Google introduced its newest quantum chip, Willow, which performed a random circuit sampling benchmark computation in less than five minutes — a task that would take a modern supercomputer 10 septillion years to complete.
Building a Large-Scale Quantum Computer
The development aligns with Google Quantum AI’s goal to build a large-scale quantum computer that uses quantum mechanics to advance scientific discovery.
Google expects Willow to help the company reduce errors as it scales up its use of qubits, the computation units in quantum computers. The company recently used quantum error correction to test physical qubits in 3-by-3, 5-by-5, and 7-by-7 grids and reportedly halved the error rate each time.
Nearing Real-World Applications
The company produced Willow at its fabrication site in Santa Barbara, California. According to Google, Willow features 105 qubits, moving the company closer to developing practical, commercially relevant algorithms that conventional computers cannot replicate.
Google will next attempt to achieve a “useful, beyond classical” computation on modern quantum chips for real-world applications.
Necessary Tool for AI
Hartmut Neven, the founder and lead of Google Quantum AI, identified quantum computation as a necessary tool for artificial intelligence, gathering training data that classical machines cannot access, training and optimizing learning architectures, and modeling systems.
Potential applications include discovering new medicines, designing electric vehicle batteries, and accelerating progress in new energy alternatives.
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