Are quantum computers already super-powerful?

Update: 2025-02-01

Description

Google claim their latest quantum computer chip is able to process something in five minutes it would take a normal computer 10 septillion years to figure out.

As this is a massive amount longer than the entire history of the known universe, that seems to suggest the chip is extremely powerful.

But when you understand what’s going on, the claim doesn’t seem quite so impressive. Dr Peter Leek, a quantum computer scientist from Oxford University, explains the key context.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald
Producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Andrew Garratt
Editor: Richard Vadon

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