Quantum computer built by Google can instantly execute a task that would normally take 47 years

[ClearSky24]

https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-computer-can-instantly-execute-a-task-that-would-normally-take-47-years

In a significant leap for the field of quantum computing, Google has reportedly engineered a quantum computer that can execute calculations in mere moments that would take the world’s most advanced supercomputers nearly half a century to process.

The news, reported by the Daily Telegraph, could signify a landmark moment in the evolution of this emerging technology.

Quantum computing, a science that takes advantage of the oddities of quantum physics, remains a fast-moving and somewhat contentious field.

Quantum computers hold immense promise for potentially revolutionizing sectors like climate science and drug discovery. They offer computation speeds far beyond those of their classical counterparts.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. That'll mess with crypto value pretty badly one would think

Which is good because it's horrible for the planet in the first place. It's basically just 'profligately waste energy to create fake money' at its core.

[Celerity]

3. There is a finite amount of bitcoins (21 million). Circulating supply is 19,448,006 BTC

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/

meaning 92.61%, as of now, of the finite supply have already been mined (of which around 6 million or so are permanently lost due to people forgetting or losing their keys, or possibly passing away without passing on their keys, and that number will only increase as time marches on).

Scarcity (especially if quantum computing speeds up the mining) upward pricing forces may likely drive up the BTC price as we get closer and closer to the 21 million hard limit, especially as BTC will become a truly 'hard' currency (ie no expansion of the supply will be possible).

When all bitcoin have been mined, miner revenue will depend entirely on transaction fees. The price and purchasing power of bitcoin will adjust to the lack of new supply. The scarcity of Bitcoin will also make it more attractive to investors and users.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. Be interesting to see what happens

As it stands now, seems like whoever makes one these processors could probably mine every still-calculatable unit of every crypto currency (up to their theoretical limits, if they have one) in pretty short order

[Celerity]

2. quantum AI is going to fuck us all up via a multiplicity of various inflection points, many

of them completely unknowable at the present time due to systemic entanglement and entropy

[Wounded Bear]

5. 42...

[lastlib]

6. Reminds me of a cartoon I used to have on my bulletin board:

Two scientists (lab coats, etc.) standing in front of a mainframe computer, looking at a huge printout. One says, "Do you realize, it would take five thousand mathematicians two hundred years, working around the clock to make a MISTAKE this big??!?"