Google Willow and the multiverse claim
When Google's Quantum AI team published results showing their chip solved a problem in minutes that would take a classical computer 10 septillion years, a Google executive cited many-worlds theory, claiming the result lends credence to the idea that quantum computation occurs across parallel universes. Krishna pushes back: the Copenhagen interpretation is equally consistent with the same results, and no experiment can currently distinguish between the two interpretations. The multiverse framing is philosophy, not proven physics.
- The 10 septillion year figure was described as exceeding known time scales in physics and vastly exceeding the age of the universe.
- The many-worlds prediction referenced by the Google executive was first attributed to David Deutsch, who also later sought to prove quantum computers could outperform classical machines algorithmically.
- Krishna notes that people texted him personally when the story broke, expecting him as a physicist to confirm the multiverse claim, which he declined to do.
Transcript
This chapter, from the episode video's captions · 420 words
1:12:17um 10 septillion years. Okay, if you want to write it out, that's 10 with I don't know, I'm not going to count how however many zeros there are, right? Um, this mind but crucially, he said, this mind-boggling number exceeds known time scales in physics and vastly exceeds the age of the universe. It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse, a prediction first made by David Deutsch. And if you go back to that um to that overlay, >> the media took over, right? And they're like, "Google says it appears to have accessed parallel universes." I remember when this came out. >> I remember when this came out and and people were texting me because I'm like,
1:12:58you know, they're the only physicist that they know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they're like they're like, "Dude, we live in a multiverse." I'm like, "No, >> no, we don't." Okay. I mean, maybe. I don't know. But like I don't think this proves >> that we live in a multiverse. I'm It's just funny that like one of the heads of uh Google Quantum AI is also on this hype train, right? So he said that this is proof of that. I don't think so. I there's a lot of people out there that don't think so. The Copenhagen interpretation could be just as valid. I mean, it's all just like philosophy at this point, right, about which one is. I don't know if there's a way to tell if we're in a multiverse or if we're just Copenhagen is just the way it is and like the universe just is weird.
1:13:39>> Unless the aliens come from the other universe and they figure out a way. >> Yeah. Yeah. And then they come and tell us if if an alien came and told us that I I'm from the other what I'm okay >> I'm from timeline too. >> Yeah. It's like okay. Yeah. Like I'm from Earth but like we look different. It's like okay cool. >> I'm just saying >> you know like so all right so David Deutsch he wants to prove that a quantum computer could perform tasks faster than any classical machine. Right? because so far uh Fineman has has said this right in his talk he said that I mean clearly we can't store this many states um but Deutsch wants to design a quantum
From How Quantum Computing Actually Works (Part 1)
Part I of our quantum computing deep dive traces the field from Bell and Feynman to Deutsch and Shor—and explains what quantum computers actually do differently from classical machines.