File under:Huge, if true.
Lets be up front here, Im not a quantum physicist.
So take the grain of salt Im about to feed you with a separate, larger grain of salt.
The claims coming out of China are credible and theresearch paperappears to be totally legit.
But I still dont believe it.
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What we know:the researchers built a 66-qubit quantum computer.
Background:uh, when did we start calling this stuff quantum primacy?
Ive been covering quantum computing for years now and this is a new one by me.
To this day there are plenty of tech experts who only tell the Google/NASA side of that episode.
And that brings us to 25 October, 2021, and the news out of China.
Whats the deal?Is it real?
The results take us further toward trusting claims that we have indeed reached the age of computational quantum primacy.
Sanders goes on to recognize the debate over quantum advantage, even mentioning the IBM and Google beef.
But are they really?
The types of algorithms being run arent particularly useful in the everyday world outside of a research lab.
Theyre essentially really giant math problems that can be made exponentially more difficult.
Thats the same thing Google said about IBMs supercomputer.
Quick take:Quantum primacy is a made up buzz-term without any real merit.
And one imagines Google has every incentive to debunk the idea that Chinas completely eclipsed their alleged accomplishments.
Lets just wait and see what happens shall we?
It does bear mentioning that, quantum primacy claims aside, this is incredible research.
This paper almost surely represents a major breakthrough in quantum computing.
And, once the dust all settles, itll be interesting to see where the team goes from here.
