Explained: Why Willow’s low-error pitch is remarkable – Technology News

With 105 qubits and advanced error correction, Google’s new quantum computing chip, Willow, promises to change the world of quantum computing. Banasree Purkayastha examines what makes Willow so fascinating and frightening at the same time

What makes Willow unique?

Willow is Google’s new quantum computing chip that has demonstrated how to exponentially reduce errors in quantum computers while using more qubits to scale the technology – a problem researchers have been trying to solve for 30 years. It was also able to perform a standard benchmark calculation in less than five minutes, which would take Frontier, today’s fastest supercomputer, 10 septillion (or 1,025) years, a number that exceeds the age of the universe. Willow, which has 105 qubits, “now offers best-in-class performance,” according to Hartmut Neven, founder and head of Google Quantum AI.

In 2019, Google announced that its Sycamore quantum processor could perform a mathematical equation in three minutes, compared to 10,000 years on a supercomputer. So Google has certainly come a long way since then.

Google manufactured its previous chips in a shared facility at the University of California, Santa Barbara, but built its own dedicated manufacturing plant to produce its Willow chips.

Qubits and quantum computing

Quantum computing builds on the laws of quantum mechanics, but processes data in a different way. So instead of using bits like classical computers do, it has quantum bits or qubits. Qubits can exist in multiple states at the same time, such as 1, 0, and any state in between. As for how qubits are physically constructed, they are not switches or transistors, but elements that have quantum mechanical behavior. The problem with qubits is that they tend to exchange information quickly with their surroundings, making it difficult to protect the information needed to perform a calculation.

So the more qubits you use, the more errors will occur. As Neven explains in his blog post, errors are one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing. “We tested ever-larger arrays of physical qubits, moving from a grid of 3×3 encoded qubits to a 5×5 grid, then to a 7×7 grid – and each time using our latest advances in quantum error. correction, we were able to reduce the error rate by half. In other words, we got an exponential reduction in the error rate,” he said.

What this means for AI and encryption

Quantum technology has the potential to exponentially increase computing power, enabling more accurate predictions and insights to transform communications networks and optimize the flow of goods, resources and money. Sectors as diverse as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, banking and mining could all be transformed with quantum computing; developers can train machine learning and AI models with fewer data points. Neven says the technology will be indispensable for collecting AI training data, ultimately helping to “discover new drugs, design more efficient batteries for electric cars, and accelerate progress in fusion and new alternatives energy”.

But quantum computers could also solve the data “puzzles” that are at the heart of encryption protection, making all systems and data immediately vulnerable, The Guardian points out. This could deal a major blow to cryptocurrency and even cybersecurity.

Others in the race for quantum computing

IBM, Microsoft and Amazon are all working on their own quantum computing systems. IBM first made quantum computers available on the cloud in 2016. IBM Quantum Heron, its fastest quantum processor, can now run Qiskit, the world’s most powerful quantum software. Recently, Microsoft took a new step in quantum computing in partnership with California-based Atom Computing. The duo has entangled the largest number of logical qubits ever recorded, with the goal here being to create scalable, fault-tolerant quantum systems. They plan to start shipping these machines next year.

Researchers at Amazon’s AWS Center for Quantum Networks have worked with Harvard University to create a “quantum network” capable of transmitting entangled photons from one quantum computer to another via fiber optic cables.

Can we expect a concrete application in the near future?

It’s far. Although Google says the chip represents a major breakthrough and could soon pave the way for “a useful, large-scale quantum computer,” Willow still remains a largely experimental device. Quantum computing itself is still an experimental field. Willow is therefore the latest development in quantum computing, a field that “attempts to use the principles of particle physics to create a new type of mind-bogglingly powerful computer,” as the BBC puts it.

The most impressive advancement is that Willow is “below threshold” – able to reduce errors while increasing the number of qubits. As Engadget says, this could pave the way for a future in which quantum computers solve problems with tangible effects on people’s lives. For now, we may be on the verge of running commercially relevant algorithms that cannot be replicated on conventional computers.