks the
deep technology that sort ofunderpins society.
We have got to make thisfuture-proof and so, whether
it's government or industry, Ithink we again have to take a
social responsibility to almostimplant these into any future
networking requirements to makesure that companies are asking
(16:22):
the right questions of vendorsand technology experts.
We've just got to reallysocialize this.
And you're right, this kind ofconversation we're having is
part of that journey.
But I think that the mostimportant thing that we can do
as a technology provider now ismake sure that this stuff starts
appearing in RFPs.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Are we close to the point where we'll actually see
stickers or labels that'll saythis network, this software,
this infrastructure is quantumready?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I think this is inevitable, coming through real
implementations of the like ofProximus that we're running at
the moment with our opticalnetworks.
Yes, I think we've got to startbranding, in the same way that
ESG needs to be prominent.
We need to understand who arethe companies that are
supporting the journey and thosethat are not.
You say there needs to be akind of bumper sticker on
(17:07):
everything.
I tend to agree.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
And AI is now so much in the talk track for
regulators and governments.
Should quantum and the Q-Daythreat be something that
governments are talking about?
Or is it too early?
Or are they seeing us too faraway to really worry about?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I don't think it's over too early.
I think the AI one is slightlymore advanced, I think, as we're
all aware.
I think, learning from that, weshould start early on quantum.
It's going to be huge societal,positive societal impacts of
quantum, but let's just makesure we're now preparing.
You know, andrew, sometimes youcan look back we had the whole
Y2K I don't know whether youremember the Y2K, some of the
(17:42):
audience may remember and thatwas probably quite a good
example of really predictivethought process, the collective
technology community reallytrying to mitigate risk well in
advance.
And I think this is somethingwe can look back on and learn
from that and make sure that,yeah, we're creating the right
level of consciousness.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I wonder whether we'll have people talking about
the 1st of January 2030, beingQ-Day and be preparing for it.
I do remember Y2K very well.
I was in Australia at the time,just before the millennium, and
hoping all the lights wouldstay on when it hit midnight and
it did.
That was certainly somethingthat consumers were aware of,
just as they're aware of AI, sogetting this into the consumer
mindset and into their thoughtsand concerns is probably
(18:21):
something that's getting in apush people to become quantum
ready.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
We've got to think about, at the end of the day,
kind of advancement oftechnology.
We've really got to be thinkingabout our energy grids, water
supply, our telecom supply, thefundamentals of our society are
vastly benefiting fromtechnology, there's no question.
But we also need to recognizethe frailties and the weaknesses
(18:46):
.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
So last question before we go to the quickfire
round what are you most excitedabout when it comes to quantum
computing?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I think it's the human advantage.
I think it's what contributionthis can have to healthcare, to
simplifying, maybe demystifying,the financial system.
I think there's just endlesspossibilities to simplify our
world for the benefit ofeverybody.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So my favorite part of the show, the quickfire round
, we will learn a lot more aboutour guests, iphone or Android,
iphone Window or aisle I'll Inthe room or in the metaverse In
the room.
Your biggest hope for this yearand next Happy family.
I wish that AI could do all ofmy clothes washing the app you
use most on your phone, whatsapp.
Best advice you've everreceived Be authentic.
What are you reading at themoment?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Pink Floyd.
Autobiography by Nick Mason.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
How do you want to be remembered?
So, as this is the actionablefutures podcast, what three
actionable things should ouraudience do today to prepare for
the threats and opportunitiesfrom quantum computing?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Be educated, read and understand, think about the
possibilities.
Number two, so let's bepositive.
And thirdly, let's protectourselves, our customers, our
families for the future bymaking sure that we're due
diligence in what we do everyday.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Chris, it's been a fascinating discussion.
You're raising the awareness ofquantum computing, its threats
and opportunities and this Q-Daythreat.
How can people find out moreabout you and your work?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Nokiacom, where we have a very big repertoire of
technology information, but alsohow Nokia uses that technology
in the world cross business,government telecoms
infrastructure and on LinkedIn.
You'll see me on LinkedInpretty regularly.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Chris, thanks so much for your time today.
Andrew, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Thank you for listening to the actionable
futurist podcast.
You can find all of ourprevious shows at
actionablefuturistcom and if youlike what you've heard on the
show, please considersubscribing via your favorite
podcast app so you never miss anepisode.
You can find out more aboutAndrew and how he helps
(20:43):
corporates navigate a disruptivedigital world with keynote
speeches and C-suite workshopsdelivered in person or virtually
at actionablefuturistcom.
Until next time, this has beenthe actionable futurist podcast.
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