Google has committed to a showdown with supercomputers, aiming to prove the capabilities of its in-house quantum computing silicon. The new design is aiming to establish quantum supremacy, and establish that the new computing architecture can trounce the most powerful arrays of traditional silicon – opening up a new field to be embraced by emerging AI and machine-learning (ML) technologies. So-called because of their use of quantum mechanical properties, the new chips threaten to outperform the most powerful supercomputers, potentially in power packages that could be run from batteries. While they have huge value in scientific research and experiments, quantum computers have picked up a little infamy for their potential ability to render current methods of digital encryption redundant. To…