Baidu released quantum computer, foreign media said need to be alert to the hype

Baidu released its first quantum computer "Qian Shi" after the global media attention. Recently, the U.S. media VentureBeat has thrown a pot of cold water: the practical application of quantum computing is far from being realized.

The full article is translated as follows.

Last week, Baidu unveiled its first quantum computer and what it claims is the world's first "fully integrated platform solution" called "Quantum Xi". The new quantum computer is based on superconducting quantum bits - one of the first types of quantum bits, among many technologies that have been studied and widely adopted, most notably the quantum computer used by Google to claim quantum hegemony.

"Qianqi has the computing power of 10 high-fidelity quantum bits, where high fidelity means a low error rate. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, once the error rate falls below a certain threshold -- about 1 percent -- quantum error correction could theoretically reduce it further; breaking that threshold would be a milestone for any quantum bit technology.

In addition, Baidu said it has completed the design of a 36-quantum-bit chip with a coupler, which provides a way to reduce errors. Baidu said its quantum computer integrates hardware, software and applications that allow access to the quantum chip via mobile devices, PCs and the cloud.

Baidu also claims that "Quantum Xi" can be adapted to its own and third-party quantum computers. This could include quantum chips built on other technologies - Baidu introduced an ion trap device developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Duan Runyao, director of the Institute of Quantum Computing at Baidu Research Institute, said, "With 'Qian Shi' and 'Quan Xi,' users can create quantum algorithms and use quantum computing power without having to develop their own quantum hardware, control systems or programming languages. Baidu's innovation makes it possible to access quantum computing anywhere, anytime, even through smartphones. Baidu's platform is also compatible with a variety of quantum chips."

Although Baidu claims to be the world's first such solution, the Quantum Orchestration Platform is reminiscent of Israel's Quantum Orchestration Platform - an integrated control stack called The Quantum Orchestration Platform is reminiscent of Israel's Quantum Orchestration Platform - an integrated control stack called the Pulse Processing Unit, designed for flexibility, scalability and extensibility.

Although this is Baidu's first quantum computer, the company has filed more than 200 patents in the four years since its Institute for Quantum Computing was founded. These patents cover a variety of research areas, including quantum algorithms and applications, communications and networking, encryption and security, error correction, architecture, measurement and control, and chip design.

Baidu claims that its products pave the way for the industrialization of quantum computing, making it the latest company to trumpet the imminent widespread adoption of quantum computing.

Some quantum startups even already boast staggering valuations of more than $1 billion. However, beyond encryption, real applications for quantum computers have yet to emerge. Even if they do achieve applications, thousands are expected to be needed, which is far beyond anyone's ability to achieve. For example, scalability issues led Intel to discontinue the popular superconducting quantum bit approach in favor of less mature silicon quantum bits: these are based on transistor-like structures made using conventional semiconductor devices.

As a result, there have been voices warning of excessive hype about quantum technology.

Another major challenge in quantum computing is that real quantum bits are often too noisy to cause decoherence, and the use of quantum error correction is necessary to make the number of quantum bits far exceed the theoretical minimum for a given application. A solution called "Noise-In-Scale Quantum (NISQ)" has been proposed as a transitional approach, but its success has not yet been proven.

Classical computers are full of previously unimagined examples of technological enablement, and it is tempting to think that quantum computing could similarly revolutionize civilization. However, most current quantum bit approaches rely on temperatures close to absolute zero, and this inherent barrier means that quantum computing is likely to remain limited to the enterprise.

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Link to original article:

https://venturebeat.com/programming-development/how-reality-gets-in-the-way-of-quantum-computing-hype/