Podcast Episode Details

The Quantum Chip That Might Change Everything ft. Julian Kelly | Shane Smith Has Questions

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Episode 26

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Shane Smith sits down with Julian Kelly, Senior Director of Hardware at Google  Quantum AI and architect of the groundbreaking Willow chip, to map out the next frontier of computing. Kelly explains how Google’s 100 plus qubit processors now complete benchmark tasks in minutes that would outlive the universe on today’s fastest supercomputers, why error corrected “logical” qubits are the last hurdle to practical machines, and which real world problems will fall first once quantum power comes online. Along the way they tackle encryption panic, AI synergy, the global quantum race, and the mind bending philosophy behind many worlds.

Conversation Highlights:

• Willow & “beyond classical” benchmarks: 10²⁵year speedup over conventional supercomputers

• Roadmap milestones → quantum supremacy → scalable error correction →“Milestone 3” logical qubit

• Drug discovery, battery chemistry, fertilizer synthesis, fusion research & other early killer apps

• Post-quantum cryptography and the myth vs. reality of “QDay” data breach fears
• Cooling to 10 milliKelvin, chip design shifts from DWave annealers to gate based processors

• How AI can train on quantum generated data—and how quantum can turbocharge AI research

• Global landscape: Google’s lead, government labs, and the rise of private startups
• Philosophical detours: superposition, entanglement, many worlds interpretations
• Five-year horizon for the first commercially useful quantum workload
• Kelly’s personal journey—from UCSB lab tinkerer to Google’s quantum hardware chief

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Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago