Google has announced its latest quantum computing chip, called Willow, offering breakthrough features in error correction and computing power. This is like completing a complex computing task in five minutes that would take one billion years, or much longer, on one of today’s fastest supercomputers. The universe has always existed.
This is a remarkable improvement from Google’s 2019 declaration that its then-Sycamore quantum processor could solve equations in three minutes, compared to 10,000 years for supercomputers. (At the time, IBM pushed back on this claim, saying it was too optimistic.)
But the latest advances could represent a major step toward building large-scale quantum computers that can address complex scientific and societal challenges. Unlike traditional computers, quantum computers can process large amounts of data simultaneously in ways that have the potential to transform fields such as science, medicine, energy, and AI.
However, quantum computing is prone to errors because the fundamental unit of quantum computing, the qubit, is unstable. Google said Willow, with 105 qubits, overcomes these issues by scaling up the number of qubits in a way that reduces errors “exponentially.”
“The more qubits we use in Willow, the less errors we have and the more quantized our system is,” Hartmut Neven, founder and leader of Google Quantum AI, said in a Google blog post on Monday. “This solves an important challenge in quantum error correction, which the field has been pursuing for almost 30 years.”
Watch this: See how Google Quantum AI reveals Willow quantum computing chip
06:00
Google also published Willow’s performance results in the journal Nature. You can see a summary of Willow’s features in the video clip above.
“We’re looking to the future with Willow,” Julien Kelly, director of hardware at Google Quantum AI, said in a video. We are continuing to build quantum computers.” We are excited to solve tomorrow’s unsolvable problems with future commercially useful applications in areas such as pharmaceuticals, batteries, and fusion power generation. ”
Neven also said in a blog post that the latest milestone is the culmination of more than a decade of research and “has moved us significantly along the path toward commercially relevant applications.” I am.
