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Why Google's Willow Chip is a Revolutionary Change for Quantum Computers

Contributor Tim Bajarin tracks how the tech industry impacts personal computer and consumer electronics markets.
I'll admit right from the start that I'm not an expert on quantum computers. However, over the past two years, thanks to various educational seminars and direct one-on-one meetings with representatives from IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and others, I've gained a deeper understanding of this technology. These meetings have helped analysts like me navigate the complexities of quantum computing, its impact, and its future role in computing. Quantum computing promises to revolutionize everything from healthcare and finance to scientific research—but only if it can overcome significant hurdles that currently limit its broader adoption.

Earlier this week, Google unveiled its latest quantum processor, Willow. This chip represents a massive leap forward in the field. Based on its specifications and capabilities, Willow could be the breakthrough that transforms quantum computing from a technical curiosity into a practical tool.

To put it simply, Willow's computational power is staggering. It can solve a complex calculation in less than five minutes, while the fastest classical supercomputer would take roughly ten septillion years to do the same. Yes, septillion—that's a one followed by 24 zeros. This astonishing performance demonstrates the immense potential of quantum technology. But what makes Willow even more significant is how it addresses one of the biggest and most persistent challenges in quantum computing: error rates.

For nearly 30 years, one of the fundamental obstacles to quantum computing has been its reliability. As quantum systems add more qubits (the quantum equivalent of classical bits), they tend to become more error-prone. And this is where Willow's design is revolutionary. It exponentially reduces error rates as the number of qubits increases, something no other system has achieved so far. Willow doesn't just add more qubits—it makes them more reliable, which is a critical factor if quantum computers are ever to solve real-world problems.

In 2019, Google made a bold claim about achieving quantum supremacy, which was met with some skepticism. This term refers to the point where a quantum computer can perform a task that a classical computer cannot, or would take too long to complete. Willow is a significant step toward commercially viable quantum computing.

The technology behind Willow is sophisticated. The chip contains 105 qubits—roughly double the number in Google's previous Sycamore chip. But the real focus isn't just on the quantity of qubits, but also on their quality. Willow's qubits have significantly improved coherence times (known as T1 times), which have increased roughly fivefold compared to previous chips, allowing them to retain information for longer periods—a key factor in ensuring accuracy and stability.

Google's focus on scalability and error resilience also speaks to a broader vision for quantum computing. Willow is a promising prototype for building larger and more robust quantum computers. In this sense, it's a stepping stone toward a much more powerful quantum ecosystem that could eventually solve problems beyond the reach of today's classical computers.

While Willow represents a significant leap forward, the technology is still in its early stages. Widespread and practical applications of quantum computing are likely still several years away.

At the educational meetings and conferences I've attended over the past few years, industry leaders often spoke of quantum computing as something that would have a significant impact later in this decade. If Willow lives up to its promise, we could see quantum computing having a much more immediate impact than previously imagined.

If Google's Willow chip fulfills its short-term promise, the impact of quantum computing could be much closer than many had predicted in the past. It brings us closer to a future where quantum computing isn't just a theoretical possibility but realizes commercially relevant computational applications.

Disclosure: Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Intel subscribe to research reports from Creative Strategies, as do many other high-tech companies around the world.

Tim Bajarin:
Tim Bajarin is recognized as one of the leading consultants and analysts in the personal computer and consumer technology industries. Mr. Bajarin has been with Creative Strategies since 1981 and has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry. Mr. Bajarin is known as an analyst with accurate and forward-looking predictions, having forecasted the desktop publishing revolution three years before it hit the market and identified multimedia trends in his reports as early as 1986. His writing and analysis have been at the forefront of the digital revolution, and he is considered one of the leading experts in technology adoption cycles. He is the author of major studies on PCs, portable computers, desktop publishing, multimedia, and the digital home. His current projects focus on spatial computing and artificial intelligence.

Source (EN): https://www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2024/12/13/why-googles-quantum-computer-chip-willow-is-a-game-changer/