Can quantum computing tech kill fraud? The UK government thinks so, but with £100 million, I'm not so sure

The UK Government has announced a £121 million investment into quantum technologies, a move it says will help “tackle fraud, prevent money laundering, and drive growth”.

The government hopes to achieve this by bolstering the UK’s world-leading research programmes, which it says will bring a “range of benefits to working people, including improved healthcare systems and boosted energy efficiency in the grid.”

These are the perfect combination of big, impressive promises that are vague enough to evade any real scrutiny, with a budget that seems huge, but will most likely fall seriously short of making any real difference. Will these research projects actually bring about an end to fraud? Well, let’s start by looking at a breakdown of the spending.

An expensive venture

The new investment starts with £46.1 million through Innovate UK, and a further £21.1 million for the National Quantum Computing ...