Google continues to boast of its exploits, and has just announced its latest quantum processor, which they have called Willow. The tech giant says on its blog that this chip stands out from every other chip ever made primarily by two factors: the first is its incredible speed in computational tests, and the second is the way it exponentially reduces the mistakes she makes – which is common. . in quantum computers – like the number of qubits.
But what really catches the eye is Google's own statement: in its internal random circuit sampling (RCS) tests, which is considered the toughest test a computer can be subjected to. quantum computerWillow finished it in less than five minutes. To put this into perspective, Frontier, the most powerful supercomputer of 2024, would take 10 seven billion years to perform the same calculation… or 1025 years, it would therefore be absurd and it is determined that it cannot be done in practice.
Willow, Google's new quantum chip
As we mentioned a moment ago, the second factor Google is boasting about with this chip is its ability to exponentially reduce the number of computational errors made as the number of qubits increases. According to Google, this advancement solves a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has been trying to solve for more than 30 years. Google backs up these claims with a white paper titled “Quantum Error Correction Below Surface Code Threshold.”
In its tests, Google used increasingly larger arrays of qubits, moving from the typical grid of qubits encoded 3×3 to 5×5 to 7×7. In each of these “jumps” the error rate was cut in half, which is why they explain that the error rate is reduced exponentially.
Google claims to have manufactured Willow in its own factory in Santa Barbara. The processor has 105 qubits, which may not seem like a big deal, but in reality, if it is as good as they say, it is normal that they boast that “quality is better than quantity” in this case. And it's true, producing more qubits wouldn't do any good if they produce a huge percentage of errors, right?
The tech giant says it will continue to work with Willow to advance the quantum processor roadmap they have outlined, and they are quite optimistic as they say they hope to “enter the realm of algorithms that are out of scope of classic supercomputers. and which are really useful for real world problems.
Google's new Willow chips arrive just five years after the company claimed “quantum supremacy” by launching its 54-qubit Sycamore processor. However, Sycamore has proven to be…controversial to say the least, since IBM stepped in to contradict Google's claims, but hey, that's another story. We will see if IBM now comes back to the forefront to say bad things about Willow.
