Google Says It Has Developed Landmark Quantum Computing Algorithm

SanFrancisco: Google said it has developed a computer algorithm that leads to practical applications for quantum computing and could generate unique data for use with artificial intelligence.

Google said the new algorithm, called Quantum Echoes, running on the company’s quantum chip, is 13,000 times faster than the most advanced classical computing algorithm on supercomputers.

In the future, the Quantum Echoes algorithm could help measure molecular structure in molecules, which could aid drug discovery and aid materials science by identifying new types of materials, company executives said at a media briefing last week.

Google is among many major technology companies investing in quantum computing, including Amazon and Microsoft; Quantum computing promises to speed up computing and solve problems that are beyond the reach of today’s machines.

Last year, Google introduced Willow, a quantum chip that it said could overcome a key problem with “qubits”, the building blocks of quantum computing.

The development of the algorithm is roughly equivalent to the importance of the chip, executives said.

The algorithm can also be validated with other quantum computers or experiments. Verifiable data means it can lead to practical applications.

“If I can’t tell you the data is right, if I can’t prove the data is right, how can I do anything with it?” said Google staff research scientist Tom O’Brien.

On the subject of AI, Google engineers hope to be able to use the algorithm to help create new datasets for use in fields such as life sciences, where good datasets do not exist to train AI models.

Google published details about its Quantum Echoes algorithm in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday.