In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Steve Flinter, vice president for artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing at Mastercard, and Murray Thom, vice president of quantum business innovation at D-Wave, the British Colombia-based company that develops and delivers quantum computing systems, software and services. 

They discuss the challenges of evolving quantum computing from the theoretical to the practical — “You’re trying to harness and control the most fundamental properties of the universe at the smallest possible level,” Flinter says — as well as D-Wave’s partnership with Mastercard and other corporations to explore potential use cases while mitigating potential pitfalls often inherent in emerging tech.