Google's WIllow chip is a big leap towards usable quantum computing but its claim of beating a classical computer by a 'septillion years' is meaningless
Quantum computers might seem like a work of science fiction but they really do exist. While they're still a long way from being used for the purposes for which they're best suited, Google's quantum computing research lab has published results on its latest chip that show the future isn't as distant as you'd think.
The quantum chip in question is called Willow (via Ars Technica) and Google likes to use some rather creative copy to describe its capabilities: «Willow performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years — a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe.»
That does sound mightily impressive but the benchmark in question is one that's essentially designed to showcase quantum computers in the best possible light.
Even so, what Google has done with Willow is impressive, even if one ignores the hyperbole and all comes down to something called quantum error correction (QEC). This is a collection of techniques that are used to help overcome quantum computing's problems around errors and it's generally thought that QEC will be the tool that leverages quantum computing out of the lab and into everyday reality.
The paper detailing Google's work is understandably very complex but the overall gist of it is that the researchers at Google Quantum AI discovered adding more qubits to Willow actually reduced its error rate, rather than increasing it.
This was achieved by grouping more physical qubits (the quantum computing equivalent of a digital bit) into logical qubits, making it much easier to detect, and then correct, any errors.
On face value, the numbers achieved don't seem particularly impressive—105 physical qubits in total, with an error rate of 0.143%—but this is why Google used the 'septillion years' statement mentioned above, to try and put it into some kind of context.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Read more on pcgamer.com
