Why is it difficult?

Quantum computing offers millions of times faster computation than classical computers. But can we trust the accuracy of their results? Unlike classical computers, which give a deterministic outcome, quantum mechanics has a probabilistic nature. Therefore, it is hard to develop formal verification methods for the underlying hardware and software in quantum machines. Furthermore, ensuring compatibility across different vendors and avoiding errors, bugs, or security breaches such as malware in the quantum processing stack would be a challenge.

What is the impact?

Any computing system needs to function correctly and should have trusted computation. Given the fast computation capabilities of quantum machines, quantum error detection and correction would have a significant impact on the computing paradigm. It would enable better ways for assurable information processing and computing for future needs.