IBM intends Starling to be able to perform computational tasks beyond the capability of classical computers. Starling will have 200 logical qubits, which will be constructed using the company\u2019s chips. It should be able to perform 100 million logical operations consecutively with accuracy; existing quantum computers can do so for only a few thousand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system will demonstrate error correction at a much larger scale than anything done before, claims Gambetta. Previous error correction demonstrations, such as those done by Google and Amazon, involve a single logical qubit, built from a single chip. Gambetta calls them \u201cgadget experiments,\u201d saying \u201cThey\u2019re small-scale.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s unclear whether Starling will be able to solve practical problems. Some experts think that you need a billion error-corrected logical operations to execute any useful algorithm. Starling represents \u201can interesting stepping-stone regime,\u201d says Wolfgang Pfaff, a physicist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. \u201cBut it\u2019s unlikely that this will generate economic value.\u201d (Pfaff, who studies quantum computing hardware, has received research funding from IBM but is not involved with Starling.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
The timeline for Starling looks feasible, according to Pfaff. The design is \u201cbased in experimental and engineering reality,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve come up with something that looks pretty compelling.\u201d But building a quantum computer is hard, and it\u2019s possible that IBM will encounter delays due to unforeseen technical complications. \u201cThis is the first time someone\u2019s doing this,\u201d he says of making a large-scale error-corrected quantum computer.<\/p>\n