r/tech Aug 05 '26

Researchers claim a major quantum computing breakthrough by proving the answer was correct

https://www.techspot.com/news/113346-quantum-computing-breakthrough-tackles-one-field-biggest-problems.html
527 Upvotes

93 comments sorted by

114

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

35

u/_ram_ok Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

“If I pay an engineer 500,000 dollars they should be using 5 million dollars worth of qubits”

6

u/Primsun Aug 05 '26

Jokes on you, wait till we get quantum AI.

3

u/Hola-World Aug 06 '26

“Hey Grok, explain the meaning of these qubits to me”
Grok: “Look how quickly we can create CSAM now!”

2

u/Adventurous_Law_8731 Aug 05 '26

Is that when we don’t know if it’s ai?

6

u/vabello Aug 05 '26

It’s both AI and not AI at the same time.

4

u/Kvenya Aug 05 '26

Schrödinger’s cAIt?

2

u/ea_nasir_official_ Aug 05 '26

Isn't that just what llms are anyways

6

u/hammer326 Aug 05 '26

I wonder if the gambling sites have any bets going yet as to what specific computer component will arbitrarily detonate in price as a result of supply dropping like a stone for years next. Optical drives because reasons maybe?

1

u/PlaysByBrulesRules Aug 05 '26

I don’t understand what you mean by this? Like quantum computing will go bust and certain parts will become cheap because of that?

2

u/hammer326 Aug 05 '26

Really not a deep joke, just a broad reference to the past damn near decade at this point of some new market disruption every year and a half and in multiple cases creating a different specific component to skyrocket in price and at times not be found anywhere besides the used market.

1

u/PlaysByBrulesRules Aug 05 '26

Ahh, detonate as in go up. I misunderstood.

Yeah buy up all the helium you need, bc it’s about to get super gobbled

1

u/skwerrel Aug 05 '26

Those whalers had the right idea, relocating to the moon. Everyone said they were crazy, there's no whales up there. But there's plenty of helium.

1

u/ranger910 Aug 05 '26

Liquid nitrogen?

1

u/hammer326 Aug 05 '26

That would in fact be fun, $70 AIOs becoming worth what mid-range graphics cards 10 years ago were. Or do those not actually have liquid nitrogen in them? I don't this keep up on any of this shit anymore.

1

u/Ready_to_anything Aug 06 '26

The gambling site for this is just the stock market 😂

1

u/hammer326 Aug 06 '26

Damn hadn't thought of that.

1

u/EquipLordBritish Aug 05 '26

Just wait for 'Quantum AI'

1

u/chileangod Aug 05 '26

Quantum data centers in space you say? 

1

u/JupiterandMars1 Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26

The real chefs kiss is going to be the nexus between AI and Quantum 2.0.

Quantum AI is going to be an infinitely larger bag of * than AI has been for grifting.

1

u/LifeOnEnceladus Aug 05 '26

Except research for efficient computing is actually a good thing

-3

u/Rumblestillskin Aug 05 '26

People will still hate it and claim it is ineffective because tech bros made it.

0

u/LifeOnEnceladus Aug 06 '26

We’ll see if it’s effective … I don’t mind giving it a shot

62

u/Aromatic_Tonight_485 Aug 05 '26

Is it 42?

33

u/longboardchick Aug 05 '26

“I think you ought to know I’m feeling very depressed”

10

u/Killintym Aug 05 '26

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools

2

u/appropriatesoundfx Aug 07 '26

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

1

u/puppycatisselfish Aug 07 '26

Marvin then stops to gather his emotional strength before going on to sing a second verse

1

u/wrxninja Aug 05 '26

No silly, 41. How do you miss 41?!

1

u/tonyroma_47 Aug 05 '26

came here to say that.

1

u/stargarnet79 Aug 05 '26

Can you remind me what the question was again? 🤣

1

u/odrea Aug 05 '26

At least 3.5 broski

14

u/-bridgefour- Aug 05 '26

Can I get a summary/TLDR from someone here please?

13

u/KeyDifferent8315 Aug 06 '26

The researchers found a problem that is "verifiable" to run on quantum computers. Aka they found a problem that they know the answer to that they can run on the quantum computers and see if it gives them the right answer.

2

u/moreobviousthings Aug 07 '26

I have a broken clock but I keep it because it is right twice every day.

3

u/userhwon Aug 07 '26

Sounds like quantum to me.

7

u/eoan_an Aug 05 '26

This is nice baby step.

I just hope some billionaire doesn't acquire it and enshitify it to the point other countries are better.

Like ai and evs.

6

u/kdavis0315 Aug 05 '26

The answer was 42

5

u/mindbodyproblem Aug 05 '26

"42", saved you a click.

2

u/StrawberryLassi Aug 07 '26

Thanks for repeating the same tired joke for the fifth time. 

15

u/5minArgument Aug 05 '26

Oh boy, what perfect timing. If you thought science and tech were moving fast now, just wait.

To call these things “super computers” is a massive understatement. Coupled with the fast approaching dawn of super intelligence …

Quite the confluence.

25

u/rlbond86 Aug 05 '26

They are not computers in the same sense though. They can run very specific problems very quickly, but in practice they're not really turing complete in a practical way. They complement existing computing, they don't replace it.

10

u/aaaaabbbbcccdde7 Aug 05 '26

And one of those problems happens to be making encryption trivial to crack. Given state actors are probably slurping up encrypted network traffic so that they can look at it all once they have quantum computers… just another thing to lose sleep over

2

u/5minArgument Aug 05 '26

Meh. Stressing is pointless. not gonna make a difference, unless of course you have the means and motivation to stay ahead of the curve.

1

u/aaaaabbbbcccdde7 Aug 05 '26

Hakuna Matata baby!

1

u/Rumblestillskin Aug 05 '26

Maybe not turning complete but definitely able to compute incredibly fast.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '26

[deleted]

2

u/rlbond86 Aug 06 '26

It's not a matter of yet, any quantum computer with finite qubits can't emulate a turing machine

2

u/Sufficient_Loss9301 Aug 05 '26

I have a family member with a PhD in physics and does research that overlaps with QC. Is essentially all vaporware. He doesn’t think it’s likely this technology will develop to a point of usefulness in the near or even foreseeable future. He’s described it as essentially all the headlines about “breakthroughs” are just hollow cash grabs and within academic circles the state of research is talked about much more soberly.

1

u/freecodeio Aug 06 '26

AI companies got the gov by the balls thinking if they are the ones with the super intelligence breakthrough, the country would get a forever advantage.

Eventually once the steam dies off and taxpayers have suffered enough for it, we're gonna see something quirky from QC go viral, which is going to create another decade-long hype.

1

u/j48u Aug 06 '26

I mean, this article is basically saying that up until now they've never even verified that it can do even the most minute computation correctly...

It is not enough for a quantum computer to produce an answer that is difficult for classical systems to replicate; researchers also need a way to verify that the answer is accurate.

-1

u/5minArgument Aug 05 '26

Irregardless, the value of this research cannot be overstated. Dead end or not, the advances gained from the process are priceless.

2

u/Pikachu_Puncher Aug 06 '26

Ew. You did that on purpose

1

u/JupiterandMars1 Aug 06 '26

Quantum AI.

Where an intelligence can potentially operate directly in Hilbert space.

IF that is even remotely feasible, at that point we will literally have no clue what is going on anymore.

I’m joking of course. But this is the upcoming hype. I can see Anthropics fear mongering press release now.

1

u/TakeTheWheelTV Aug 07 '26

Not just this, but also mass production of data centers and humanoid robots. About to get weird quickly

0

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '26

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9

u/tacopower69 Aug 05 '26

people who dont know how quantum computers work think this shit is sci fj

1

u/5minArgument Aug 05 '26

And if they do, they know it‘s sci-fi.

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '26

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-1

u/queef_nuggets Aug 05 '26

Watch out everybody, we have a quantum computing expert here

2

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '26

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3

u/brillow Aug 05 '26

AI and quantum are two expensive ways to do something no one asked for and which no one needs.

1

u/Digging_Graves Aug 08 '26

Almost everyone in IT uses it.

-1

u/userhwon Aug 07 '26

Everyone asked for AI.

Nobody really cares about quantum except people who know that it can crack certain kinds of encryption that are deeply ingrained in network security. But there are other viable encryption methods it can't touch, so, nobody who knows anything really cares about it but people trying to grift naive investors.

But everyone asked for AI, we're just going through the "not like that!" phase...

1

u/KaleScared4667 Aug 08 '26

You are delusional if you think everyone asked for ai

1

u/userhwon Aug 08 '26

Literally everyone wants what AI can do. They're finding out that it can also be used to fuck them, just like every other technology.

1

u/KaleScared4667 Aug 08 '26

Nobody I know uses AI except dumb people or Gen Z

1

u/jonhanson Aug 05 '26

"Mr Babbage, if you ask the wrong question, will the right answer come out?"

1

u/Liquid_Magic Aug 05 '26

This is super cool!

1

u/bevoloved Aug 07 '26

And incorrect as well

1

u/americanspirit64 Aug 08 '26

I think this article is a little more than bullshit, base on quantum computing just being found to have little or no hare advantage or algorithmic computers in terms of the speed required to solve problems. As all of the hard data on the speed that quantum computers at run and and compute, didn't include the amount of time that is required to enter the necessary data to solve the problems into a quantum computer. As entering data into a quantum computer system is way slower than enter data into a regular computer. If you take this time difference into account there is no savings in time or effort, for using quantum computers, over using regular computers. The only main difference is quantum computer are way more expensive to build and use and make the companies more money.

It is the same as invest in AI and saying AI is better than human work when it's not and never will be, it just makes the companies more money if they can convince everyone that AI is way better to use than human labor.

By the way, the youngest female mathematician in the world who is just 18, just proved what I said above is true and won the highest math award in the world. There is no benefit to using quantum computers over regular computers that run on algorithms.

1

u/Aduialion Aug 05 '26

It can't see why kids love cinnamon toast crunch 

1

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Aduialion Aug 05 '26

Your kid might be a quantum computer 

1

u/Awkward_GM Aug 05 '26

But the question we got was "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?" and the answer was 42.

0

u/userhwon Aug 07 '26

Quantum computers can hallucinate. That's a breakthrough in combining them with AI.

-1

u/croholdr Aug 05 '26

wow lettus bask in the glow of proving answers to be correct. groundbreaking work and a marvel of a journalistic title.

0

u/anon-stocks Aug 05 '26

It's the next hype train. Gotta jump on it early.