Google's Willow Chip: A Quantum Leap with AI, Encryption, and Bitcoin Security Implications

Dec 13, 2024, 09:34 PM

Google has unveiled a new quantum computing chip named Willow, with 105 qubits, demonstrating exponential error correction and performing a computation in under five minutes that would theoretically take the world's fastest supercomputer 10 septillion years. This breakthrough has sparked discussions on potential implications for AI, drug discovery, and encryption. However, experts caution that practical applications are still far from realization, with some questioning the real-world utility of the benchmarks used to showcase Willow's capabilities. The chip's performance has also raised concerns about the security of Bitcoin, given quantum computers' theoretical ability to break cryptographic algorithms like SHA-256, though current estimates suggest that a quantum computer capable of such feats would require millions of qubits, far beyond Willow's capacity.