A researcher introduces a superconducting quantum computing chip developed by Zhejiang University on Friday, December 17, 2021, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, east China.
Future Publishing | Getty Images
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What you need to know today
Alphabet stock soars after Google announces ‘breakthrough’ quantum chip
Shares of Google’s parent company letter Rose 6% on Tuesday, A day earlier, the company hailed its latest quantum computing chip as a “breakthrough.” Monday, alphabet demonstrated its “Willow” chip, Google says it completed a calculation in less than five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers a billion years – a 1 followed by 25 zeros.
Former South Korean defense minister attempts suicide; police raid Blue House
The fallout from South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol’s brief imposition of martial law continues, reports say His office was raided and his former defense minister attempted suicide. police A search was reportedly conducted On Wednesday, as part of the investigation, the Office of the President Declaration of six hours of martial law. In addition, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun Reportedly tried About his own life in a detention center in eastern Seoul.
China ramps up Wall Street meetings ahead of Trump inauguration
Vice Premier of the State Council of China He Lifeng Meet with many U.S. financial executives Last month, Beijing sought to build ties ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Plan to impose tariffs on China. Some of those meetings were with top brass at Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
Dow Jones drops for fourth straight session
U.S. markets fall tuesday as S&P 500 Index Down 0.3% Nasdaq Index It fell 0.25%, and the two major indexes fell continuously. this Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell for the fourth consecutive day, falling 0.35%. Asian markets mixedmost major indexes remained range-bound.
(PRO) Trump’s proposed tariffs could lead to unintended consequences: Bernstein
Trump’s proposed tariffs may produce unintended consequences Bernstein found that negative sentiment toward certain brands, such as among Chinese consumers, could hurt U.S. companies’ sales in that country.
bottom line
What is quantum computing and how does it work?
In classical computing, information is stored in bits. Each bit is either one or zero. Quantum computing uses quantum bits, or qubits, which can be zero, one, or some value in between.
If you’re thinking this sounds like something from the Marvel Multiverse, you’re not alone. Whenever a company proposes a quantum computing breakthrough, such as Alphabet’s Willow chip, the million-dollar question is: “What could it be used for?”
Will we see faster laptops, faster smartphones, or will quantum computing be used for artificial intelligence applications? Can we say “Please open the pod door, HAL?” to a quantum computer?
Proponents of quantum computing claim it will be able to solve problems that current computers cannot. The theory is that quantum computers will be able to process larger amounts of data, leading to potential breakthroughs in fields such as medicine, science and finance.
Alphabet shares soared 6% on Tuesday, but is the enthusiasm unfounded? After all, if quantum computing has no real-world uses today, the solution won’t solve the problem, let alone commercialize it.
Simply put, quantum computing needs to have a purpose. It requires a “ChatGPT moment” like One analyst told CNBCpeople can take advantage of these technologies, such as how chatbots allow the world to actually experience artificial intelligence.
HAL may have to wait a while. Fans of Stanley Kubrick’s epic 2001: A Space Odyssey may know that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
