Acquiring quantum supremacy would be a significant achievement for computer scientists, forcing them to reevaluate what is possible with computers.
Google’s quantum computer proved its superiority by performing a task no classical computer could complete in an acceptable amount of time – showing how this particular task could indeed be completed through quantum computing.
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“Quantum supremacy” refers to a quantum computer’s ability to perform calculations that would otherwise be infeasible for classical computers in any reasonable timeframe and was first recognized by Professor John Preskill, Richard Feynman Chair of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, in 2012.
To establish quantum supremacy, researchers must demonstrate that a programmable quantum processor can solve any computational problem within an agreed-upon timeframe that cannot be solved by any other device (including supercomputers) within any specified period. This requirement far surpasses Church-Turing Thesis’ claim that any computation can be solved on any machine.
This distinction is significant because it shows quantum computers may have valuable applications in areas like decryption while simultaneously signalling that these devices may not yet be ready for primetime. To demonstrate quantum supremacy, Google’s team needed to execute a complicated random circuit which took classical computers 10,000 years, even on supercomputers, to simulate; as part of this test of quantum supremacy and prove that Google systems could handle such tasks swiftly enough valuable applications.
Cracking Shor’s algorithm – a currently impossible calculation that forms the basis of most modern cryptography – should provide an ideal test case with the potential to both increase security and revolutionize machine learning.
Quantum computing can also advance artificial intelligence research since its increased processing power makes up for any declines in Moore’s law that are slowing the advancement of more innovative apps. Quantum supremacy may speed this up and pave the way for self-driving cars or other more advanced applications in the future.
Though many argue that an improved classical algorithm will allow computers to overcome quantum supremacy, this is unlikely. Achieving such a feat requires an enormous number of qubits, which most computers currently do not possess, and their error rates must still be drastically decreased.
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Quantum computing is an intriguing field, yet it has given rise to much speculation and misinformation. One dubious claim has been the notion of quantum supremacy – that quantum computers outperform classical ones on tasks classical ones cannot perform quickly enough in a reasonable time – leading to endless speculation as Google recently published a paper purporting to reach this milestone.
Quantum supremacy can be an abstract concept, so it is crucial that we first grasp its true meaning before exploring what this could mean for computing in general. First of all, it should be noted that this benchmark was not meant to demonstrate definitively that quantum computers outshone classic ones; instead, it served as a test to see whether quantum machines could perform calculations that would have been infeasible on classical machines due to limited resources.
This experiment aimed to show that a quantum computer could effectively complete a complex quantum circuit that could not be simulated by any classical computer in an acceptable timeframe, which it accomplished within three minutes – quite a feat in itself! However, this does not imply that any particular task will run faster on quantum computers; though some more specific and unusual problems may run quicker, that goal should not necessarily or even be desirable at this stage for this technology.
Gideon Lichfield: Last September, Google researchers leaked an online paper which claimed they had achieved “quantum supremacy.” To achieve this feat, their quantum computers completed calculations which would take the most potent classical supercomputer on Earth 10,000 years to accomplish but only three minutes on Google’s quantum supercomputers.
Google made headlines around the world after revealing their quantum computer project. However, then scientists at IBM, one of Google’s main competitors in quantum computer research, issued a statement disputing Google’s achievements as being too lofty and suggesting quantum supremacy was overrated anyway. This led to much debate, and I travelled to both companies to see what was going on.
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Last September, Google leaked a paper that detailed their scientists’ astounding feat: they used their quantum computer to perform calculations that would take the most potent classical supercomputer on Earth 10,000 years – yet completed it within three minutes! Google termed this accomplishment “quantum supremacy.” It marked another important milestone on their long road toward creating working quantum computers capable of performing valuable computations.
The announcement caused much excitement–and, as expected, caused great debate about its true meaning. Google conducted this work using the Bristlecone quantum processor, which operates with 49 qubits; IBM’s Summit quantum processor can simulate 56 qubits, so Google’s claim does not hold water.
Even so, this achievement remains impressive: one of the first demonstrations of quantum supremacy. Coined by Richard P. Feynman, professor of theoretical physics John Preskill in 2012, quantum supremacy refers to situations in which quantum computers could do work that was impossible or impractical for traditional computers or would take too long for traditional ones to complete; it does not need to be particularly useful; what matters is just being able to perform computation.
Once quantum supremacy is attained, computer scientists will need to reevaluate how we use computers – specifically, how we protect data and information from prying eyes. Quantum computers’ ability to factor large numbers will alter current forms of encryption math, which poses severe concerns as current digital security measures may become vulnerable to attack.
Experts speculate that quantum computing will accelerate artificial intelligence development while revolutionizing machine learning – as quantum computers allow machines to perform specific calculations exponentially faster than on traditional computers.
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Google’s announcement in 2019 that they had achieved quantum supremacy caused quite an uproar. Although scientists have proven before that a quantum computer can outshone traditional ones, this milestone is significant for two reasons.
Techopedia Explores Quantum Supremacy
This technology works as intended, moving us one step closer to creating a fully functioning quantum computer with revolutionary potential for our world. More importantly, this research proves experimentally that quantum computing can perform optimization problems more efficiently than classical computers can, which in turn may open up new avenues of application for this groundbreaking technology.
John Preskill coined the term “quantum supremacy” in 2012 to highlight how quantum computers would be capable of performing tasks more quickly than conventional ones could, particularly optimization problems that can help advance logistics, machine learning and finance fields. This aspect is especially critical because quantum computers may prove invaluable tools in solving such tasks more efficiently than their counterparts in terms of speed and effectiveness.
Google achieved this by performing a computational task on their 53-qubit quantum computer, which is challenging to replicate even using superfast classical supercomputers, and then comparing its results with those of conventional computers. They found that classical computers needed 10,000 years for the task while their quantum computer completed it within three minutes and 20 seconds.
To achieve quantum supremacy, a team of scientists must first find an optimization problem suited for solving on a quantum computer and construct a quantum circuit to perform calculations on it. Classical computers cannot deal with the large number of logic gates and qubits (quantum bits) needed by quantum computers for calculations to occur effectively.
Once a suitable algorithm has been selected, scientists must test its efficacy on their quantum computer and compare its output against that from running it on a conventional computer. If they discover that both versions produce identical output, then scientists will have demonstrated their superiority over each other.