Quantum Supremacy: How far along are we on the journey?
Ayekpam Malemnganbi Chanu, Vinod Kumar · 2021 Asian Conference on Innovation in Technology (ASIANCON) · 2021
At our current technological pace, it's become increasingly hard to make more compact classical computers. Proceeding with this as one of the motivations for developing quantum computers, recent years have seen a surge in interest and therefore investment in the field with aims to surpass the capabilities of its classical counterpart. The term quantum supremacy, although it gets thrown around quite often, is a very intricate concept. Assessing all its parts to establish a robust definition and foundational ground rules is crucial as we go further. Theoretically discussed wonders that can be achieved by quantum computer sounds promising-from the rapid acceleration in the development of artificial intelligence and cryptography to quantum chemistry and modelling chemical reactions. But how far do we need to go for it to become a reality? Are we there yet? All these questions arise as there have been claims of quantum supremacy which are contentious at the least. A major reason for worry is the intractability of quantum computers that makes sceptics wonder if it's a pursuit equivalent to chasing the wind. Quantum computers will not make classical computers obsolete is another view point which does hold water as quantum computers seem to be useful only in solving specific problems. Even though the endeavour for quantum supremacy is still ongoing, companies have also gravitated towards Quantum advantage. This paper lays out an idiosyncratic view of what we can achieve and what we already have.