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Sycamore, his 53-qubit quantum computer, was able to compute proof in three minutes and 20 seconds that the numbers created by a random number generator are in fact random. Theoretically, it would take about 10,000 years for Summit, the most powerful supercomputer in the world, to solve the same problem – making proof, for all practical purposes, impossible to solve by a traditional computer. "To our knowledge, this experiment marks the first calculation that can only be performed on a quantum processor," wrote the article's authors.
However, Google's claim has already sparked controversy. In an interview with FTDario Gil, head of research at IBM, said the company's complaint was "indefensible – it's just wrong." He went on to say that Sycamore did not pass the litmus test for a versatile quantum computer because it was designed to solve a particular problem. Part of the question here is the term "quantum supremacy" itself. Invented in 2012 by the theoretical physicist John Preskill, it is supposed to mean the moment when a quantum computer is created, able to perform calculations impossible to achieve by the most powerful supercomputers. In a field as hot as quantum computing, the first research team to be able to claim quantum supremacy is a big problem. According to an anonymous source FT The team that drafted the document was reluctant to use the term for fear of being arrogant.
Other computer scientists, however, have been less critical of this advance. Daniel Lidar, professor of engineering at the University of Southern California, said at FT society "has shown a way towards an evolutionary quantum computer". Whether you define what Google has managed to achieve with Sycamore as a quantum computer or not in some respects does not matter. What is essential here is that the company was able to solve some complex problems on the way of creating a quantum computer in its own right. We are probably still in years and years of quantum computing that will change our daily lives, but the success of Google marks an important first step.
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