Google's 'Willow' solves calculation in 5 minutes that should take 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years to figure out

Google's quantum chip 'Willow' has astounded scientists after it solved a calculation in just five minutes that would ordinarily take our best computers 10 septillion years.

Technology is moving at an alarming rate, and you only have to look at how far mobile phones have come from those chunky Nokia models to see it in action. From advanced robots that claim they can walk your dog and babysit your kids to futuristic homes for the surface of Mars, it feels like we're edging closer to that future depicted in sci-fi novels - especially now we've got flying driverless cars.

It's hard to get our heads around just how far computers have come, and at the forefront of this, Google's new 'Willow' quantum chip is giving us a peek into the world of tomorrow.

In a blog post, Google Quantum AI founder and lead Hartmut Neven has explained exactly what Willow does, as well as its impressive (robotic) brain power.

As many see quantum computing as the next frontier for tech companies, Willow could have some major implications. Notably, it can reportedly solve a complex benchmark computation in under five minutes. Before you brush that off and say, "So what?" note that it would reportedly take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years to solve. The figure is 10 septillion, which is a number that's far larger than the age of the Universe.

Previously, quantum computers were known for producing errors, but with Willow increasing the number of 'qubits' (a unit of information in quantum computing) used, the errors have been reduced 'exponentially'.

Computers typically store information in bits that are either one or zero, whereas quantum computing's qubits can be zero, one, or something in between. Hyping Willow's use of qubits, Neven writes: "This cracks a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has pursued for almost 30 years.”

He says that Willow marks a milestone in a journey that started when he founded Google Quantum AI in 2012. There are hopes that quantum computing systems can help society with everything from advances in scientific discovery to societal challenges. Quantum computers that are able to solve real-world problems are still expected to be billions of dollars and many years away, however, Google Research is making huge strides on its path toward making quantum computing part of commercial applications.

Shares in Google's Alphabet parent company rose by about 4% at the start of December 10, although this can't just be tied to Willow.

Even though skeptics say quantum computing still needs its 'ChatGPT moment' that can drive the idea forward like the recent boom in artificial intelligence, there's no downplaying its importance.

Critics will also point to how quantum computing will use impressive-sounding benchmarks to show its credentials without having any real-world applications. As Neven reiterates, that's the aim.

Confident that Willow can help Google hit its goals, Neven concludes: "The next challenge for the field is to demonstrate a first "useful, beyond-classical" computation on today's quantum chips that is relevant to a real-world application."

He warns that many 'future game-changing applications' will rely on quantum computing that classic computers wouldn't be able to handle.