Communications of the ACM
Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing
A paper published on Wednesday said Google's quantum computer needed minutes to perform a task that would take a supercomputer at least 10,000 years.
Credit: Google
Google said on Wednesday that it had achieved a long-sought breakthrough called "quantum supremacy," which could allow new kinds of computers to do calculations at speeds that are inconceivable with today's technology.
The Silicon Valley giant's research lab in Santa Barbara, Calif., reached a milestone that scientists had been working toward since the 1980s: Its quantum computer performed a task that isn't possible with traditional computers, according to a paper published in the science journal Nature.
A quantum machine could one day drive big advances in areas like artificial intelligence and make even the most powerful supercomputers look like toys. The Google device did in 3 minutes 20 seconds a mathematical calculation that supercomputers could not complete in under 10,000 years, the company said in its paper.
Scientists likened Google's announcement to the Wright brothers' first plane flight in 1903 — proof that something is really possible even though it may be years before it can fulfill its potential.
"The original Wright flyer was not a useful airplane," said Scott Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas at Austin who reviewed Google's paper before publication. "But it was designed to prove a point. And it proved the point."
Still, some researchers cautioned against getting too excited about Google's achievement since so much more work needs to be done before quantum computers can migrate out of the research lab. Right now, a single quantum machine costs millions of dollars to build.
From The New York Times
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