Quantum computers are 180 million times faster than supercomputers

China's Jiuzhang quantum computer takes less than a second to perform a task that would take the world's most powerful supercomputer nearly five years.

The Jiuzhang quantum computer was developed by the University of Science and Technology of China. Photo: SCMP

Chinese scientists say they have achieved a new milestone in quantum computing, with the Jiuzhang device performing common artificial intelligence (AI) tasks 180 million times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputer. The problems solved by their quantum computer could be applied to data mining, bioinformatics, network analysis and chemical modeling. The team published the results of their experiment in the journal Physical Review, the South China Morning Post reported on June 8.

"Our work brings us closer to testing practical problems using current medium-scale quantum computers," said team leader Pan Jianwei, a physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China.

In the study, Pan’s team used Jiuzhang to solve a problem that would challenge conventional computers. The machine used more than 200,000 samples in the process. For the first time, the researchers used a quantum computer to implement and accelerate two algorithms commonly used in AI: random search and simulated annealing.

The world’s fastest supercomputer needs 700 seconds per sample, or nearly five years, to process the same number of samples. But Jiuzhang takes less than a second. The broader list of tasks gives quantum computers an advantage over conventional computers.

In traditional computers, a bit is the basic unit of information that represents either 0 or 1. Qubits go further and can represent 0, 1, or both at the same time. This is one of the simplest examples of the uniqueness of quantum mechanics. Because the basic information of a quantum computer can represent all possibilities at the same time, they are theoretically much faster and more powerful than the conventional computers we use in everyday life.

However, the subatomic particles at the heart of the technology are fragile, short-lived, and prone to errors if exposed to even the slightest disturbance from their surroundings. Most quantum computers operate in extremely cold, isolated environments to avoid disruption. Jiuzhang uses light as the physical medium for computation. Unlike other quantum computers, it does not need to operate at extremely low temperatures in a sealed environment and can operate stably for longer periods of time.

An Khang (According to SCMP )

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