The tech giant claims it has achieved an ‘exponential reduction in the error rate’ and can correct errors in real time.

Google said it has overcome a major challenge facing quantum computing with its new chip, called Willow.

Error correction is a critical hurdle in quantum computing because in order to scale quantum computers up, they need more qubits – the basic unit of information in quantum computing.

Typically, the more qubits added, the more error-prone they are, meaning the possibilities of quantum computing can’t be achieved.

In a research paper published in Nature yesterday (9 December), the tech giant claims its new chip can reduce errors the more qubits are added to it.

In an accompanying blogpost, Hartmut Neven, founder and lead of Google Quantum AI, said the team tested “ever-larger arrays of physical qubits” and each time they were able to cut the error rate in half.

“In other words, we achieved an exponential reduction in the error rate. This historic accomplishment is known in the field as “below threshold” – being able to drive errors down while scaling up the number of qubits,” he said.

“You must demonstrate being below threshold to show real progress on error correction, and this has been an outstanding challenge since quantum error correction was introduced by Peter Shor in 1995.”

Neven also said Willow shows “compelling examples” of real-time error correction on a superconducting quantum system and added that this is “the most convincing prototype” for a scalable logical qubit to date. “It’s a strong sign that useful, very large quantum computers can indeed be built.”

The road to quantum success

Quantum computing is at the forefront of emerging technology and Google is among several major tech players that have been investing heavily trying to solve the challenges that are holding the technology back.

In 2019, the search giant claimed to have achieved ‘quantum supremacy’, saying its experimental quantum processor has completed a calculation in three minutes and 20 seconds that a traditional supercomputer could not complete in under 10,000 years.

However, IBM, another major player in the quantum space, quickly took issue with Google’s claim, saying the company had underestimated the conventional supercomputer.

IBM itself has also been working to solve major quantum challenges and in 2022, it revealed a new method to double size of quantum simulations. And in 2023, the tech company launched a $100m initiative with US and Japanese universities to develop a quantum-centric supercomputer over the next 10 years.

However, in an interview with SiliconRepublic.com, quantum industry veteran Bob Sutor said we are still very much in the “experimental phase” of quantum in that the problems are understood but they are still very much blocking the path.

He said that if we as a society are going to get serious, we have to get “much more deliberate” about tackling quantum and it doesn’t just mean throwing money at different companies.

“That is one of my passions, trying to push that sort of unified direction. It’s not just a country, it can be a region, it can be an alliance and so forth, but it’s not going to happen with just a random collection.”

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