Google announced a major breakthrough in quantum computing on Monday, claiming its new 105-qubit processor, dubbed “Willow,” solved a complex computational problem in just five minutes – a task that would take even the most powerful classical supercomputers longer than the age of the universe, CNN reports.
This achievement, detailed in a paper published in the journal Nature, marks a significant step towards building practical, error-corrected quantum computers.
The problem itself, while not commercially applicable, demonstrates the potential of quantum computing to tackle currently intractable challenges in fields like medicine, battery technology, and artificial intelligence. The success hinges on Google’s advancements in quantum error correction, a critical hurdle in scaling up quantum processors.
Unlike classical bits representing 0 or 1, qubits can represent both simultaneously, enabling exponentially faster computations. However, qubits are extremely sensitive to environmental interference, leading to errors that accumulate as more qubits are added. For decades, scientists have grappled with mitigating these errors. Google claims Willow overcomes this limitation, achieving lower error rates as the number of qubits increases, even correcting errors in real-time.
“We are past the break-even point,” said Hartmut Neven, head of Google Quantum AI, in an interview.
This refers to the point where the benefits of increased qubits outweigh the increased error rates, a long-sought goal in the field.
Google addressed previous criticisms regarding its 2019 claim of quantum supremacy, acknowledging concerns raised by IBM about the computational time required by classical systems. Even under the most optimistic assumptions for classical computers, Google maintains that the problem solved by Willow would still take billions of years to complete.
While competitors boast chips with a higher qubit count, Anthony Megrant, chief architect for Google Quantum AI, emphasized Google’s focus on reliability. The company’s new dedicated fabrication facility, replacing its previous shared facility at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will accelerate the development and production of future, even more powerful quantum processors, which operate within extremely cold cryostats.
