Episode 147: Steve Girvin on Algorithms, Modalities, and the Road Ahead

In Episode 147, Steve Girvin returns for his third appearance to take stock of where quantum stands across research, hardware, and the commercial landscape. The team cover the ongoing challenge of discovering new quantum algorithms — and why better hardware may be what unlocks them — before moving into the state of the three leading modalities: superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and neutral atoms. Steve walks through the wiring problem facing superconducting systems at scale, why cold atoms are on a steeply rising learning curve, and what photonic approaches like Xanadu and PsiQuantum are betting on. The conversation closes on dynamic circuits — a hybrid model where quantum and classical computation are deeply interwoven mid-algorithm — and why that may be one of the most powerful and least understood frontiers in the field.