Oliver Dial, CTO of IBM Quantum, joins Mark and Jeremy to Think on Paper about Starling, IBM's most advanced quantum chip, and why fault-tolerant quantum computing is the milestone that matters.

Starling is the first chip designed to move IBM beyond error mitigation and into real-time quantum error correction, targeting a 1:1000 ratio of logical to physical qubits by 2029.

Backed by IBM’s $30 billion investment into quantum computers, Starling marks a shift from raw qubit counts to scalable reliability.

What that means for business, material science, chemistry, physics and financial systems is beyond exciting.

And if you're intimidated by quantum, remember This is Thinking On Paper, so you don’t need a physics degree to follow thi, just a curious mind.

Your reward? You’ll walk away understanding why fault tolerance is the thing that finally makes quantum useful and how IBM intend to get there.

Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.

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Links and resources:

IBM Quantum: ⁠https://quantum.ibm.com/⁠

Starling press release: ⁠https://newsroom.ibm.com/2025-06-10-I...⁠

Blog: ⁠https://www.ibm.com/quantum/blog/larg...⁠

IBM Roadmap updates: ⁠ • 2025 IBM Quantum Roadmap update ⁠

Follow Thinking On Paper:

Thinking On Paper: ⁠https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/⁠

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Chapters

(00:00) IBM's Quantum Investment

(02:11) The IBM Roadmap to Quantum Advantage

(05:00) Error Mitigation vs. Fault Tolerance

(07:47) The Hybrid Quantum-Classical Approach

(10:18) Physical vs. Logical Qubits

(12:45) Magic States and Universal Quantum Computing

(15:15) Loon, Kookaburra & Future IBM Developments and Milestones

(17:12) The Future of IBM Quantum Computing

(19:11) A Day in the Life of an IBM Quantum CTO

(21:25) Building a Quantum Workforce

(23:37) The Intersection of AI and Quantum

(25:40) Practical Applications of Quantum Technology

(28:02) Why Quantum Matters to Humanity

What kind of journalist wins Science Writer of the Year, writes for WIRED and the BBC, then walks away to study physics?

Katia Moskvitch did exactly that. Author of Neutron Stars: The Quest to Understand the Zombies of the Cosmos, she joins Mark and Jeremy to Think on Paper about why explaining the universe wasn’t enough, not without understanding it.

They get into neutron stars, general relativity, quantum computing, and why most science writing breaks the moment it stops asking questions.

From chasing pulsars in the Australian desert and breaking down superposition and qubits for Wired, to writing for The BBC (and leaving the BBC), Katia’s career is built on resisting surface-level knowledge, pushing the boundaries of technology writing and the pursuit of understanding.

The conversation asks what it really takes to write honestly about the universe, technology and our place in it.

You'll get first hand accounts of:

- Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the Nobel that wasn’t

- What quantum computers actually are, and what most reporting gets wrong

- Why the best technology writing is by those who really understand

- Why neutron stars break your brain (and should)

- What happens when science writing becomes content

- The future of women in astrophysics, and what still hasn't changed

This isn't about making science accessible. It's about keeping it honest.

Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.

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Links

Katia: https://www.quantamagazine.org/authors/katiamoskvitch/

Neutron Stars: The Quest for the Zombies of The Cosmos: https://www.amazon.com/Neutron-Stars-Understand-Zombies-Cosmos/dp/0674919351

Follow Thinking On Paper

Thinking On Paper: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/

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Former Guests:

IBM, D-Wave, Kevin Kelly, Don Norman, Coinbase, Starcloud, David Bianchi, IONQ

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Chapters

(00:09) Why Curiosity Still Matters in Science Communication

(01:52) What Makes a Great Science Journalist

(04:56) Katia’s Journey from BBC to Nature to Wired

(09:20) Reporting Science from the Field (and Under Solar Panels)

(11:26) When Awards Don’t Mean Understanding

(14:42) Quantum Computing Without the Hype

(17:31) What Most People Misunderstand About Qubits

(21:21) The Women Erased from Scientific Discovery

(22:23) Neutron Stars: Why One Spoon Weighs More Than Earth

(26:33) Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the Pulsar That Changed Everything

(30:28) Astrophysics, Gender, and the Fight for Recognition

(32:09) Quantum Weirdness and the Future of Technology

(40:13) Space, AI, and What Comes After Us

Did consciousness exist before biology? Is it built into the structure of the universe? In Chapter 8 of Irreducible, Federico Faggin questions physics, then rewrites it. Consciousness, he argues, isn’t a side effect of neurons. It’s fundamental. It existed before space, before time, before anything we’d call “life.”

Mark and Jeremy break it down like two people with no PhDs but a lot of questions. What if every pure quantum state carries a private, uncopyable experience? What if selfhood isn’t in your head but in a field? What if entanglement is free will? And what does any of this mean for AI?

This is Faggin’s theory of quantum information based panpsychism. And it’s either genius or madness. Possibly both.

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Chapters

(00:00) Consciousness and The Big Questions

(01:24) The Shift in Understanding Consciousness

(02:38) Consciousness: Quantum vs Classical

(06:14) What Is Panpsychism and Quantum Information?

(09:03) Qualia and Conscious Experience

(11:23) What Is Seity?

(19:26) Free Will and Quantum Entanglement

(21:21) Unsolved Problems of Existence

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Read more: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz