quantum supremacy

Google claims that its fastest computer, a quantum computer called Sycamore, is now faster than IBM’s fastest computer, a “classical” supercomputer called Summit. IBM is disputing the claim, but in any case it appears that quantum computers in general are making progress.

What matters is that Google’s machine is solving a computational problem in a fundamentally different way than a classical computer can. This difference means that every time its quantum computer grows by even a single qubit, a classical computer will have to double in size to keep pace. By the time a quantum computer gets to 70 qubits — likely within the next couple of years — a classical supercomputer would need to occupy the area of a city to keep up.

Quanta Magazine

Even if Google is the leader, I would assume that IBM, and a few other large corporations foreign and domestic, must have similar machines. Hopefully they will be used to improve lives, not just for nuclear weapons and derivatives trading.

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