{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523", "docSlug": "340e94a59fc0", "documentTitle": "IonQ Inc. (IONQ)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "activist-deck", "documentKindLabel": "Activist deck", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2022-05-03 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.2941177, "pageNumber": 123, "pageCount": 183, "prevPage": 122, "nextPage": 124, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "dense", "nDataPoints": 0, "notes": "Uses the 'elves in the background' metaphor to suggest hidden manual labor.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "quote_block", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 1, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523/123", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523#slide-123", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "We wonder whether there still may be elves in the background.", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d2-7501-bd84-621d3a8e5661", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.08 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "Given the computer’s low level of uptime, we speculate (with only circumstantial red flags) whether manual processing may be occurring in the background by human beings, similar to Theranos employees allegedly using third-party blood testing machines.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "7c2a7be1-f4ee-4536-94e4-96c79d80d2b5", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.23 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "One researcher who used IonQ’s machine via AWS described jobs sitting in the queue for 30-60 minutes, and sometimes having to “wait until the next day for the job to come back.” A leading quantum computing expert who has worked with IonQ and its founders suggested a high degree of manual involvement in the background in running calculations. He stated that this has now been automated but may not work as well as when humans did it. We wonder whether there still may be elves in the background.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "cd708f57-c999-4df1-96cb-313810ff30a2", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.68 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "Manual processes have now been automated but may not work as well as when human beings were doing them. “...for every computational experiment that we ran, we needed to calibrate the gate from scratch, and it was a manual process. Now, this process has been fully automated, and I guess a fully automated process may not be doing as good of a job as the human was back in the day...”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "8c0939f7-403f-4816-bd07-3cdd65b3f314", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.5 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "Jobs sit in the queue for long periods and may not be ready until the following day. “Your problem sometimes will sit in the queue for 30 minutes or one hour... you have to wait for the job to come back, and sometimes you have to wait until the next day for the job to come back.”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "8f2907d3-f5e3-45e9-9cdc-00b7aee34757", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "\"Your problem sometimes will sit in the queue for 30 minutes or one hour, depending on how busy their quantum computer is. So, 30 minutes to do the setup, and then submit the job and then you have to wait for the job to come back, and sometimes you have to wait until the next day for the job to come back.\" — Quantum computing expert; user of IonQ's machine; quantum computing faculty member. \"The device that they used back then, it was a 5-qubit device, and I believe IonQ right now has an 11-qubit device... for every computational experiment that we ran, we needed to calibrate the gate from scratch, and it was a manual process. Now, this process has been fully automated, and I guess a fully automated process may not be doing as good of a job as the human was back in the day\" — Leading quantum computing expert who has worked closely with IonQ and its founders.", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d2-7501-bd84-6474a7245cd1", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.03, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.95 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ed93a565-f4d2-40b7-bf0f-a8f63f9a1f56", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [ { "name": "antagonist-introduction", "slug": null, "matchId": "862b65eb-fb3b-4aa6-9bee-d391e65c8750", "evidence": "Comparison to Theranos employees", "confidence": 0.8 } ], "arcBeats": [], "loops": [], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }