The quantum computing race has started to heat up in recent years as big tech companies and university research teams (often in collaboration) have embarked on refining the weird and wonderful technology of quantum computing. Google, like IBM, Amazon, and other entities, is at the heart of this.

The impact of technology

Five years ago, AI was still a term we used to describe simple machine learning functions and neural network-based research projects. Now, it's used to describe a wave of technologies that are reshaping society.

Sundar Pichai, whose own company oversees a sophisticated and promising quantum computing roadmap, spoke of the overall quantum journey the industry is undertaking in an interview with the BBC late last year.

The role of AI in work, socializing, and creativity, among other areas, is profound. Many expect quantum's incredible processing capabilities to transform many areas of life, although many of these use cases are consigned to research and scientific endeavors.

Roadmapping quantum computing's ascendency

The holy grail in the roadmap that many legacy tech companies and newfangled startups born out of college labs are chasing is a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer that can outpace the fastest supercomputers in useful, real-world calculations.

It's not enough for the machine to simply be packed with as many qubits as possible, because they're far more error-prone than regular computing bits. Without proper error correction measures (which scientists are busy investigating), calculations cannot sustain momentum and fall apart before they can be useful.

In December 2024, Google became the first company to achieve "below threshold" error correction, meaning (in theory) the more qubits you add to a system, the more errors are removed – not added as they are now. With so many industry players making comparable breakthroughs today, it doesn't mean Google will be the first to give quantum computing its 'ChatGPT' moment within, say, five years.

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a freelance contributor for Tech Radar and the Technology Editor for Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including ITPro, The Week Digital and ComputerActive. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. In his previous role, he oversaw the commissioning and publishing of long form in areas including AI, cyber security, cloud computing and digital transformation.