Image: Google Google’s quantum computing lab just achieved a major milestone. On Monday, the company revealed that its new quantum computing chip, Willow, is capable of performing a computing challenge in less than five minutes — a process Google says would take one of the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years, or longer than the age of the universe. That’s a big jump from 2019 when Google announced its quantum processor could complete a mathematical equation in three minutes, as opposed to 10,000 years on a supercomputer. IBM disputed the claim at the time. Along with more powerful performance, researchers also found a way to reduce errors, something Google calls “one of the greatest challenges in quantum computing.” Instead of bits, which represent either 1 or 0, quantum computing uses qubits, a unit that can exist in multiple states at the same time, such as 1, 0, and anything in between. As noted by Google, qubits are prone to errors because they “have a tendency to rapidly exchange information with their environment.” However, Google’s researchers discovered a way to reduce errors by introducing more qubits to a system and were able to correct them in real time. Their findings were published in Nature. “This historic accomplishment is known in the field as ‘below threshold’ — being able to drive errors down while scaling up the number of qubits,” Google Quantum AI founder Hartmut Neven writes on Google’s blog. “You must demonstrate being below threshold to show real progress on error correction, and this has been an outstanding challenge since quantum error correction was introduced by Peter Shor in 1995.” Introducing Willow, our new state-of-the-art quantum computing chip with a breakthrough that can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits, cracking a 30-year challenge in the field. In benchmark tests, Willow solved a standard computation in <5 mins that would…— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) December 9, 2024 Willow, which has 105 qubits, “now has best-in-class performance,” according to Neven. Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM are working on quantum computing systems of their own. Google’s next goal is to perform a first “useful, beyond-classical” computation that is both “relevant to a real-world application” and one that typical computers can’t achieve. Going forward, Neven says quantum technology will be “indispensable” for collecting AI training data, eventually helping to “discover new medicines, designing more efficient batteries for electric cars, and accelerating progress in fusion and new energy alternatives.”

Image: Warner Bros. Games Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League only came out in February, but the game’s final season, which starts tomorrow, is going to be its last. Season 4 Episode 7 launches on Tuesday, and Episode 8, which is set to release on January 14th, 2025, will “serve as the last seasonal Episode for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,” developer Rocksteady announced on Monday. After the release of the final content, the game will still be available to play online, according to a WB Games FAQ. But the game is also getting an offline mode tomorrow — which had been previously announced, though without a specific date beyond “2024” — that will let you play the main story and all seasonal story mission content without an internet connection. The game has had a troubled history. The game was originally set to release in 2022 before being delayed multiple times. And a largely unsuccessful launch — in our review, we said the game “hides its brash personality under a generic looter shooter” — resulted in Warner Bros. Discovery announcing in May that it would be taking a $200 million loss on the game.

The United States' busy ports kicked activity up a notch in November and December, when inbound cargo traffic is set to reach new records, the National Retail Federation industry group said on Monday.Retailers had already been front-loading purchases due to a shortened...

Arizona Republican Kari Lake is the leading contender to be President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Mexico, Semafor reported Monday.

The office of House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas, issued a statement on Monday informing the electorate that his eldest daughter, Christine Burgess, passed away in her sleep over the weekend.

University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker said his home and car were vandalized Sunday in an apparent antisemitic attack.

California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require mental health warning labels on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced Monday. The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is ...

A onetime Black Lives Matter leader called for "Black vigilantes" in the wake of the not guilty verdict Monday of former Marine Daniel Penny, on trial for choking to death a subway agitator in New York City in 2023.

John Lennon got shot by a certain Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City. The killer had requested an autograph from the Beatles frontman, only to shoot him five times hours later. It has been 44 years since the tragic event, and the doctor who tried to save John Lennon’s life, Dr. David Halleran, joined Banfield to recall the incident. He recounted how he desperately worked with other surgeons to save Lennon but to no avail. Doctor David Halleran worked tirelessly to try and save John Lennon’s life after the shooting John Lennon/Instagram Dr. Halleran, who is currently practicing as a surgeon in Syracuse, New York, admitted that he did not realize his patient was Lennon at first due to the urgency of the situation. He revealed that Lennon’s arrival was unusual as he was driven to Roosevelt Hospital in a police car. He said the late singer was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a leather jacket, but it was not until 15 minutes into trying to revive him that a surgeon from the team raised the alarm. Dr. Halleran was doubtful until he saw Lennon’s ID, some films, his American Express card, a photo of him, and another of Yoko Ono’s in his pocket. John Lennon/Instagram Fans react as the doctor who tried to save John Lennon’s life speaks out Dr. Halleran’s interview has gotten almost 200,000 views on YouTube, with John Lennon fans flooding the comments to pay tribute and share their stories from that day. “I was playing basketball and knew nothing about the incident. Driving home on the freeway, the radio DJ said, ‘Some wacko emptied a gun into John Lennon tonight.’ I violently pulled over and went into shock,” someone said. John Lennon/Instagram Many thanked Dr. Halleran for his service, and some colleagues in the medical practice commended his attempt at saving Lennon. “Having been a Resident MD, in trauma surgery…I feel for you. Thank you for sharing your experience,” one wrote. Next up: Candace Cameron Bure Shares Biggest Lesson She Learned From Late Bob Saget The post The Doctor Who Tried To Save John Lennon’s Life Recalls The Tragic Moment From 1980 appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Peace A

The new quantum chip called Willow was designed and manufactured by Alphabet Inc. Google says it has solved a major problem in quantum computing by introducing a new quantum chip, Willow.On Dec. 9, Google…