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Willow, Our Quantum Chip

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Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#61

Post by sshb »

goatking wrote: post #51
vessenes wrote: post #18

I’m a quantum dabbler so I’ll throw out an armchair reaction: this is a significant announcement. My memory is that 256 bit keys in non quantum resistant algos need something like 2500 qubits or so; and by that I mean generally useful programmable qubits. To show a bit over 100 qubits with stability, meaning the information survives a while, long enough to be read, and general enough to run some benchmarks on is some…

How can I, a regular software engineer, learn about quantum computing without having to learn quantum theory? > Worth spending a little time doing some long tail strategizing I’d say any tips for starters?

Might be worth checking out: https://quantum.country/

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#62

Post by paxys »

jawns wrote: post #8

> It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse I see the evidence, and I see the conclusion, but there's a lot of ellipses between the evidence and the conclusion. Do quantum computing folks really think that we are borrowing capacity from other universes for these calculations?

I don't understand the jump from: classical algorithm takes time A -> quantum algorithm takes time B -> (A - B) must be borrowed from a parallel universe.

Maybe A wasn't the most efficient algorithm for this universe to begin with?

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#63

Post by jsvlrtmred »

readyplayernull wrote: post #11

> It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse, a prediction first made by David Deutsch. Processing in multiverse. Would that mean we are inyecting entropy into those other verses? Could we calculate how many are there from the time it takes to do a given calculation? We need to cool the quantum chip in our universe, ho…

AFAIK a fundamental step in any quantum computing algorithm is bringing the qubits back to a state with a nonrandom outcome (specifically, the answer to the problem being solved). Thus a "good" quantum computer does not bifurcate the wavefunction at a macro level, ie there is no splitting of the "multiverse" after the calculation.

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#65

Post by zitterbewegung »

goatking wrote: post #51
vessenes wrote: post #18

I’m a quantum dabbler so I’ll throw out an armchair reaction: this is a significant announcement. My memory is that 256 bit keys in non quantum resistant algos need something like 2500 qubits or so; and by that I mean generally useful programmable qubits. To show a bit over 100 qubits with stability, meaning the information survives a while, long enough to be read, and general enough to run some benchmarks on is some…

How can I, a regular software engineer, learn about quantum computing without having to learn quantum theory? > Worth spending a little time doing some long tail strategizing I’d say any tips for starters?

I recommend this book I studied it in Undergrad and I never took a quantum theory course. https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Computing-Computer-Scientists...

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#66

Post by danielbln »

griomnib wrote: post #54
ComputerGuru wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn’t make sense to me because if we can borrow capacity to perform calculations then we can “borrow” an infinite amount of energy.

Climate change solved: steal energy from adjacent universes, pipe our carbon waste into theirs.

Remind me of The Expanse, where the ring space is syphoning energy from some other universe to keep the gates open.

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#69

Post by DebtDeflation »

wasabi991011 wrote: post #59
DebtDeflation wrote: post #34

>the more qubits we use in Willow, the more we reduce errors, and the more quantum the system becomes That's an EXTRAORDINARY claim and one that contradicts the experience of pretty much all other research and development in quantum error correction over the course of the history of quantum computing.

It's really not so extraordinary, exponential reduction in logical errors when the physical error rate is below a threshold (for certain types of error correcting codes_ is well accepted an both theoretical and computational grounds. For a rough but well-sourced overview, see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_theorem For a review paper on surface codes, see A. G. Fowler, M. Mariantoni, J. M. Martinis…

Does this not assume uncorrelated errors?

Re: Willow, Our Quantum Chip

#70

Post by _benj »

whimsicalism wrote: post #29

We need to seriously think if our systems/society are even remotely ready for this.

This comment reminded me of the TV show I've been recently watching on Netflix, Pantheon. It's about a different technical breakthrough (I don't want to put any spoilers), but it's also something that completely alters society, no security is able to deal with that new technology, first thing that happens is that the technology is weaponized... etc.

Idk enough about quantum computing to even understand this... but a technology that turns, say, AES or Blowfish, suddenly trivial to crack would very likely change the world

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