Paul Atkins

Quantum

Kevin

Google’s Quantum AI team says its new quantum computing chip is capable of solving a computational problem in less than five minutes — the same problem that would take one of the best supercomputers about 10 septillion years to solve.
The chip, known as Willow, can exponentially correct errors and process certain computations at a mind-boggling pace, Hartmut Neven, Google’s Quantum AI lead, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://blog.google/technology/research/google-willow-quantum-chip/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> in a Dec. 9 blog.
“This mind-boggling number exceeds known timescales in physics and vastly exceeds the age of the universe,” he said.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W7ppd_RY-UE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“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,” Neven added.
According to Neven, the second major achievement the team pulled off with Willow is the ability to reduce errors exponentially as it’s scaled up using more qubits, cracking a “key challenge” in quantum error correction that experts in the field have “pursued for almost 30 years.”
“Using our latest advances in quantum error correction, we were able to cut the error rate in half. In other words, we achieved an exponential reduction in the error rate,” he said.
<figure>
 <img alt="Google, Technology, Quantum Computing" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193ae5b-826e-7b34-b839-5793fae3d774" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Google’s Quantum AI team says their new quantum computing chip Willow outperforms across several metrics. Source: Google
 </figcaption>
</figure>
“This historic accomplishment is known in the field as “below threshold” — being able to drive errors down while scaling up the number of qubits,” Neven added.
A qubit, or quantum bit, is a basic unit of information and key to quantum computing; the more you have, the higher computational power is achieved. Still, adding more qubits increases the risk of errors.&nbsp;
If error rates are too high, the computation will become unreliable and produce incorrect results, making it difficult to scale up the technology to practical, large-scale use.
In a Dec. 9 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/sundarpichai/status/1866167429367468422" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">statement</a> to X, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Willow is an important step in the tech giant’s journey to build a “useful quantum computer” with practical applications in drug discovery, fusion energy and battery design.
<figure>
 <img alt="Quantum Computing" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193ae48-d149-7e6d-84fd-c4705e325baa" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/sundarpichai/status/1866167562373124420" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Sundar Pichai&nbsp;</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Google hopes to one day develop a computer capable of complex, error-corrected computations. Its quantum computing <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://quantumai.google/roadmap" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">roadmap</a> shows the company has only reached milestone two of six, which it hit in 2023.
<h2 id="strong-is-willow-a-threat-to-crypto-encryption-strong">Is Willow a threat to crypto encryption?</h2>
Advances in<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/cryptocurrency-vs-quantum-computing-a-deep-dive-into-the-future-of-cryptocurrencies" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> quantum computing</a> have long been feared <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/post-quantum-threats-to-proof-of-work-cryptocurrencies" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">as an inflection point for the crypto industry</a>. Computers capable of breaking encryption could expose user funds to thieves in large volumes and at rapid rates.
Tech entrepreneur and former senior product manager for Google, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/moonbirds-creator-kevin-rose-loses-1-1m-in-nfts-after-1-wrong-move" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Kevin Rose</a>, said in a Dec. 9 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/kevinrose/status/1866253464420208722" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">statement</a> on X that Willow was still far short of being a threat to crypto.
According to Rose, estimates for compromising Bitcoin’s encryption would require a quantum computer with approximately 13 million qubits to achieve decryption within 24 hours.
“In contrast, Google’s Willow chip, while a significant advancement, comprises 105 qubits,” he said.
<figure>
 <img alt="Quantum Computing" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193ae49-cd7d-7d6f-a613-7bb03ccc576e" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/kevinrose/status/1866253464420208722" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Kevin Rose</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<blockquote>
 “We have a ways to go. Nonetheless, this is a remarkable leap forward in quantum computing.”
</blockquote>
<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-democratizing-investment-banking-options-lightspark-founder" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">David Marcus, CEO of payment platform</a> Lightspark, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/davidmarcus/status/1866208266214146554" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> he doesn’t think most people “fully understand the significance” of the breakthrough by Google.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/scientists-breach-crypto-algorithms-quantum-computer-report" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Scientists breach cryptographic algorithms with quantum computer: SCMP</a>
According to Marcus, it means “post-quantum cryptography and encryption need to get moving.”
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has already<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/simple-hard-fork-subvert-quantum-attack-ethereum-vitalik-buterin" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"> proposed a way to mitigate</a> the risk of quantum computing for Ethereum, explaining in a March X post that a simple hard fork could subvert the issue.
Buterin said the blockchain would have to hard fork, and users would have to download new <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/public-key-vs-private-key" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">wallet software</a>, but few would lose their funds.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-price-100k-donald-trump-paul-atkins-sec-gary-gensler-hodlers-digest/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC hits $100K, Trump taps Paul Atkins for SEC chair, and more: Hodler’s&nbsp; Digest, Dec. 1 – 7</a>

Google unveils new quantum computing chip: Clock ticking for crypto encryption?

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Dec 10, 2024

DWF Labs Launches $20 Million AI Agent Fund to Accelerate Innovation in Autonomous AI Technologies

Microsoft Shareholders Vote against the Bitcoin Proposal

Billionaire Ray Dalio supports Bitcoin and Gold over debt assets

Skipped the Popcat Presales? Don’t Miss Out on BTFD, The Game Changer

Bybit Expands On-Chain Earn Offering with SUI Staking

EXPOSED Cardano ADA X Hack and SUPRA Is Rising

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!