In this episode of Under the Spell, Michael Avery sits down with Professor Andrew Forbes, a distinguished physicist and a central figure in South Africa’s quantum strategy, to go beneath the headlines and the hype surrounding the most successful yet deeply confusing theory in science.

While the world is currently swept up in the fervour of artificial intelligence, we explore the emerging frontier of quantum computing, a technology touted as the next great leap, but one that remains shrouded in a "market storytelling" that blurs the line between genuine innovation and mythology.

In this episode, we explore:

The Narrative Shift: Why quantum computing is being framed as the "next frontier" just as cracks begin to appear in the current AI narrative.

The Nucleus of Measurement: A look at the "mind-bending" reality where objects like a table don't truly exist until they are interacted with through measurement.

Security at Risk: The genuine concern that quantum computers could eventually break current encryption and upend global financial systems.

The Noise Hurdle: A clear breakdown of why having "thousands of qubits" is meaningless if they aren't "useful qubits" free from environmental noise.

A Strategy of Agnostic Software: Why developing nations like South Africa are choosing to build quantum software rather than the hardware itself to stay competitive in a high-stakes global race.

Join us as we go UNDER THE SPELL of the quantum age to see if we can separate the scientific reality from the religion of the hype cycle.