Google (GOOGL) has demonstrated a technique that could help overcome a major bottleneck in quantum computing, reducing errors by about 40-fold. The research from Google’s quantum computing team has been published in the magazine Science and involves the company’s Willow processor. The latest development continues a series of quantum breakthroughs from the technology giant.
The newest quantum computing technique demonstrated by Google is known as “magic state cultivation” and it addresses the high cost of producing reliable quantum states needed to run complex mathematical equations and quantum programs. Some estimates suggest magic state production could consume up to 95% of a quantum computer’s capacity, leaving fewer resources for other computations.
Google’s key performance indicators. Source: TipRanks
How Magic State Works
Magic state enables quantum processors to perform operations required for universal quantum computing. But producing them with sufficiently low error rates has remained a challenge to building practical, large-scale systems. Google’s approach uses coordinated measurements to detect errors and filter out faulty attempts, producing higher-quality states with fewer resources.
Using the Willow processor, Google was able to achieve a logical fidelity of 99.99% for so called “T-states,” which is a type of magic state used in quantum computing. Researchers also demonstrated progress toward integrating the technique into Google’s existing architecture. Google said further work is needed to scale the technique for practical quantum computing, but the findings are encouraging and offer a path to reducing the hardware resources needed to build powerful future quantum systems.
Google’s New AI Head
Separately, Google recently named a new leader for its DeepMind artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory and business unit. Koray Kavukcuoglu is taking over DeepMind from cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis, who is becoming the organization’s chair. Kavukcuoglu was previously DeepMind’s chief technology officer (CTO) and Google’s chief AI architect.
Google acquired DeepMind in 2014. Kavukcuoglu is part of DeepMind’s old guard, having joined the company in 2012 before the Google acquisition. Reporting directly to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Kavukcuoglu will oversee Gemini model development, frontier AI research, and the Gemini AI app, said the company.
Is GOOGL Stock a Buy?
The stock of Alphabet has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 28 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 24 Buy and four Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average GOOGL price target of $425.88 implies 22% upside from current levels.
