If all goes to plan in 2018, Google will unveil a device capable of performing calculations that no other computer on the planet can tackle. The quantum computing era is upon us.
Well, sort of. Google is set to achieve quantum supremacy, the long-awaited first demonstration of quantum computers鈥� ability to outperform ordinary machines at certain tasks. Regular computing bits can be in one of two states: 0 or 1. Their quantum cousins, qubits, get a performance boost by storing a mixture of both states at the same time.
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Google鈥檚 planned device has just 49 qubits 鈥� hardly enough to threaten the world鈥檚 high-speed supercomputers. But the tech giant has stacked the deck heavily in its favour, choosing to attack a problem involving simulating the behaviour of random quantum objects 鈥� a significant home advantage for a quantum machine.
This task is useless. Solving it won鈥檛 build better AI, improve image recognition or even help filter your emails. But as proof of scientific principle, Google鈥檚 first ever record-beating quantum calculation will be a landmark event on a par with the launch of Sputnik or splitting the atom.
The breakthrough will spark a rush to invest in developing quantum technology 鈥� a field that is already surprisingly far along in commercialisation. In the next decade, quantum computers will move from laboratory curiosities to actual, useful technology.
Google seems to be on track to hit 49 qubits next year. There is just one wrinkle 鈥� in October, IBM threw Google a curveball with a 56-qubit-size simulation on an ordinary computer, thus raising the bar for quantum supremacy. Next year, Google will have to show it is up to the challenge.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淕oogle鈥檚 quantum dawn鈥�
