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China Delivers Its First Practical Quantum Computer System By Techagents

China’s science ministry announced Monday that the country’s first practical quantum computer had been delivered to a user the agency did not identify a year ago.

The 24-qubit Wuyan system, based on superconducting technology, was built by Origin Quantum Computing Technology, founded in 2017 by two of the country’s leading quantum physicists, Guo Guoping and Guo Guangcan. A qubit in the quantum world performs the same functions as bits in the digital world.

With the on-premises installation of the Wuyan system, China became the third country, after Canada and the United States, to deliver a complete quantum computer system to a customer.

Some skeptics questioned the timing of the announcement.

“Quantum technology is a high priority for national security in China. If it was something very important, I doubt it would be disclosed by the Chinese authorities in a transparent manner,” said a professor at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center in Fairfax, Va. explained senior research fellow Weifeng Zhong.

“The fact that it has been delayed by a year suggests that they have now realized that it is not important for national security, so they are using it to build China’s image as a technology leader. When they are trying to open up. their economy to the rest of the world,” Zhong told TechNewsWorld.

important step

However, Hodan Omar, a senior AI policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, a think tank that studies the intersection of data, technology and public policy in Washington, D.C., maintained that the announcement was an important step taken by China. . Quantum Evolution.

“Overcoming the technical challenges that stand in the way of large-scale quantum computers will depend on the ability to scale up the number of qubits in a quantum system, just as modern classical computers rely on increasing the number of transistors in superconducting chips,” Omar said. ” Technewsworld.

“Investing in near-term quantum computing applications helps develop long-term use cases for the technology, thereby helping to improve competitiveness,” he added.


Skip Sanzeri, co-founder and COO of QuSecure, a maker of quantum-secure security solutions in San Mateo, California, called the announcement “formidable,” because China is saying they have a fully functional quantum computer, although the qubit count is low.

“Nevertheless, error correction and noise reduction are two important factors to ensure that a quantum computer can process data and provide applications we can rely on,” Sanzeri told TechNewsWorld. . “By announcing that they have been able to reach this level, it shows that China is making progress towards large quantum computers.”

bucking a trend

The Wuyan system appears to be on par with other systems in the market, said Heather West, a senior research analyst at IDC, an international market research company.

“The fact that they sold a 24 qubit system to anyone is no different than what we’re seeing elsewhere around the world,” West told TechNewsWorld.

Offering a standalone system like WuYan is really bucking the current trend in the market.

“Most quantum computers that people are accessing today are accessed through the cloud,” explained Doug Finke, an analyst at Global Quantum Intelligence, an international market intelligence firm.

“This WuYan computer is being delivered to a customer in an on-premises condition,” Finke told TechNewsWorld. “On-premises has a lot of disadvantages. You have to worry about maintenance. You have to worry about spare parts. You have to worry about calibration.

“Plus,” he continued, “quantum computing innovation is so fast that they become obsolete in about two years. Very few people want on-premises quantum computers. They are more comfortable with the cloud.”

superconducting challenges

The Wuyan system is built using superconducting chip technology, one of the earliest technologies for quantum computers. Since its introduction, other techniques have been explored. These include photonics, trapped ions and neutral atoms.

“At the moment, no one knows which technology will be the winner or if there will be a combination of technologies that will combine for impressive quantum applications,” Sanzeri said.

“Superconducting is very difficult,” he explained. “It requires near-zero Kelvin refrigeration.”


“The electrons used in superconducting quantum computers are very difficult to manage because of their very short coherence times,” he continued. “That’s why they must be cooled to such low temperatures.”

Other methods are managing longer coherence times and a faster path to the desired goal of 1,000 error-corrected qubits, he said.

“The million-dollar question is which technology will win the race for fault-tolerant quantum computers,” West said. “There may not be one winner. There may not be one system that comes out on top. It may be that some types of systems are better than others at solving certain types of problems.”

distant vision

Omar countered that superconducting chips have several advantages over competing technologies.

“First, superconducting qubits are solid-state electrical circuits that are easy to control because they are manipulated using microwaves,” she said. “So scientists can use readily accessible commercial microwave devices and equipment in superconducting quantum computing applications.”

“Second,” he continued, “because fabricating superconducting circuits is based on existing methods of making semiconductor chips, the development of high-quality devices can take advantage of advanced chip-making techniques, which is good for manufacturability and scalability.” “

Despite developments such as China’s Wuyuan system, the advent of quantum computers that can tackle problems beyond the capability of silicon computers appears to be years away.

“Quantum computers are going to be the best for solving complex, intractable problems beyond the scope of classical computer technology,” West said. “Those problems are years away from being solved by quantum computers.”


“To reach that, we need at least a million qubits,” he continued. “It is going to take a lot of work scaling up and stabilizing the qubits. Qubits are very sensitive to external noise. As a result, the technology we have has a high error rate.

Despite the enthusiasm displayed by many, we are still in the early days of quantum computing, said Richard Steinon, founder and chief research analyst at IT-Harvest, a cybersecurity industry analyst firm in Birmingham, Michigan.

“There are many physical constraints on quantum computing that require precision in path length – we are talking microns – and resistance to forces – steps can interfere with that. Supercooled chips just add to the complexity,” Steinen said. told TechNewsWorld.

“I put it in the same area as developing nuclear fusion as an energy source that is usable,” he said. “Hundreds of billions of dollars and decades of progress to be glimpsed.”

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Internet

Upstart Search Engine Andy Delivers Answer, Not Listed By Techagents

A new search engine powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing is offering an alternative to the list of web pages that make up the results of a typical online search.

Called Andy, the search engine combines the use of large language models – think OpenAI’s GPY-3 – and live web data to formulate answers to questions posed by searchers.

“We use AI and natural language processing to understand the intent of a question,” explained co-founder Angela Hoover.

“Andy will look at the top 10 to 20 results for any question,” she explained to TechNewsWorld. “Then, using the larger language model, it would produce a direct answer to the question.”

andy search engine

Andy’s Search Query Screen (Image Credit: Andy)

Does the Internet need another search engine? Hoover thinks so. “Google is broken,” she said. “Google is built 20 years ago for the way the web worked. The cognitive overload of ads and links overloads the user with a lot of distraction and time wasted.”

“People want direct answers to questions. They don’t want a list of links,” she said.

Gen Z Appeal

Andy is designed for a younger demographic.

“It felt like my search results were being found in social media feeds. It appealed to younger users,” said Will Duffield, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington, DC think tank.

“The clean reading that Andy is showing seems like a pushback against adding more widgets to Search,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Hoover acknowledged that Andy aims to appeal to the younger set, particularly Generation Z. “Gen Z lives in visual feeds and chat apps. My generation spends all their time in conversational interfaces,” she said.

“The key to taking on Google is a conversational interface,” she insisted. “Everyone who has tried to take down Google has been a weak copy with the same amount of massive information, spam, and clutter in the results.”

andy search results

Andy search results (Image credit: Andy)

A search engine that provides answers could also appeal to older people, noted Mark N. Venna, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif.

“In general, users are getting tired of Google’s search algorithms being biased, deterministic and selective,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“Whether that assumption is correct or not,” he continued, “a new search engine that uses common sense language and provides specific answers rather than links could be particularly interesting to older users who have Don’t want to bother reviewing the link. To get an answer to a question or query.”

search option required

However, making people switch search engines is a daunting task. “Google has set the bar really high for web search,” said Danny Goodwin, managing editor of Search Engine Land and SMX, a digital marketing and advertising technology publication.

“The only reason we would need another search engine is if you can provide something better than Google,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Better search results. Better user experience. Better answers. Better whatever.”

Greg Sterling, co-founder of the news, commentary and analysis website Near Media, said there is a lot of information online right now, much of it of low quality.

“Google is trying to respond to growing complaints about the decline in the quality and usability of its search results,” he told TechNewsWorld. “I believe there is an opportunity to deliver a new or better search experience. But this is a big problem and many new search engines copy the look and feel of Google.”

“Google’s partial abandonment in favor of TikTok by some young users,” he said, “is an example of the hunger for something different.”

“It’s hard to get just one answer now,” said Liz Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm in Cupertino, Calif.

“Which one do you see fighting for first in query results is extremely costly for brands and increasingly unpleasant for users,” she told TechNewsWorld. “The reality for many users is that they only want answers to the question they asked. They don’t want easter egg hunts that provide sponsored and level-headed results.”

finding a niche

Kerstin Recker, chief strategy and development officer at Seeker Search Engines, said there are several reasons why alternative search engines exist. “When a search engine controls the majority of the market, it has control over the information most people receive,” she told TechNewsWorld.

“Top search engines all factor engagement in their rankings,” she continued. “The more clicks a result gets, the higher the rank of the result. Most search engines do not take into account the quality of the content.

“Alternative search engines are needed to balance bias and give people more choice and clarity when it comes to information discovery and privacy,” he said.

Chasing the biggest search player to an alternative search engine can be challenging, but not frustrating.

“If you’re going to compete with a major product like Google, you find a niche that Google doesn’t want to cater to — in this case, answering questions — and you come up with a service that does a better job.” does,” explained Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.

“It’s usually a successful strategy called sub-targeting,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Andy’s target demographic should also help it gain some traction in the market, Enderle said. “It’s targeting a demographic in which the demographic feels it’s not getting from the primary search engine,” he said.

“One thing about going after the younger demographic is that they are very active on social media,” he continued. “So if a few influencers get excited about it, it can drive a lot of people into it.”

show me money

Providing answers, not lists, isn’t the only way Andy differs from some of its competitors. It does not charge any fees for its service and does not record personally identifiable information about its users.

Hoover explained that the service is looking at several ways to generate revenue, including creating a premium tier of service, offering API services, and partnering with publications. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to partner with tools like Amazon Alexa and other types of voice-powered search,” she said.

However, Duffield said that becoming profitable through organic link referrals and add-on services can be difficult. “Current searches are bundled with advertising for a reason. That’s the way to make money,” he said.

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