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Instead of ‘supremacy’ use ‘quantum advantage’

  1. Carmen Palacios-Berraquero

    1. Nu Quantum, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK.

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  2. Leonie Mueck

    1. Riverlane, Cambridge, UK.

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  3. Divya M. Persaud

    1. University College London, UK.

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We take issue with the use of ‘supremacy’ when referring to quantum computers that can out-calculate even the fastest supercomputers (F. Arute et al. Nature 574, 505–510; 2019). We consider it irresponsible to override the historical context of this descriptor, which risks sustaining divisions in race, gender and class. We call for the community to use ‘quantum advantage’ instead.

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Nature 576, 213 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03781-0

Supported by 13 signatories (see Supplementary information for full list).

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 17 December 2019: The headline of this Correspondence has been changed to better reflect the message of the letter.

Supplementary Information

  1. Co-signatories to this Correspondence

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