---
title: "Google Claims to Have Achieved “Quantum Supremacy”"
description: "Google claims its quantum computer just completed a task in minutes. The same task would've taken a conventional computer 10,000 years."
date: "2019-09-24"
modified: "2019-09-24"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-achieved-quantum-supremacy"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Google"
  - "Physics"
  - "Quantum Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "Google"
  - "quantum"
  - "quantum bits"
  - "quantum computer"
  - "the digest"
---

# Google Claims to Have Achieved “Quantum Supremacy”

![Google claims its quantum computer just completed a task in minutes. The same task would've taken a conventional computer 10,000 years.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/google-claims-to-have-achieved-quantum-supremacy.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: D-Wave Systems/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Quantum Supremacy

According to a now-deleted paper [spotted by the *Financial Times*](<https://www.ft.com/content/b9bb4e54-dbc1-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17>) on NASA's Technical Reports Server last week, Google researchers have achieved "quantum supremacy" — in other words, their quantum computer managed to complete a computational task faster than a conventional computer processor. The paper was promptly deleted and Google has yet to confirm the achievement.

"To our knowledge, this experiment marks the first computation that can only be performed on a quantum processor," reads [the document](<https://www.docdroid.net/h9oBikj/quantum-supremacy-using-a-programmable-superconducting-processor.pdf>), which is [still circulating](<https://www.docdroid.net/h9oBikj/quantum-supremacy-using-a-programmable-superconducting-processor.pdf>).

## Computing Milestone

The race between the quantum and traditional computer wasn't even close: according to the document, Google's "Sycamore" superconducting processor, which sports 53 qubits, quickly solved a problem that would've taken a classical computer 10,000 years to solve.

After news emerged of the milestone, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang [warned](<https://twitter.com/andrewyang/status/1175200727385464832>) on Twitter that Google's computers could be used to break encryption of today's computers. But experts believe encryption cracking using quantum computers is still many years out, [*Wired* reports](<https://www.wired.com/story/googles-quantum-supremacy-isnt-end-encryption/>).

## Real World

The problem Google's quantum computer solved isn't going to be particularly useful in the real world, as [*Physics World* notes](<https://physicsworld.com/a/google-reports-quantum-supremacy-in-draft-paper/>), as the task involved verifying the randomness of binary numbers — something that doesn't have a ton of use cases.

But it's still an impressive proof of concept for the power of quantum computing.

**READ MORE:** [Google reports quantum supremacy in draft paper](<https://physicsworld.com/a/google-reports-quantum-supremacy-in-draft-paper/>) \[*Physics World*\]

**More on quantum computers:** *[IBM Just Unveiled Its First Commercial Quantum Computer](<https://futurism.com/ibm-q-system-one-commercial-quantum-computer>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)