Computing tomorrow

Following the announcement of a £210 million partnership between the UK government and IBM to support businesses in the adoption of new digital technologies, we wondered what the future of computing might look like.

Amanda Solloway, the science minister, explained that the investment will be put towards the new Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI). Based in Daresbury, Cheshire, HNCDI will enable businesses to acquire the skills, knowledge and technical capability required to adopt digital technologies like supercomputing, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing – according to their website.

The website goes on to say that HNCDI will help organizations and individuals with an appetite for change, who are ready to innovate and create useful solutions, enhance and adapt products and processes, adopt new digital technologies, and expand into new markets. They say they will work with start-ups and SMEs to large corporates, and public sector organizations such as NHS Trusts and local government. And, they offer training on an individual and group basis.

The UK government is investing £172 million over five years through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and IBM is contributing £38 million. In addition, 60 more scientists, interns, and students will join IBM Research and the Hartree Centre in the joint Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) – IBM Programme.

While we were working from home over a Teams meeting, we started kicking around some ideas of what the future of computing, that they might be researching, would look like. Here are some of the things that were said.

Quantum computing is an obvious goal. The benefits of getting workable quantum computing are enormous, and companies like IBM and Google are regularly making small changes to how the define and measure quantum computing and then making announcements. Quantum computing will be a complete breakthrough in computing when it comes because so much more computing power will become available. One of the consequences of that is that many levels of encryption will be broken by a quantum computer in a relative short period of time (it would currently take hundreds of years using the available technology to break the encryption in use). So, that has worrying implications.

Artificial Intelligence is another obvious goal. AI and Machine Learning mean that computers can not only do straightforward repetitive tasks, but can also learn, make decisions, and perform more complex tasks. This, in turn, allows things to happen more quickly (computers work faster than people, and for longer hours). It should make our lives easier. Cars really could drive themselves, planes could fly themselves, etc. The downside is, of course, that fewer people would be needed because the ‘machines’ would be doing the work. And this has a huge impact on the economy. And, according to the movies, could lead to the formation of Skynet and the arrival of the Terminators!

Data analytics is something that many organizations are enjoying the benefits from using. The traditional model of selling is that person A makes a product and takes it to person B. Person B sells the product in their shop to Person C, who then takes it away and uses it. Data Analytics allows Person B to see what types of product Person C has been buying and is able to suggest to them other products that they might like. And they can do this with vouchers, on social media, via an app on their phone, etc. It’s a way of understanding customers and encouraging them to buy more from you rather than your competitors. Using the information available from data analytics helps a company be more competitive and therefore successful than its rivals.

Supercomputing is all about getting as much computing power as possible so it can be used to answer difficult questions like, “what will the weather be like tomorrow?” IBM has its Blue Gene/P supercomputer and Summit. Other names you’ll hear are Cray and Fugaku Systems. It’s thought that quantum computers could replace the need for supercomputers.

In the near future, mainframes are likely to continue running the amount of work they do. It’s also likely that mainframes and distributed systems will continue offloading parts of their work to the cloud. Replicating data to the cloud makes restoring data quicker and easier and is vital in a business continuity situation.

Security seems to be the biggest challenge. Any computer that people can use (and that’s all of them) is likely to be hacked. Employees, in an unguarded moment, are likely to click on a link or click on an attachment and download a piece of malware that could start the attack. It’s not just the software on a laptop that can be attacked, but the firmware can be as well – meaning that extra levels of security are required. And trusted members of staff can be cynically manipulated by bad actors to steal data or give them access. New security terms are being coined all the time to describe where the focus for security should be placed. Things like ZTA (Zero-Trust Architecture), SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), APM (Application Performance Monitoring), XDR (Extended Detection and Response), and CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker), to name but a few.

Computers getting smarter clearly has a positive impact on businesses and, indirectly, everyone. It makes life easier for them. The downside, unless steps are taken, is that smarter computers make life easier for hackers. As mentioned earlier, quantum computers could break through quite sophisticated levels of encryption. Criminals could use data analytics techniques to identify people who they could most easily manipulate to perform criminal acts. And AI could lead to various doomsday scenarios.

This has been the case with every development ever. It can be used for good or bad. Let’s hope that the developments coming from HNCDI are used for our good.