Should Scientists Use the Phrase “Quantum Supremacy”? - Facts So Romantic

For someone outside quantum computing, who has encountered “supremacy” mainly in the context of political or current affairs, its usage can’t help but be loaded.Image by BeeBright / Shutterstock

Forget for a moment that you know the meaning of “quantum supremacy,” the idea of a quantum computer outdoing its conventional counterpart. What does the phrase instantly bring to mind? Perhaps the idea that the quantum world, with its electrons, neutrons, and quarks, is, somehow, better than ours—more dazzling and awe-inspiring. Or perhaps it’s the claim that exploring quantum phenomena is more worthwhile, in a socioeconomic or in a personal, life-fulfilling sense. Or perhaps it’s the suspicion that quantum beings exist, and exert absolute control over everything we do. The point is, with “quantum supremacy,” you can imagine many ways to erect a quantum-first hierarchy. Remarkably, it’s precisely that sort of thinking, prompted by the word “supremacy,” that some scientists are wary of popularizing.

A few months ago, after Google made headlines with its announcement that it had achieved quantum supremacy, the scientific journal Nature received and published a letter with the headline, “Supremacy is for racists—use ‘quantum advantage.’” The authors of the letter—a quantum computing researcher, a planetary…
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