Google's quantum chip 'Willow' achieves mind-boggling speed

Google announced a groundbreaking achievement in quantum computing with its new chip, 'Willow', which can complete computations in minutes that would take conventional supercomputers 10 septillion years. Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and Google, posted on X: "Introducing Willow, our new state-of-the-art quantum computing chip with a breakthrough that can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits, cracking a 30-year challenge in the field."

In benchmark tests, 'Willow' solved a standard computation in under five minutes that would take the 'Frontier' supercomputer, one of the world's fastest, an incomprehensible 10 septillion years to complete. Pichai added on X: "In benchmark tests, Willow solved a standard computation in <5 mins that would take a leading supercomputer over 10^25 years, far beyond the age of the universe(!)"

Hartmut Neven, founder of Google Quantum AI, stated that this milestone is a significant step towards practical quantum computing. "As the first system below threshold, this is the most convincing prototype for a scalable logical qubit built to date. It's a strong sign that useful, very large quantum computers can indeed be built," Neven said, according to Engadget. He added, "Willow brings us closer to running practical, commercially-relevant algorithms that can't be replicated on conventional computers."

The 'Willow' chip represents a major leap forward in the quest for quantum supremacy. It has 105 qubits, achieving "best-in-class performance" across critical metrics such as quantum error correction and random circuit sampling (RCS), as reported by BBC News. Google researchers announced 'Willow's success in an article published in Nature, highlighting its innovative error suppression capabilities and significant reduction in error rates compared to previous chips.

Quantum error correction has been a significant challenge in the field for nearly three decades. 'Willow' has demonstrated an exponential reduction in error rates as the number of qubits increased, promoting greater stability in calculations, which is vital for scalable quantum technology, as noted by BitPinas. The breakthrough effectively mitigates errors during problem-solving, allowing for the possibility of scaling up qubit counts without increased error rates.

The impressive capabilities of 'Willow' have drawn attention from experts.

"It's definitely thought-provoking to put it that way. What it really does is show that quantum computing technology is rapidly moving forward. It really is working," said Dr. Peter Leek from the University of Oxford, according to The Guardian. He believes that quantum computers solving real-world problems could be seen within the next five years.

Some experts urge caution. "One has to be careful not to compare apples and oranges," Professor Alan Woodward, a computing expert at Surrey University, told the BBC. He noted that while 'Willow' represents significant progress, particularly in error correction, the chip remains largely experimental. Woodward cautioned that the program Google chose to test Willow's performance was designed for quantum computers and doesn't demonstrate a universal speed-up compared to classical computers.

Despite the caution, Google envisions future quantum computers tackling challenges in various fields, including medicine, battery technology, and artificial intelligence—areas where classical computers struggle to provide solutions. The company believes that by partially solving the problem of error correction in quantum computing, it can now start working on scaling these systems, a key step toward making its quantum machines practical, according to News18.

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq