Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
societyJul 31, 202559:01pending

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

About this episode

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 Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out VICE News for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://vicenews.com⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get every episode summarized

Each time Shane Smith Has Questions publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

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

Shane Smith Has Questions

0:00
59:01

More episodes

More from Shane Smith Has Questions

View all episodes →