Google’s new quantum chip solves in 5 minutes what would take a classical computer billions of years to do

Google announced a significant advance in quantum computing on Monday when it unveiled its next-generation chip called Willow. This new chip, developed at the company’s quantum lab in Santa Barbara, California, was able to solve a complex mathematical problem in just five minutes – a task that would take classical computers longer than the history of the universe. “Willow performed a standard benchmark calculation in less than five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (i.e. 1,025) years – a number that far exceeds the age of the universe,” Google wrote in a blog post.

Like other technology leaders like Microsoft, Google’s goal is to revolutionize data processing by achieving speeds far beyond current systems. While the problem solved by Google’s chip has no immediate commercial application, the company envisions quantum computers that address challenges in medicine, battery technology and artificial intelligence that go beyond the capabilities of today’s machines.

For the uninitiated, a quantum chip is a special type of computer chip that uses the principles of quantum mechanics, the science of very small particles like atoms. Unlike regular chips, which use “bits” (0 or 1) to process information, quantum chips use “qubits,” which can be 0, 1, or both at the same time. This unique capability allows quantum chips to perform complex calculations much faster than traditional computers.

What is the Google Willow quantum chip?

At the heart of Google’s breakthrough is the Willow chip, which is equipped with 105 qubits – the basic units of quantum computing. Qubits are inherently faster than traditional bits, but are susceptible to errors caused by tiny perturbations such as subatomic particles. These errors represent a significant hurdle because they tend to increase the more qubits there are on a chip, affecting performance.

Willow’s achievement is incredible: Google says it completed a task in less than five minutes that would take even the fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. That’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years – much longer than the age of the universe. This amazing result supports the idea that quantum computing works in many parallel realities and is consistent with the multiverse theory proposed by David Deutsch.

Google says that by carefully linking Willow’s qubits, it was able to reduce error rates as the number of qubits increased. Additionally, Google claims it can now correct errors in real time, a crucial step in making quantum machines usable for real-world use.

The breakthrough

“We have broken even,” said Hartmut Neven, head of Google Quantum AI, in an interview with Reuters.

Although some competitors build chips with more qubits, Google values ​​the reliability of the qubits. According to Anthony Megarant, chief architect of Google Quantum AI, this approach ensures consistent progress. The company also invested in its own Willow manufacturing facility to enable faster development cycles.

“When we have a good idea, we want someone on the team to get it into the clean room and into one of these cryostats as quickly as possible to speed up the learning process,” Megrant said.

This milestone comes amid fierce competition. In 2019, Google was criticized by IBM for its claim that an earlier quantum chip had solved a problem that would take classical computers 10,000 years to complete. IBM argued that the task could be accomplished in just two and a half days using optimized classical methods. To address these concerns, Google explained in a blog post on Monday that even under ideal conditions, a classical computer would take a billion years to achieve the results of the latest chip.

Hartmut Neven says the next big step for quantum computing is to perform a “useful, beyond-classical” computation – one that current quantum chips can handle and that has real-world applications. “We are optimistic that the Willow chip generation can help us achieve this goal. So far there have been two different types of experiments. On the one hand, we ran the RCS benchmark, which measures performance compared to classic computers, but for which there are no known real-world applications. On the other hand, we have carried out scientifically interesting simulations of quantum systems that have led to new scientific discoveries but are still within the reach of classical computers. Our goal is to do both at the same time – to move into the realm of algorithms that are beyond the reach of classical computers and that are useful for real-world, commercially relevant problems,” he said.