Technological advances are moving at a dizzying pace, almost impossible to keep up with. Almost without realizing it, we have entered an era where increasingly faster and more powerful ways of processing information are needed. That is why it could be said that we are at the beginning of the quantum computing era. The year 2019 was significant with the arrival of the Sycamore processor. However, it seems to have become somewhat obsolete with the arrival of the Willow chip developed by Google. Its features make it much more stable and capable of resolving quantum errors on the fly.
Thanks to its qubits, it operates much longer without interruptions, making it more useful when facing real problems. Furthermore, Willow has proven to have a coherence time that surpasses the decoherence times in various random circuit sampling tests. In these tests, it was demonstrated how Willow was able to solve a problem that a classical computer would take septillions of years to solve. All of this does not mean that quantum technology will not replace current computers, just that we are facing the processors of the future.
The quantum computing era
Current computers are unable to meet the speed and precision demands required by technology. To address this, quantum computing has been utilized, which has yielded better results. It was in 2019 when the first steps were taken thanks to the Sycamore processor, but at the pace that technology progresses, it seems to have become obsolete. Now, Google has launched the Willow chip, which appears to be the solution to many of the challenges previously faced.
Chip Willow
The differences that separate Sycamore from Willow are considerable. On one hand, Willow exhibits much greater stability, and its ability to correct errors on a large scale in real-time is outstanding. This aspect is particularly important, as it means that its states of decoherence are lower than those of previous chips. What is decoherence? It is what occurs when a qubit (the basic units of quantum information) loses its quantum state due to environmental interference. This translates into longer coherence times, specifically five times longer than Sycamore. These factors contribute to making its power even greater and, above all, useful when it comes to solving real-world problems.
The septillion years problem
The famous problem of septillions of years actually refers to a laboratory test called random circuit sampling. It is not an impossible mission for classical computers, only that they would need billions of years to provide an answer! Willow, specialized in quantum parallelism (the ability to manage multiple possibilities at the same time), has demonstrated the ability to solve this problem with vastly greater performance.
Is this the end of classical computers?
Absolutely not. Classical computers will not be replaced by quantum ones, as their functions are completely different. The creation of quantum chips aims to complement current computers, designating their use for specific and more complex tasks. The ultimate goal is for both to evolve together, without the need to eliminate either of them.
What do these advances imply?
These advances do not imply the elimination of the computing we know so far. On the contrary. Scientists believe we are facing a new era that is based on everything we know so far, but requires a new approach. Thanks to quantum computing, we can begin to imagine new possible scenarios for the future, without the need to discard what is known so far.