Tell me about this Google quantum supremacy business then

[T & P]

Google's Quantum Computer Just Aced an 'Impossible' Test

I know next to fuck all about the science but from the little I’ve read on the subject, it sounded to me like quantum computing would be a massive game changer for mankind but decades away at best.

But Google claimed yesterday what it seems a major breakthrough on the technology. So why hasn’t this generated Higgs boson-level worldwide headlines? Are Google telling porkies? Or is a computer with a processing power hundreds of millions of times faster than the most powerful supercomputers no significant enough?

 

[editor]

Google's Quantum Computer Just Aced an 'Impossible' Test

I know next to fuck all about the science but from the little I’ve read on the subject, it sounded to me like quantum computing would be a massive game changer for mankind but decades away at best.

But Google claimed yesterday what it seems a major breakthrough on the technology. So why hasn’t this generated Higgs boson-level worldwide headlines? Are Google telling porkies? Or is a computer with a processing power hundreds of millions of times faster than the most powerful supercomputers no significant enough?

All thanks to Trump, apparently.

 

[souljacker]

It did make headlines. It was on the BBC website and the Today programme.

What it means is unclear. They've managed to solve a problem really quickly. But whether they can make it solve any problem remains to be seen.

Oh, and don't worry if you don't understand it. No-one really does. Richard Feynam said that if you think you understand it, you don't.

 

[Fez909]

IBM have said they reckon it could be solved in a few days on a classical computer, so there's that.

It's a good achievement, but the task they solved was really random. It's like holding the world record for the longest paperclip chain: a bit contrived, and totally pointless.

 

[Mumbles274]

I heard there is no known application for it yet, as a in, we dont have problems comlex enough that need it to be solved

 

[2hats]

It is a major step in that it demonstrates that quantum computing provides a tangible speed up for a real task, albeit a very specific one of limited practical application. However the machine is 54 qubits (and in fact only 53 were used for this particular exercise) whereas a general purpose quantum computer is likely going to need millions of qubits (the more qubits one has, the harder it is to keep a quantum computer stable). It's probably going to be some years yet before a programmable quantum computer can tackle a 'real' problem that can't be solved some other way with a comparable (or at least not impractical) runtime.

Note that IBM have since claimed that they have developed a traditional computing method that solves the same problem in substantially less time than that suggested by Google (days versus tens of thousands of years) though that research is yet to be peer reviewed.

More here:


The original paper - DOI:10.1038/s41586-019-1666-5

 

[souljacker]

I heard there is no known application for it yet, as a in, we dont have problems comlex enough that need it to be solved

The main application is in encryption/decryption. The amount of processing power to work out which two primes were used to generate an encryption key is beyond us currently and only a quantum computer can realistically perform the calculations required in a sensible time frame.

 

[weltweit]

So, a few registers all of which can be both 0 and 1 at the same time. (understand weltweit? Non)

G will now go on to produce even faster rubbish on its search results page using this device and probably the US DoD will achieve improved face recognition, as a service to us all

 

[8ball]

I heard there is no known application for it yet, as a in, we dont have problems comlex enough that need it to be solved

Hell, give me one of those things, I'd find uses for it pretty quickly.

Once I'd finished playing Skyrim with all the settings maxed out and all graphics mods enabled.

 

[Chilli.s]

Looks good:

Think this one is ibm's

 

[T & P]

Looks good:

Think this one is ibm's

It'd make a nice ceiling lamp if nothing else

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It is a major step in that it demonstrates that quantum computing provides a tangible speed up for a real task, albeit a very specific one of limited practical application.

Isn't there a danger of a certain circularity here? It's measuring the effects of quantum interference by simulating quantum interference. It's impressive, but isn't it essentially describing itself? Doesn't seem a very fair comparison to ask how long it would take a classical computer to do the same thing.

To date, I believe the most complex 'real' achievement (real as in not self-referential) is the factorisation of 21 using Shor's algorithm. I'm kind of more impressed by that at first reading as it indicates a route towards something impressive and useful. Not sure what this new achievement indicates a route towards.

 

[JimW]

So not the latest Bond then?

 

[8ball]

Someone tried to explain it in a pub as like the calculations were being resolved in parallel universes due to the nature of the qbit.

This explains the unworkability of so many attempts and the general flawed nature of the project.

When it seems to not work, we’re just solving a similar stupid test problem for the guys in some universe where Trump isn’t even President, and when Google did their recent experiment we just stopped someone else’s kit from working.

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

I think it's about time we had The Talk

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - The Talk

 

[8ball]

I think it's about time we had The Talk

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - The Talk

Indeed. My post said more about drunken pub rambling than anything to do with, well.. anything.

Great little cartoon by the way - manages to be silly and say quite a lot at the same time (especially the last pane which made tea come out of my nose).

 

[Marty1]

All thanks to Trump, apparently.

No wonder Trump regards himself as a ‘very stable genius’.

 

[2hats]

Not sure what this new achievement indicates a route towards.

The point really is the speedup over the traditional route which clearly isn't the case for the Martín-López (2012) work (IBM claims briefly set aside).

Good thread to mention - there is a publicly accessible quantum computer on line - IBM Q.

Furthermore - see also plans to build a secure quantum Internet. A trial network is under construction.