In an interview as part of Intelligent Future, CNN’s Becky Anderson sat down Dr. Leandro Aolita, Acting Chief Researcher of the Quantum Research Center (QRC) at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi, to discuss TII’s pioneering work in developing advanced quantum technologies.

Quantum computing, cryptography, communications, and sensing are all work which is being undertaken by TII. Dr. Aolita speaks about how quantum tech will impact the future, "Quantum computers will not replace classical computers or classically boosted AI algorithms. Quantum computers will integrate to it in a complementary way."

Many countries are competing in the tech and AI space. Dr. Aolita talks about the importance of the UAE leading the way in the quantum realm, "It is extremely important for the UAE to secure this technology in the country. This is one of the most ambitious initiatives of the UAE and the Abu Dhabi government in particular, in terms of innovation in their country. There’s a long tradition of adopting technologies from elsewhere. But this is a very serious effort to create high-tech, deep-tech businesses in the country."

Finally, Dr. Aolita discusses which industries will be most impacted by the rise of quantum computing, "I think it’s probably going to be in the pharmaceutical industry with transformative developments that can happen on drug design. There’s lots of interest from manufacturers of batteries and solar panels connected to material science. And then I think there’s going to be a big, big impact on data science and machine learning."