Willow quantum chip demonstrates verifiable quantum advantage on hardware

This is quite different from their previous random circuit sampling (RCS) experiments that have made headlines a few times in the past. The key difference from an applied standpoint is that the output of RCS is a random bitstring which is different every time you run the algorithm. These bitstrings are not reproducible, and also not particularly interesting, except for the fact that only a quantum computer can generate them efficiently.

The new experiment generates the same result every time you run it (after a small amount of averaging). It also involves running a much more structured circuit (as opposed to a random circuit), so all-in-all, the result is much more 'under control.'

As a cherry on top, the output has some connection to molecular spectroscopy. It still isn't that useful at this scale, but it is much more like the kind of thing you would hope to use a quantum computer for someday (and certainly more useful than generating random bitstrings).