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

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 100plusqubit processors now complete benchmark tasks in minutes that would outlive the universe on today’s fastest supercomputers, why errorcorrected “logical” qubits are the last hurdle to practical machines, and which realworld problems will fall first once quantum power comes online. Along the way they tackle encryption panic, AI synergy, the global quantum race, and the mindbending philosophy behind manyworlds. Conversation Highlights: Willow & “beyondclassical” 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 Postquantum cryptography and the myth vs. reality of “QDay” databreach fears Cooling to 10 milliKelvin, chip design shifts from DWave annealers to gatebased processors How AI can train on quantumgenerated 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, manyworlds interpretations Fiveyear horizon for the first commercially useful quantum workload Kelly’s personal journey—from UCSB lab tinkerer to Google’s quantum hardware chief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices