China and the US are now at cold war, as you know. The rivalry between two empires is one of the "objects of the future" that I often deal with, also asking experts to give me an opinion on the situation. There are certainly two knots in this dispute artificial intelligence e quantum computers.
And a quantum computer is the protagonist of a recent statement by two Chinese physicists. Scientists claim to have built two machines that outperform American competitors. Saying "outclass", however, is an understatement. The fastest quantum computer of the two built would be the fastest of all time, according to a recent study published in Physical Review Letters and Science Bulletin.
What are you saying? I trust? China has already exaggerated the capabilities of its technology before, but the previous statements may have been "pre-tactic", and even admitting a possible exaggeration, it is clear that in any case we are thinking about the reflections of enormous growth. I would not focus only on speed, however: a quantum computer is also evaluated by the accuracy of calculation.
And Chinese quantum computers still make a lot of mistakes
The Chinese supercomputer is capable of calculating in a single millisecond a task that the fastest conventional computer in the world would take 30 trillion years. The breakthrough was revealed during an interview with the research team, broadcast on Tuesday by China's state-owned CCTV. This actually supports the propaganda thesis, but it is also true that there are two peer-reviewed papers, so I would respectfully wait. Anyway Pan Jianwei, lead researcher of the studies, said that Zuchongzhi 2, this is the name of the 66 qubit programmable superconducting quantum computer, is 10 million times faster than the Google's Sycamore 55 qubit, making the new Chinese machine the fastest in the world, and the first to beat Google in the past two years.
Lo Zuchongzhi 2 is the improved version of another quantum computer made just three months ago, the Jiuzhang 2. That's a different quantum computer that works with light, has fewer applications but can run at a blindingly fast 100 sextillion times faster than today's largest conventional computers. In case you feel dizzy to hear the word "sextillion", a sextillion is a number 1 with 23 zeros.
Quantum computer, there is time for the market
It is now evident, the quantum computer will totally revolutionize computer science, and consequently the planet. But you won't soon have a "Quantum Commodore 64" at home to play around with. Think of it more like a big eve, like when computers took up entire rooms in universities. The two Chinese machines can only work in pristine environments and only for hyper-specific activities. And even with special attention, they still make a lot of mistakes. It will take a while. How many? "In the next phase we hope to achieve quantum error correction with four or five years of hard work," said Professor Pan Jianwel of the University of Science and Technology of China, in Hefei, in the southeastern province of Anhui
The applications, however, will be incredible. Huge. Currently, just as it was at the dawn of information technology, it is not even possible to imagine them all. The calculation of genetic mutations, the prediction of share prices, the air flows in hypersonic flight, the formation of new materials will certainly be greatly facilitated. These four things are enough for the quantum computer to overturn the planet like a sock.
