Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai rave over Willow, Google’s new ‘mind-boggling’ quantum computing chip. ‘It’s so cool’, say netizens

Google has announced to overcome a key challenge in quantum computing, with its new generation Willow (100 qubits) chips. Willow can reduce errors “exponentially” and has cracked a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has pursued for almost 30 years.

As claimed by Google, the new Willow chip is designed to solve a standard benchmark computation in “under five minutes” while for any fastest supercomputers, it would take 10 septillion meaning almost 1025 years.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says ‘Willow’ performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. “We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design + more,” Sundar Pichai said.

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Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai’s conversation goes viral

Google’s quantum chip, Willow, has sent ripples through the tech world. This monumental leap in quantum computing, developed at Google’s Santa Barbara lab, marks a bold step toward the future of technology.

Willow, has captured the attention of tech enthusiasts and industry leaders alike, including the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The tech billionaire reacted to a post by Google CEO Sundar Pichai who announced the arrival of Willow on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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“Introducing Willow, our new state-of-the-art quantum computing chip with a breakthrough that can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits, cracking a 30-year challenge in the field,” Pichai wrote.

Expressing admiration for Willow, the Tesla CEO simply dropped a one-word reaction in the comment section- “Wow”. His reaction caught the attention of Sundar Pichai who replied, “We should do a quantum cluster in space with Starship one day.” Starship, SpaceX’s advanced spacecraft designed to transport crew and cargo to destinations like Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars, was central to Pichai’s suggestion.

Elon Musk seemed optimistic as he said, “That will probably happen.” The duo then went on to discuss a cosmic philosophy based on the “Kardashev scale”. “Any self-respecting civilization should at least reach Kardashev Type II. In my opinion, we are currently only at
Sundar Pichai agreed with the X CEO and insisted, “We should scale solar so much more, amazing that we keep looking at alternatives when the most obvious path is staring at our eyes, literally!”

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How has social media users reacted

The exchange between tech experts drew quick attention from other prominent figures and social media users. A user chimed in, calling the idea a forward-looking innovation: “Quantum mechanics in action. Will be keen to see it in space application soon. Quantum cluster space data centre sounds like the way to go forward! Keep it coming.”

Some of them also shared their thoughts about quantum mechanics. “It’s so cool that we get to see on X unfiltered discussions between CEOs,” commented an individual.

Echoing the same sentiment, another said, “Love to see the discussion among leaders so casually on this app. This kind of open and casual public conversation is required by all top executives to bring the right kind of attention to the technology.”

Other users celebrated the intellectual exchange between Musk and Pichai, with one remarking, “This conversation right here is the reason why X is superior to every other social media or news app.”

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Calling Willow a “tech breakthrough”, another user said, “Quantum computing was always the Sword of Damocles hanging over cryptography and it just took a massive step closer.”

Another user, however, reckons – “Space solar is nice but you still need to get the energy to Earth. Personally, I say, in the short term, use nuclear fission and also scale production of newer conventional solar panels.”

But the excitement also raised concerns about the implications of quantum computing. One user highlighted the impact on cryptography: “Quantum computing was always the Sword of Damocles hanging over cryptography, and it just took a massive step closer. If Willow can solve in five minutes what a supercomputer takes 10^25 years to crack, Bitcoin’s encryption is definitely on borrowed time. Buckle up. The future of decentralised finance may need a post-quantum overhaul & fast.”