Liwaiwai Liwaiwai
  • /
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Robotics
  • Engineering
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Software
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Learning
  • About
  • /
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Robotics
  • Engineering
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Software
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Learning
  • About
Liwaiwai Liwaiwai
  • /
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Robotics
  • Engineering
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Software
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Learning
  • About
  • Technology

Google And IBM Are At Odds Over ‘Quantum Supremacy’ – An Expert Explains What It Really Means

  • October 30, 2019
  • admin

Google claims to have demonstrated something called “quantum supremacy”, in a paper published in Nature. This would mark a significant milestone in the development of a new type of computer, known as a quantum computer, that could perform very difficult calculations much faster than anything possible on conventional “classical” computers. But a team from IBM has published their own paper claiming they can reproduce the Google result on existing supercomputers.

Google

While Google vs. IBM might make a good story, this disagreement between two of the world’s biggest technology companies rather distracts from the real scientific and technological progress behind both teams’ work. Despite how it might sound, even exceeding the milestone of quantum supremacy wouldn’t mean quantum computers are about to take over. On the other hand, just approaching this point has exciting implications for the future of the technology.


Partner with liwaiwai.com
for your next big idea.
Let us know here.



From our partners:

CITI.IO :: Business. Institutions. Society. Global Political Economy.
CYBERPOGO.COM :: For the Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
DADAHACKS.COM :: Parenting For The Rest Of Us.
ZEDISTA.COM :: Entertainment. Sports. Culture. Escape.
TAKUMAKU.COM :: For The Hearth And Home.
ASTER.CLOUD :: From The Cloud And Beyond.
LIWAIWAI.COM :: Intelligence, Inside and Outside.
GLOBALCLOUDPLATFORMS.COM :: For The World's Computing Needs.
FIREGULAMAN.COM :: For The Fire In The Belly Of The Coder.
ASTERCASTER.COM :: Supra Astra. Beyond The Stars.
BARTDAY.COM :: Prosperity For Everyone.

Quantum computers represent a new way of processing data. Instead of storing information in “bits” as 0s or 1s like classical computers do, quantum computers use the principles of quantum physics to store information in “qubits” that can also be in states of 0 and 1 at the same time. In theory, this allows quantum machines to perform certain calculations much faster than classical computers.

In 2012, Professor John Preskill coined the term “quantum supremacy” to describe the point when quantum computers become powerful enough to perform some computational task that classical computers could not do in a reasonable timeframe. He deliberately didn’t require the computational task to be a useful one. Quantum supremacy is an intermediate milestone, something to aim for long before it is possible to build large, general-purpose quantum computers.

Read More  Stanford Engineers’ Optical Concentrator Could Help Solar Arrays Capture More Light Even On A Cloudy Day Without Tracking The Sun

In its quantum supremacy experiment, the Google team performed one of these difficult but useless calculations, sampling the output of randomly chosen quantum circuits. They also carried out computations on the world’s most powerful classical supercomputer, Summit, and estimated it would take 10,000 years to fully simulate this quantum computation. IBM’s team have proposed a method for simulating Google’s experiment on the Summit computer, which they estimated would take only two days rather than 10,000 years.

Random circuit sampling has no known practical use, but there are very good mathematical and empirical reasons to believe it is very hard to replicate on classical computers. More precisely, for every additional qubit the quantum computer uses to perform the calculation, a classical computer would need to double its computation time to do the same.

The IBM paper does not challenge this exponential growth. What the IBM team did was find a way of trading increased memory usage for faster computation time. They used this to show how it might be possible to squeeze a simulation of the Google experiment onto the Summit supercomputer, by exploiting the vast memory resources of that machine. (They estimate simulating the Google experiment would require memory equivalent to about 10m regular hard drives.)

Larger quantum circuits could do the same calculations as huge amounts of classical computing memory. Yurchanka Siarhei

The 53-qubit Google experiment is right at the limit of what can be simulated classically. IBM’s new algorithm might just bring the calculation within reach of the world’s biggest supercomputer. But add a couple more qubits and the calculation will be beyond reach again. The Google paper anticipates this, stating: “We expect that lower simulation costs than reported here will eventually be achieved, but we also expect that they will be consistently outpaced by hardware improvements on larger quantum processors.”

Read More  New Programmable Materials Can Sense Their Own Movements

Whether this experiment is just within reach of the world’s most powerful classical supercomputer, or just beyond, isn’t really the point. The term “supremacy” is somewhat misleading in that it suggests a point when quantum computers can outperform classical computers at everything. In reality, it just means they can outperform classical computers at something. And that something might be an artificial demonstration with no practical applications. In retrospect, the choice of terminology was perhaps unfortunate (though Preskill recently wrote a reasoned defence of it).

Impressive science

Yet Google’s work is a significant milestone. With quantum hardware reaching the limits of what can be matched classically, it opens up the intriguing possibility that these devices – or devices only slightly larger – could have practical applications that cannot be done on classical supercomputers. On the other hand, we don’t know of any such applications yet, even for devices with a few hundred qubits. It’s a very interesting and challenging scientific question, and an extremely active area of research.

As such, the Google results are an impressive piece of experimental science. They do not imply that quantum computers are about to revolutionise computing overnight (and the Google paper never claims this). Nor are these useless results that achieve nothing new (and the IBM paper doesn’t claim this). The truth is somewhere in between. These new results undoubtedly move the technology forward, just as it has been steadily progressing for the last couple of decades.

As quantum computing technology develops, it is also pushing the design of new classical algorithms to simulate larger quantum systems than were previously possible. IBM’s paper is an example of that. This is also useful science. Not only in ensuring quantum computing progress is continually being fairly benchmarked against the best classical techniques, but also because simulating quantum systems is itself an important scientific computing application.

Read More  SAP And Unilever Pilot Blockchain Technology To Support Deforestation-Free Palm Oil

This is how science and technology progresses. Not in one dramatic and revolutionary breakthrough, but in a whole series of small breakthroughs, with the academic community carefully scrutinising, criticising and refining each step along the way. Only a few of these advances and debates hit the headlines. The reality is both less dramatic and more interesting.The Conversation

 

Toby Cubitt, Reader (Associate Professor) in Quantum Information, UCL

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


For enquiries, product placements, sponsorships, and collaborations, connect with us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Our humans need coffee too! Your support is highly appreciated, thank you!

admin

Related Topics
  • Computing
  • Google
  • IBM
  • quantum computer
  • Quantum Computing
  • Quantum Supremacy
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

NASA’s Mars Rovers Could Inspire A More Ethical Future For AI

  • September 26, 2023
Robotic Hand | Lights
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

Nvidia H100 Tensor Core GPUs Come To Oracle Cloud

  • September 24, 2023
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Engineering
  • Technology

AI-Driven Tool Makes It Easy To Personalize 3D-Printable Models

  • September 22, 2023
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

Huawei Connect 2023: Accelerating Intelligence For Shared Success

  • September 20, 2023
Data
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Technology

UK Space Sector Has Sights Set On Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Professionals

  • September 15, 2023
Intel Innovation
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

Intel Innovation 2023

  • September 15, 2023
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

Introducing OpenAI Dublin

  • September 14, 2023
View Post
  • Technology

NASA Shares Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Report

  • September 14, 2023
A Field Guide To A.I.
Navigate the complexities of Artificial Intelligence and unlock new perspectives in this must-have guide.
Now available in print and ebook.

charity-water



Stay Connected!
LATEST
  • 1
    NASA’s Mars Rovers Could Inspire A More Ethical Future For AI
    • September 26, 2023
  • 2
    Oracle CloudWorld 2023: 6 Key Takeaways From The Big Annual Event
    • September 25, 2023
  • 3
    3 Ways AI Can Help Communities Adapt To Climate Change In Africa
    • September 25, 2023
  • Robotic Hand | Lights 4
    Nvidia H100 Tensor Core GPUs Come To Oracle Cloud
    • September 24, 2023
  • 5
    AI-Driven Tool Makes It Easy To Personalize 3D-Printable Models
    • September 22, 2023
  • 6
    Applying Generative AI To Product Design With BigQuery DataFrames
    • September 21, 2023
  • 7
    Combining AI With A Trusted Data Approach On IBM Power To Fuel Business Outcomes
    • September 21, 2023
  • Microsoft and Adobe 8
    Microsoft And Adobe Partner To Deliver Cost Savings And Business Benefits
    • September 21, 2023
  • Coffee | Laptop | Notebook | Work 9
    First HP Work Relationship Index Shows Majority of People Worldwide Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Work
    • September 20, 2023
  • 10
    Huawei Connect 2023: Accelerating Intelligence For Shared Success
    • September 20, 2023

about
About
Hello World!

We are liwaiwai.com. Created by programmers for programmers.

Our site aims to provide materials, guides, programming how-tos, and resources relating to artificial intelligence, machine learning and the likes.

We would like to hear from you.

If you have any questions, enquiries or would like to sponsor content, kindly reach out to us at:

[email protected]

Live long & prosper!
Most Popular
  • Intel Innovation 1
    Intel Innovation 2023
    • September 15, 2023
  • 2
    Microsoft And Oracle Expand Partnership To Deliver Oracle Database Services On Oracle Cloud Infrastructure In Microsoft Azure
    • September 14, 2023
  • 3
    Real-Time Ubuntu Is Now Available In AWS Marketplace
    • September 12, 2023
  • 4
    IBM Brings Watsonx To ESPN Fantasy Football With New Waiver Grades And Trade Grades
    • September 13, 2023
  • 5
    Document AI Workbench Is Now Powered By Generative AI To Structure Document Data Faster
    • September 15, 2023
  • /
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Explore
  • About
  • Contact Us

Input your search keywords and press Enter.