Google Claims It's Achieved Quantum Supremacy
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| Google Claims It's Achieved Quantum Supremacy | |
| Number | 950 |
| Broadcast Date | SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 |
| Episode Length | 4:48 |
| Hosts | Rich Stroffolino |
Google claims it has achieved quantum supremacy, Uber’s license to operate in London is set to expire, and the backing currencies for Libra are revealed.
Headlines
- Google published a paper on NASA's website claiming it achieved quantum supremacy, or the ability for a quantum computer to solve a problem a traditional computer cannot. Google was reportedly able to solve a calculation proving the randomness of numbers produced by a random number generator in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, compared to estimates that the fastest supercomputer would take over 10,000 years for the calculation. Google used a 53-qubit design called Sycamore for the calculation. The paper was later pulled from NASAs website. Researchers at IBM were skeptical of the quantum supremacy claim, saying that Google used a specialized design to solve a single problem, rather than designing a machine for general purpose calculations.
- Uber's probationary license to continue operating ride-hailing services in London expires Wednesday. Transport for London did not renew Uber's license in 2017 because of failures in reporting criminal offenses and conducting background checks. A judge in 2018 granted a 15-month probationary license after Uber made several changes. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has not responded to an assembly member's question about Uber's license renewal.
- In a response to an inquiry from German legislators, Facebook revealed details about the currencies used to back up the Libra cryptocurrency stablecoin. Libra's reserve will be made up of 50% US dollars, 18% euros, 14% yen, 11% British pounds, and 7% Singapore dollars. The actual assets used in the reserve will be a combination of a pool of cash and very short-term government securities in those denominations.
- Reuters reports its sources say Fitbit has hired investment firm Qatalyst Partners to explore a sale. Reportedly, Qatalyst has urged Fitbit to consider a sale of the business for several weeks, perhaps getting interest from Google and private equity firms. Fitbit is #2 behind Apple in the smartwatch market and has a market value of about $1 billion.
- TiVo CEO Dave Shull told CNN that TiVo plans to release a $50 Android TV streaming stick early next year. It would use TiVo's software to recommend things to watch. It does not appear to include a TV tuner. TiVo also plans to unveil TiVo+ which would aggregate content from multiple publishers similar to the Roku Channel. TiVo later confirmed it would begin rolling out pre-roll video ads to all retail devices running TiVo Experience 4 starting in the next 90 days, including users who purchased a lifetime subscription plan. Users will be able to fast forward through the ads.
- Chinese e-commerce giant JD launched a new online group buying service called Jingxi, available as a dedicated smartphone app with a planned WeChat integration in October. The app will use a Factory-to-Consumer model to offer frequent flash sales for customers, discounts on items shared with friends, and group buying deals. The move comes as JD hopes to expand growth in smaller cities and rural areas, and to fend off the fast growing e-commerce startup PDD.
- Google announced changes to its Voice and Audio activity settings for Google Assistant. The opt-in setting for allowing transcription use now explicitly states that humans will review a some recordings. Existing Assistant users will have to reauthorize this review before any human review will resume. Later this year Google will also reduce the amount of data stored, with a pledge that the "vast majority" of user data will be deleted after a few months. Google will also add in extra layers of privacy filters for voice records reviewed by humans. Google will also release a Google Assistant hotword sensitivity setting, which should result in fewer accidental recordings.
- AMD announced the release of the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X processor is delayed until November, originally announced as shipping in September. AMD cited high demand and the need to build up sufficient stock for the launch. AMD also announced that the next generation Threadripper processors will come to market in November as well. Those chips will start at 24-cores, although no other product details were announced.
- Facebook announced it will sunset the ability for Facebook Groups to post stories content on September 26th. Any existing stories at that time will be deleted and users won't be able to publish new group stories. The group stories feature was first introduced in December 2018.
Links
| Preceded by: "Week in Review for the Week of 9/16/19" |
Google Claims It's Achieved Quantum Supremacy |
Followed by: "Inside Microsoft's New Data Dignity Project" |