Recently, Google’s realization of the topic of “quantum hegemony” has once again caused a sensation.
Google once again meets with the old rival IBM. IBM’s quantum computing scientists publicly stated on October 21 that Google’s claim that “quantum hegemony” was flawed and that Google actually manipulated the test.
At the beginning of the “quantum hegemony”, there is a core standard that requires quantum challengers to do things that classic computers can’t do at all. This is also seen as a milestone in the field of quantum computing, meaning that the computing power of quantum computers surpasses that of traditional computers.
According to the British “Financial Times” reported on September 20th, a paper proving that Google achieved “quantum hegemony” was briefly published on the NASA official website, claiming that “Google’s artificial intelligence quantum research group The 53 qubit processor implements ‘quantum hegemony’.
In a nutshell, Google has proved that the quantum computer takes only 3 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the calculations. Currently, the world’s fastest supercomputer Summit takes 10,000 years to complete.
Although this paper disappeared soon, the shocks that have been triggered continue to this day. Steve Brierley, a quantum technology consultant at the UK government, commented: “This is the first time someone has proven that the performance of a quantum computer can really outperform a classic computer. It is an amazing achievement.”
In the past month alone, as the developer of the supercomputer Summit, the old rival IBM has launched a confrontation with Google in a blog: IBM’s quantum computing scientists believe that Google’s claimed “quantum hegemony” has huge flaws. It does not fully utilize the computing power of modern supercomputers.
IBM said that Summit only took two and a half days to complete Google’s claimed calculations, and it didn’t take 10,000 years.
In response, Google declined to comment. But Jonathan Dowling, a professor at Louisiana State University, said that at present, IBM seems to have some advantages. Google has chosen a problem that they think is difficult to solve on a classic machine, but now IBM has proved that this problem is not as difficult as Google imagined.
According to the 2018 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, quantum computers can change the rules of the game in many areas: cryptography and chemistry, the impact of chemistry can be widely influenced by materials science, as well as agriculture and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, quantum computing has advanced by leaps and bounds, and companies such as IBM, Google, Intel, and Microsoft have established large research teams.
And Google has been claiming that it has approached quantum hegemony for years, and IBM has taken a different path. He emphasized partnerships with companies interested in quantum computing, such as JPMorgan Chase, to promote their quantum computing projects.