Has Google made a quantum breakthrough?

This week, Google announced that it had made a major step forward in quantum computing with its new quantum chip Willow. The AI and search giant stated that it had successfully completed calculations that would previously have been impossible using its new piece of hardware.

In doing so, Google has taken shots at existing supercomputer infrastructure and driven excited chatter on social media – as well as worried posts about how the end of encryption is just around the corner. But how significant is this breakthrough? And what does it mean for the future of quantum computing?

In this episode, Jane and Rory recap Google’s Willow announcement and detail what its immediate and long-term implications could be.

Highlights

“What the researchers at Google are claiming is that Willow completed a calculation that would have taken Frontier 10 septillion years, which is ten to the power of 25 or ten thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand years, which is longer than the universe has been around.”

“Actually, if you're looking at a quantum level, really anything in the world is very complex. There are infinitesimal processes going on. So he points to things like nuclear fusion – very complex. But also medicines, looking at designing more efficient batteries for electric cars.”

“As Google pointed out, every time you scale up in quantum computing, you massively increase the amount of error. So the fact that they have managed to scale up and at every stage, achieve good results is definitely worth applauding. But whether you can just draw a line on a graph from there, it's obviously far from that simple.”

Footnotes

• Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip
• Explained: P vs. NP
• Preparing for the quantum revolution
• UK government quantum investment welcomed by industry
• Why experts are warning businesses to prepare for quantum now – or face critical cyber risks when it arrives
• Quantum supremacy is here — so what?
• The quantum computing sector needs to cut the hype and focus on responsible development
• UK quantum computing ambitions need a 'pro-innovation' regulatory approach akin to AI

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