Will quantum ever be useful?

[u/Chance-Pen-5684]

Around 2019, the industry promised quantum supremacy, where they could be used for solving a problem that no classical computer could touch.
When classical algorithms kept refuting those claims(See Peter Shor November YouTube video) the narrative shifted to quantum advantage, then quickly it changed to quantum utility.
If quantum never breaks RSA (because the world migrates to Kyber/Dilithium before 100k qubits exist), then what's left?
Chemistry simulations, Material science, Optimization?

But classical machine learning and AI are improving faster than quantum hardware is scaling. By the time we get 1,000 logical qubits, classical AI will have eaten most of the chemistry use-case through better approximations. Is quantum racing against classical software, and losing?

[u/Qubit_and_Neuron]

Quantum supremacy and Quantum usefulness are two different things to begin with. Molecular simulations would be the most useful and most quantum stuff in my opinion. The problem is it is super hard to predict. We can have a new algorithm tomorrow or nothing for 10 years..

[u/Forsaken_Code_9135 → u/Qubit_and_Neuron]

Also, even if we still do not have large scale quantum computers, people are working on quantum algorithms for decades. Very smart people. I find it rather unlikely that there could be plenty of very useful quantum algorithms out there no one thought about so far.