Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing

Google Claims(klām) a Quantum(ˈkwäntəm) Breakthrough(ˈbrākˌTHro͞o) That Could Change Computing

By Cade(ā) Metz

Google said on Wednesday that it had achieved a long-sought(sôt) breakthrough called “quantum supremacy(so͞o-,səˈpreməsē),” which could allow new kinds of computers to do calculations(ˌkalkyəˈlāSHən) at speeds that are inconceivable(ˌinkənˈsēvəbəl) with today’s technology.

The Silicon(-kən,ˈsiləˌkän) Valley(ˈvalē) giant’s(ˈjīənt) research lab in Santa(ˈsan(t)ə) Barbara, Calif., reached a milestone(ˈmīlˌstōn) 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(ˈe(ə)rēə) like artificial(ˌärdəˈfiSHəl) intelligence and make even the most powerful supercomputers look like toys. The Google device did in 3 minutes 20 seconds a mathematical(ˌmaTH(ə)ˈmadək(ə)l) calculation that supercomputers could not complete in under 10,000 years, the company said in its paper.

Scientists likened(ˈlīkən) Google’s announcement(əˈnounsmənt) to the Wright(rīt) brothers’ first plane(plān) flight(flīt) in 1903 — proof that something is really possible even though it may be years before it can fulfill its potential.

“The original(əˈrijənl) Wright flyer(ˈflīər) was not a useful airplane,” said Scott(skät) Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas(ˈteksəs) at Austin(ˈôstən) who reviewed Google’s paper before publication. “But it was designed to prove a point. And it proved the point.”

Still, some researchers cautioned(ˈkôSHən) against getting too excited(ikˈsīdəd) about Google’s achievement since so much more work needs to be done before quantum computers can migrate(ˈmīˌgrāt) out of the research lab. Right now, a single quantum machine costs millions of dollars to build.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/technology/quantum-computing-google.html