QUANTUM computers and networks, once merely physicists' playthings, are increasingly seen as both a national security threat and a potential asset, with the theoretical ability to crack current encryption methods, but also improve artificial intelligence. The recently announced security pact between the UK, the US and Australia drew a lot of attention for its focus on nuclear-powered submarines, but this AUKUS deal also promised to share quantum technologies. It makes sense for Australia and the UK to ally themselves with a quantum tech leader like the US, not least because China, the other leader in the field, seems to be pulling ahead. In recent months, Chinese researchers have published details of the world's largest metropolitan quantum communication network and the nation's second demonstration of quantum supremacy - the ability to solve a problem that is all but impossible for regular computers.
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