About this episode
Was it a breakthrough or a snooze? In October 2019, Google scientists announced they’d achieved “quantum supremacy,” the long-sought proof that a computer built around quantum bits can, at least in certain cases, carry out calculations exponentially faster than a computer built around classical bits. Researchers at IBM, one of Google’s main rivals in the race to commercialize quantum computing, immediately shot down the claim, saying not only that Google had exaggerated its quantum computer’s advantages but downplaying the significance of quantum supremacy. MIT Technology Review editor in chief Gideon Lichfield visited both companies on a quest to understand the deeper meaning of their disagreement.
