Quantum Information Science and the Quantum Internet

Throughout this course, we have used QIS and QC as if they were friendly siblings, always being careful to give them equal time. Indeed, they are closely related, but in some sense, QIS is more general because it includes both the transmission of information and computations carried out on that information.

Just as QC can be viewed as a generalization of classical computing, QIS can be viewed as a generalization of classical information science. Both QIS and classical information science are concerned with the overall theory of information, not just computer algorithms. QIS, of course, takes advantage of the constraints and opportunities provided by quantum mechanics. That often leads to a deep level of abstraction that makes the concepts difficult to fathom.

When I first learned about information theory, it seems to have little overlap with what I worry about when sending information via email, Twitter, or a postcard. I finally realized that information theory is really not about information in the everyday sense, but more about the abstract structure of what is being sent back and forth between Bob and me, for example, and the advantages and disadvantages of various kinds of information structures.

Let’s add learning more about information theory and QIS to our list of topics to study to understand the broader principles that underlie QC.