SCIENTISTS ‘HAVE ACHIEVED QUANTUM SUPREMACY’, IN DISCOVERY THAT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD

[ZiprHead]

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/quantum-supremacy-google-ibm-computing-explained-meaning-science-a9167346.html

Scientists claim to have achieved “quantum supremacy”, a breakthrough that could change the course of computing history.

Google researchers say they have broken through the milestone, meaning that a quantum computer has undertaken an operation that classical computers cannot.

Quantum supremacy marks the first step in a field that researchers claim could go on to change the world. Quantum computers are theoretically capable of doing work much quicker than the computers we use today.

IBM researchers have already criticised Google’s claims of a breakthrough, suggesting that the new discovery is not as profound as promised. But the new research has finally been published in the journal Nature, and lays out the workings of the long-rumoured breakthrough.

The Google researchers state in the paper that their computer, known as Sycamore, is able to conduct a task in 200 seconds that would take around 10,000 years on a traditional system.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Will quantum computer progress be like Voyager 2 leaving the heliosphere? As in repeatedly claimed?

 

[thebeave]

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/quantum-supremacy-google-ibm-computing-explained-meaning-science-a9167346.html

Scientists claim to have achieved “quantum supremacy”, a breakthrough that could change the course of computing history.

Google researchers say they have broken through the milestone, meaning that a quantum computer has undertaken an operation that classical computers cannot.

Quantum supremacy marks the first step in a field that researchers claim could go on to change the world. Quantum computers are theoretically capable of doing work much quicker than the computers we use today.

IBM researchers have already criticised Google’s claims of a breakthrough, suggesting that the new discovery is not as profound as promised. But the new research has finally been published in the journal Nature, and lays out the workings of the long-rumoured breakthrough.

The Google researchers state in the paper that their computer, known as Sycamore, is able to conduct a task in 200 seconds that would take around 10,000 years on a traditional system.

From the article:

The phrase “quantum supremacy” has also attracted criticism, both for its similarity to white supremacy and the fact it could encourage hyped-up reporting on the status of quantum technology. Both of those arguments were addressed by John Preskill, the scientist who coined the phrase in 2012, in a recent article where he concluded that Google’s breakthrough is nonetheless very significant.

Jesus Christ, people....give it a break.

 

[Jokodo]

From the article:

The phrase “quantum supremacy” has also attracted criticism, both for its similarity to white supremacy and the fact it could encourage hyped-up reporting on the status of quantum technology. Both of those arguments were addressed by John Preskill, the scientist who coined the phrase in 2012, in a recent article where he concluded that Google’s breakthrough is nonetheless very significant.

Jesus Christ, people....give it a break.

It is actually misleading though. Quantum chips a are not generally superior, only for specific applications. The classical CPU and increasingly classical special purpose chips aren't going to be retired any time soon.

 

[Gun Nut]

able to conduct a task in 200 seconds that would take around 10,000 years on a traditional system.

This hints at the defeat of the most common cryptographic systems in existence.
A quantum cryptography system is needed that responds to tampering... like how optical networks can detect a tap because the measurement of the signal itself changes the signal.. or something like that.

 

[barbos]

IBM says it's actually 2.5 days on classical computer, not 10,000 years.
Also task which is performed has no practical value. They basically have quantum computer running random numbers and then estimate how fast this can be simulated on a classical computer. The reason why it takes (according to Google estimates) 10,000 years is because 53 qubit computer simulation takes ridiculous amount of RAM but IBM knows how it can be managed with hard-drives and other optimizations in 2.5 days.

 

[steve_bank]

When I first heard this on CNN ,y first response was another hyped claim. Like the one on the 90s that clamed light ghad been captured in a medium and then released. Turned out it was not nearly as profound as the news reports indicated.

My question would be is a quantum computer a Turing Machine? CS theory circa 1990s stated that for a problem to be solvable it must be Turing computable regardless of how much time it took.

The claim in the news that 'google engineers' had solved a math problem in days that would take years on current systems, alluding that the quantum computer solved math impossible on current computers.