IBM’s quantum ambassador, Robert Loredo, recently met staff at the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) to ask what the company could do to help Thailand solve problems through  quantum computing and advise how the Kingdom could benefit from its quantum hub partner in Asia.

Loredo, who was also promoting the IBM Q system and IBM Q Network while on the trip, explained to The Nation Weekend that the quantum computer allows for more collaboration than does the classic computer system. It can computer many things not possible through using the classic computer and is able to get results much faster because of the increased quantum speed.

“In what areas the quantum computer can help is something we are open to,” said Loredo. “Because right now IBM has been working with different partners in different industries such as intelligent offices, chemistry, finance, automation and energy. For example, it announced partnerships with Exxon Mobil, and is also looking for partners in finance and portfolio management, logistics, transportation, sales and engineering.”

The company is now in the quantum-ready phase, he said. “We have three different phases, including the quantum foundation phase, which was generally started back in 1920, that developed quantum mechanics and quantum physics theory. That was kind of a build-up of all the information we needed to produce a quantum computer,” said Loredo.

He said  IBM released its first quantum computer in May 2016, created on the cloud and available to everyone for free. With that it kicked off the era called “quantum ready” and released a 5 qubits (pronounced CUE-bit) system and a 16 qubits system that everyone can have access to on the cloud.

“Whatever you can do there is [based on] understanding the quantum principle that we use that is a part of quantum computing – how to use them to come up with either an algorithm or any other kinds of features and problems they want to solve,” said Loredo.

The two main features that it uses from quantum mechanic principles are “super procession” and “entanglement”. Super procession refers to the variation from the basic stage of physical classic computers that has a 0 and a 1. In quantum computer, it the stages are 0, 1, and a combination of both. So, it has the ability to calculate a lot more things and faster.

The second quantum mechanical principle of entanglement refers to the use of multiple qubits; two or more qubits entangle to share a combination of information.

“When you calculate one piece you take a measurement, you can use information in other qubits to calculate a lot of things,” said Loredo.

Those two main features of quantum computing can be used to advantage in the third phase. The computer is large enough and the algorithm is much more coherent and so is able to run and produce particular solutions that are not possible on the classic computer.

The drivers of mass adoption of quantum computing are found in many areas, such as the needs of logistics and traffic. For example, in Thailand traffic is a big enough concern.

IBM has met with Nectec, to seek the best approach to introducing quantum technology to Thailand. IBM has its Q Network featuring different partners, with one partner, Keio University, serving as the first Q Hub in Asia.

Keio is working with IBM to help organisations explore quantum applications important to business and science, while at the same time introducing the technology to the next generation of scientists.

The university has spent the past several months bringing together members of its team, which include students working alongside scientists with expertise in quantum chemistry, financial modelling, quantum encryption and security, and other areas to determine which algorithms may be most useful.

The students and researchers are also learning how to map their algorithms to qubits on the quantum chip and writing programs that can run efficiently, which reduces the amount of time in which errors can occur while a program is running.

Nectec in Thailand is working directly with Keio University on different research projects. Along with Keio University and IBM Q Network, it is looking at the potential for building a quantum ecosystem  in Thailand that could spread to Singapore, China, Japan and elsewhere.

Startups in focus

“We also are looking for partners who are interested in using quantum computing. One of our key partners is startups. A lot of startups have come with their ideas and projects to work with the IBM Q team on hardware and software to access and use the IBM Q system,” said Loredo.

He invited any startups, universities, or companies to join and partner with the IBM Q Network.

“We are in the early stage of quantum computers; there are so many stages of quantum computing ‘ready’ phases,” he said. “We call it a ‘ready’ phase since we need to prepare a lot things. We need to move to the quantum advantage phase. It is to have a system the can demonstrate and speed up the classic computer or compute something on a quantum machine that cannot be done on a big classic computer. To be able to move from the current phase to the quantum advantage phase is open. There is so much research going on right now that anyone can come in to join.”

Most of the IBM Q Network is at universities, because they obviously want to accelerate the research and to educate people about what quantum computing can do for research and business, said Loredo.

“Universities can understand technology and can teach and present those particular skills to people at any level, including the university level, high school level and post-graduate level.”

However, IBM Q Network is partnering with early adopters, innovative organisations, by offering access to IBM’s quantum computing systems through the cloud.

Only through this exchange of ideas, research and testing will quantum computing reach its full potential, powering breakthroughs that lead to new medicines and materials as well as advanced business and financial models.  Partners include automaker Daimler, which has a broad interest in how quantum computing can impact everything, from the optimisation of transportation logistics, to predictions about future materials for electric mobility, which is based on well-functioning cell chemistry within vehicle batteries.

JP Morgan Chase is researching how quantum computing can improve trading strategies, improve client portfolios and better-analyse financial risk.

The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) is working with IBM to explore how quantum computing can advance scientific understanding of the universe.

Recently, IBM announced the expansion of the IBM Q Network to include a number of global universities.

The universities intend to partner with IBM to accelerate joint research in quantum computing, and develop curricula to help prepare students for careers across science and business that will be influenced by this next era of computing.

For example, Florida State University, the University of Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Stony Brook University, and the University of Tokyo will have direct access as academic partners to IBM Q’s quantum computing systems for teaching, and for faculty and student research projects that advance quantum information science and explore early applications.

The move is in order to help leverage the future industrial benefits from artificial intelligence, Big Data, machine learning and blockchain. Potential benefits could abound, for example, in pharmaceuticals, weather forecasting, traffic and marketing.

Sarun Sumriddetchkajorn, a senior researcher at Nectec, said that quantum is a major focus of the centre, particularly through using quantum computing in a complementary way with the classic super computer. That combination is expected to lead the future computing era, he said.

Nectec’s role is to collaborate with research institutes and universities in both education and raising awareness of the impact of quantum computing technology, and also to prepare the human resources needed for this area.

“Currently, there are around 10 researchers across universities deeply studying quantum computing technology. We are working together on how to help the country could benefit from the technology,” said Sarun. Kanin Aungskunsiri, a photonics technology laboratory researcher at Nectec, immersed in studying quantum technology. He said quantum computing could help with processing huge data volumes, something that the classical super computer cannot do quickly. He cited the design of drug formulas, weather forecasting and real traffic forecasting, as areas that would benefit.

Nectec’s related research is mainly concerned with quantum engineering, as it is fundamental for further quantum commercial applications. Currently, Nectec is also working on developing the prototype for quantum cryptography.

He said Nectec is in talks with IBM regarding the context and model of IBM support it needs. The computing giant offers several kinds of support in quantum computing technology, such as hub, partner, member, academic, and startup that allows access to different layers.

Through a partnership with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Nectec along with IBM Thailand and Mitr Phol are working to transform sugarcane farming into precision farming in order to increase the yields of one of the country’s most economically important crops.

Under that collaboration, Nectec can access and utilise the IBM PAIRS Geoscope, which is a platform specifically designed for massive geospatial-temporal data (maps, satellite imagery, weather, drones, IoT) related to query and analytics services.

PAIRS enables users to tap this vast and valuable source of often underutilised information to complement and contextualise their data, enable or enhance their applications, and develop, test and refine their models.

Recently, Nectec also joined hands with Mahidol University to establish the Collaborative Research Unit on Quantum Information.

Artima Suraphongchai, head of marketing for iflix Thailand, said that the company launched iflix 3.0 in the fourth quarter of 2018 in a bid to improve the business model of freemium with ads and iflix VIP.

The company’s price start with a flat rate of Bt100 a month and reach Bt1,000 a year.

In late 2018, iflix switched from subscription video on demand (SVOD) to the freemium service, to offer iflix streaming that allow users to watch some content for free with advertisements, including pre-roll and mid-roll ads.

Iflix now offers an AVOD model, for ad video on demand.

“This change is a result of feedback we got from users who mostly are familiar with free watching with ads, rather than paying for subscription even when it is only Bt100 per month,” said Artima.

It turned iflix from the subscription model to the freemium model. People who not willing to pay can still enjoy watching content on iflix. But free content is less than 30 per cent of its total content of 40,000 hours.

“It needs time educate users to pay for content with freemium model,” said Artima.

If they do not want to see ads, they just pay for the service with the iflix VIP service, priced at Bt100 a month or Bt1,000 a year.

The company has increased the amount of content, including live TV and live content across categories such as lifestyle, sport and music.

“We need encourage a lot more people to engage with iflix. In the past, iflix had only long-form content, especially two-hour movies and series. Last year, we increased snap content, with different length of content such as 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. Now we have a lot of short-form content,” said Artima.

Apart from variety of content lengths, she said, people need content immediately. So, it has increase the news and live content, such as for sports matches and for concerts or events as well. All such moves are aimed at increasing the users’ stickiness with iflix.

iflix serves more than 10 markets in Asia and 12 in the Middle East. For content strategy, Artima said, it does not yet offer original content production in Thailand. But it does so in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, where the company has local partners to develop such content, including movie, series and documentaries.

Recently, iflix has been received investments, including from Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan’s largest entertainment conglomerate.

This is Yoshimoto Kogyo’s first investment in overseas media, and it hopes that this will accelerate development for future projects in Asia.

The two companies also announced the formation of an exclusive joint venture in Singapore to showcase Yoshimoto Group’s most popular content across iflix’s territories in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the corresponding distribution of iflix’s content in Japan.

The joint venture will also produce localised versions of proven content formats out of Japan, to significantly expand iflix’s original content offering.

The content to be provided to iflix will be popular Japanese programs that will be localised for Asian countries – including animation, drama, movies, variety, and comedy. In the future, it hopes to develop all-Japanese original content including programs and films for an Asian market. The joint venture underscores iflix’s growing focus on developing and creating what it calls highly engaging hyper-local programming aimed mostly at millennials and members of Generation Z. Most of these customers come from emerging and developing markets in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, JTBC, a South Korean media company, through its content distribution arm, JTBC Content Hub, has become a strategic investor in iflix.

Through this alliance, iflix will distribute JTBC’s premium content across Asia, setting the stage for further collaborations that may include co-productions in iflix

markets.

JTBC has built its reputation as the source of South Korea’s youth-centric content that embraces new formats. With its dramas, the company has made history for tackling complex and controversial themes, as well as setting viewership records in South Korea.