Google as part of its annual I/O developer conference this week announced a new Quantum AI campus in Santa Barbara, California, where the tech giant aims to build its own error-corrected quantum computer within the decade.
Google’s new campus includes a quantum data center, hardware research laboratories and a quantum processor fabrication facility.
“With an error-corrected quantum computer, we’ll be able to simulate how molecules behave and interact, so we can test and invent new chemical processes and new materials before investing in costly real-life prototypes,” said Erik Lucero, lead engineer of Google Quantum AI.
Google says its quantum computer was able to perform a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken 10,000 years or more on a traditional supercomputer. But competitors racing to build quantum computers of their own cast doubt on Google’s claimed progress. Rather than taking 10,000 years, IBM argued at the time that a traditional supercomputer could actually perform the task in 2.5 days or less.
This extra processing power could be useful to simulate molecules, and hence nature, accurately, Google says. This might help us design better batteries, creating more carbon-efficient fertilizer, or develop more targeted medicines, because a quantum computer could run simulations before a company invests in building real-world prototypes. Google also expects quantum computing to have big benefits for AI development.
Despite claiming to have hit the quantum supremacy milestone, Google says it has a long way to go before such computers are useful. While current quantum computers are made up of less than 100 qubits, Google is targeting machine built with 1,000,000. Getting there is a multistage process. Google says it first needs to cut down on the errors qubits make, before it can think about building 1,000 physical qubits together into a single logical qubit. This will lay the groundwork for the “quantum transistor,” a building block of future quantum computers.
Despite the challenges ahead, Google is optimistic about its chances. “We are at this inflection point,” the scientist in charge of Google’s Quantum AI program, Hartmut Neven, told the Wall Street Journal, “We now have the important components in hand that make us confident. We know how to execute the road map.” Google’s eventually plans to offer quantum computing services over the cloud.
