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Google Buys a Quantum Computer

bits.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#21

Post by pfortuny »

i_am_dead wrote: post #9
Ygg2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been some calculations that are consistent with entaglement which is a premise for quantum behavior. However D-Wave isn't a general quantum computer. It's an adiabatic quantum computer. I'm pretty sure it can't solve Shor's algorithm, because it only does function optimizations.

D-Wave does have a factoring algorithm. See the comments from D-Wave here: http://dwave.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/learning-to-program-th... "We do have a factoring algorithm that I’m going to do a series of blog posts on"

There are the RSA challenges which are as public as you get them. Just factor a bunch of the numbers... That IS peer reviewing and no mistake.

http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/node.asp?id=2092

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#22

Post by Retric »

lucian1900 wrote: post #17
i_am_dead wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

D-Wave does have a factoring algorithm. See the comments from D-Wave here: http://dwave.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/learning-to-program-th... "We do have a factoring algorithm that I’m going to do a series of blog posts on"

If they actually do have a factoring algorithm, it's easy for them to prove: factor something we give them that is obviously unfeasible for classical computers and give us the result.

Quantum computers can't solve arbitrarily large factirisation problems. The signal gets weaker the largers the numbers get to the point where factoring a 4096 bit number is not going to happen.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#23

Post by michaelochurch »

Whenever I hear about Google doing some genuine technology, it just makes me a million times more fucking angry to compare what Google must be like if you're a Real Googler (machine learning projects, basic research, quantum computing, meaningful work) to the misery that the other 90% endure.

I feel like this should be much more of an HR problem than it seems to be. Whenever it comes out that Google's real members are working on a neat AI or robotics problem, everyone who's stuck working on some dead-end maintenance project for some terminal middle manager ought to go to a VP and say, "I want on this cutting-edge technology now or I will fucking quit." That 18-months bullshit should be cause for shit to get blown up.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#24

Post by danbruc »

i_am_dead wrote: post #9
Ygg2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been some calculations that are consistent with entaglement which is a premise for quantum behavior. However D-Wave isn't a general quantum computer. It's an adiabatic quantum computer. I'm pretty sure it can't solve Shor's algorithm, because it only does function optimizations.

D-Wave does have a factoring algorithm. See the comments from D-Wave here: http://dwave.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/learning-to-program-th... "We do have a factoring algorithm that I’m going to do a series of blog posts on"

They are probably not able to factor interesting numbers - here is an estimation from Physics SE what their technology is probably capable of.

http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/11063/can-quantum...

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#25

Post by greenmountin »

i_am_dead wrote: post #9
Ygg2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been some calculations that are consistent with entaglement which is a premise for quantum behavior. However D-Wave isn't a general quantum computer. It's an adiabatic quantum computer. I'm pretty sure it can't solve Shor's algorithm, because it only does function optimizations.

D-Wave does have a factoring algorithm. See the comments from D-Wave here: http://dwave.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/learning-to-program-th... "We do have a factoring algorithm that I’m going to do a series of blog posts on"

This is absurd. That's a comment on a blog post, proposing a bombastic title, "Better than Shor". I'm pretty sure if they could get anywhere near Shor using their architecture they'd get more than a sympathy Nature paper.

The truth is, D-Wave has done nothing to foster the coherence of their "qubits", and so they have built a very expensive, superconducting, classical computer. There is no quantum trick, actually. You have a system of buckets and you adjust the pipes and pumps between them so that in steady-state the water levels solve some problem you program in (with the pumps). Then you start in a random configuration, turn on the earthquake machine for a bit of randomness, and end up in the "ground state" solution.

The exponential speedup of quantum algorithms is sketchy enough: good luck performing an N-qubit logic gate, or in assuming that it's your favorite black-box that need only be executed a polynomial number of times (every quantum computing textbook uses their own set of universal gates). But these guys aren't even trying.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#26

Post by mellotron »

UniZero wrote: post #18
blocking_io wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They already are at least 10 years ahead of everyone else What one Earth does this mean?

Well, he did include "at least" which suggests he was just coming up with a rough figure. I somewhat agree with him. There is no denying that Google is (arguably) one of the most powerful companies out there. Are they ten years ahead of everyone else? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing for certain is that they have the computing power, finance,and connections to pretty much pursue whatever they want. Is that a bad thing…

Just wait until Google self driving tech is installed into a majority of new cars in 20 years. Or less.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#27

Post by prawks »

michaelochurch wrote: post #23

Whenever I hear about Google doing some genuine technology, it just makes me a million times more fucking angry to compare what Google must be like if you're a Real Googler (machine learning projects, basic research, quantum computing, meaningful work) to the misery that the other 90% endure. I feel like this should be much more of an HR problem than it seems to be. Whenever it comes out that Google's real members ar…

So who works on the rest of the existing Google systems once everyone just up and switches to doing research and "meaningful work"?

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#28

Post by cantos »

Retric wrote: post #22
lucian1900 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they actually do have a factoring algorithm, it's easy for them to prove: factor something we give them that is obviously unfeasible for classical computers and give us the result.

Quantum computers can't solve arbitrarily large factirisation problems. The signal gets weaker the largers the numbers get to the point where factoring a 4096 bit number is not going to happen.

Real quantum computers don't exist. If one did exist it would need to factor numbers much larger than 4096 bits efficiently for it to be considered a real quantum computer.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#29

Post by nicholassmith »

Interesting, I thought D-Wave was still a bit ropey and quantum computing was a bit of a fussy problem to get working consistently. Although it comes as no surprise Google is getting on the quantum computing bandwagon nice and early, but the idea of the pinnacle of algorithmic research with quantum computing being done by a company that likes to optimise data processing to help advertise to you more effectively is...well, frankly somewhat ridiculous.

Re: Google Buys a Quantum Computer

#30

Post by contango »

michaelochurch wrote: post #23

Whenever I hear about Google doing some genuine technology, it just makes me a million times more fucking angry to compare what Google must be like if you're a Real Googler (machine learning projects, basic research, quantum computing, meaningful work) to the misery that the other 90% endure. I feel like this should be much more of an HR problem than it seems to be. Whenever it comes out that Google's real members ar…

That doesn't seem like the most effective way of getting involved...
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