In the snowy peaks of Davos, where the world’s most powerful leaders gather for the 56th World Economic Forum, a new narrative is emerging that challenges the current dominance of artificial intelligence (AI).

During a special report by AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov, the Chairman and CEO of quantum computing pioneer IonQ, Niccolo de Masi, suggested that the world’s fixation on AI might be a case of looking in the rear-view mirror.

"It seems an obsession of the moment," de Masi remarked, noting that as the world focuses on the AI boom, a "profound transformation" is happening elsewhere. According to the IonQ chief, the disruptive power of quantum computing is a "quantum leap" that the global community is only just beginning to grasp, and in the high-stakes world of technological dominance, AI is already becoming "old news."

De Masi contextualised this shift by framing the history of modern technology through its processing power. He argued that we are moving past the era of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) that defined the 1990s and the current reign of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) led by Nvidia.

"We've had the era of the CPU when Intel was king... we've had the era of the GPU where Nvidia was and remains the largest company in the tech world," he explained.

'Quantum technologies are going to define everything'

However, de Masi insists that the next decade belongs to the Quantum Processing Unit (QPU), which he describes as the "endpoint of the computing revolution that started 80 years ago."

The CEO argued that the speed at which quantum technology is maturing has caught many off guard. Sovereign nations and Fortune 100 companies are increasingly recognising that the quantum era is arriving much sooner than anticipated. For de Masi, the QPU is not just an improvement on existing tech but a fundamental reset.

"Quantum technologies are going to define everything that happens for security, communications, sensing, and computing for the coming decade and decades," he asserted.

By describing AI as "already outdated" in comparison to quantum's potential, de Masi challenged the Davos elite to look beyond the current software craze and toward the hardware that will redefine the limits of human calculation.

Modern Manhattan project for global security

The implications of this shift extend far beyond commercial computing de Masi noted. He pointed out that they are a matter of existential national security.

He compared the current global race for quantum supremacy to the most significant scientific military effort of the 20th century.

"There is a geopolitical race underway to see who cracks encryption first... we believe IonQ will be first," he stated, adding, "This is very much the Manhattan Project, if you will, of our era."

This race to build "fault-tolerant" quantum computers he said, is now the primary focus for global powers, as the first nation to master the technology will effectively possess the ability to bypass all current digital security protocols.

Addressing the "America First" geopolitical landscape, de Masi offered a vision of transatlantic collaboration. While IonQ is a leader in the U.S. space, de Masi emphasised that "America First doesn't mean America only."

Multiplier effect

He highlighted the importance of European talent and the recent acquisition of the UK-based Oxford Ionics as a way to create a multiplier effect.

"I always say 1+1=30," he told Amashov, explaining that combining British architectural innovation with American commercial scale allows the industry to move "to the left on the roadmap," making breakthroughs happen years earlier than expected.

Ultimately, de Masi warned that while technology roadmaps win the initial battles, "ecosystems are what win long-term," urging Western allies to build a unified quantum front to secure the technological standards of the next century.

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