Experiments claiming a quantum computer did something no classical computer feasibly can — random circuit sampling, boson sampling — and the classical simulation efforts that keep pushing back.
Why it matters
This is where the field’s biggest claims get made and contested. Following the claim-and-refutation cycle teaches you to read results properly.
After this you will be able to
Hand-picked and ordered. If you only have time for one, take the first.
The Sycamore experiment. Read it alongside the classical simulation rebuttals that followed — the argument about what it proved is more instructive than the result itself.
The field’s most reliable hype filter. When a quantum computing claim makes the news, this is where a leading complexity theorist explains what it does and does not mean.
Defines quantum volume, the single-number benchmark you see in every vendor announcement. Understanding its definition tells you exactly what those announcements do and do not claim.
Google’s curated tutorials, coding labs and research talks, oriented around Cirq and the hardware Google actually builds. Good complement to the IBM-centric mainstream.
Science journalism that researchers actually respect. The best way to follow real results without either the arXiv firehose or press-release hyperbole.
The essay that named the NISQ era. Almost no equations, and it frames what near-term hardware can and cannot do more honestly than anything else you will read.
Industry news, company tracking, hardware roadmaps and job listings. The best single source for what the commercial side of the field is doing.
A sober expert assessment of feasibility and timelines, free to read online. Written for policymakers, which means it is unusually clear about uncertainty and risk.