Study of Quantum computing companies
- 01/06/2025 – New Google computer chip so fast it ‘may rely on parallel universes’
- 12/10/2024 – Google has unveiled a new quantum computer chip that cracks a ’30-year challenge in the field’
- Quantum-computing stocks are soaring as investors place bets on ‘the next big thing’ in tech – MarketWatch
- 12/10/2024 – Goodbye to the universe as we know it? Google’s quantum chip defies scientists and speaks of parallel universes
On Monday 9th of december, Google announced Willow, the newest and most powerful quantum computing chip. While the claims of speed and reliability for the chip were certainly impressive, what really surprised the tech world was a far more contentious claim buried in the blog post announcing it. The reason for this, according to Hartmut Neven, the head of Google Quantum AI, was that the performance of the Willow chip was so phenomenally fast that it had to have “borrowed” the computation from parallel universes. And to the multiverse being parallel universes.
The fundamental advancement that underlies Willow’s performance stems from its capacity to execute calculations at a significantly faster rate than traditional computers. In contrast to conventional digital systems, which depend on bits (either 0 or 1), quantum computers utilize qubits. Qubits possess the unique ability to exist in multiple states simultaneously, leveraging quantum entanglement, a phenomenon in which particles remain interconnected across considerable distances. This capability enables quantum computers to tackle complex problems that classical computers are incapable of addressing even in their preliminary stages.
But what’s cool with Willow is its ability to significantly reduce errors in quantum calculations, which has been a major problem with previous quantum chips. Quantum computers inherently tend to make many mistakes because of the nature of the qubits, which are unstable. The more qubits used, the more errors tend to accumulate, which makes reliability a continuing problem. Google claims that Willow has overcome some of these challenges and, therefore, is closer to viable quantum computing.
However, some skepticism has still been raised regarding the claim that Willow derives its speed from tapping computational power from other universes. For one, this hypothesis is based on performance metrics from Google itself and, arguably, lacking in scientific basis. The performance benchmarks applied by Google when testing quantum computers were itself set by the company, which raises questions as to the appropriateness and relevance of the test.
