Quantum computer does something for first time, creates "certified truly random" numbers

A group of researchers from JPMorganChase, Quantinuum, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and The University of Texas at Austin has reached a major milestone in quantum computing. In a new paper published in Nature, they describe how they used a 56-qubit quantum computer to generate random numbers and then proved those numbers were truly random using powerful classical supercomputers. This achievement, called "certified randomness," could be useful in areas like cryptography, privacy, and fairness.

Certified randomness means the numbers are not just unpredictable, but also freshly created and mathematically verified. Classical computers can’t do this on their own. They usually rely on hardware random-number generators, which can be tampered with. But with this new method, even if someone tried to interfere with the quantum computer, they wouldn’t be able to fake the randomness and still pass the certification.

The idea behind the protocol was first proposed by Scott Aaronson, a computer science professor at UT Austin. He worked with his former postdoctoral researcher, Shih-Han Hung, to support the experimental team.

“When I first proposed my certified randomness protocol in 2018, I had no idea how long I’d need to wait to see an experimental demonstration of it,” Aaronson said. “Building upon the original protocol and realizing it is a first step toward using quantum computers to generate certified random bits for actual cryptographic applications.”

To carry out the experiment, the team accessed Quantinuum’s System Model H2-1 quantum computer over the internet. They used a method called random circuit sampling (RCS), which is known to be extremely hard for classical computers to simulate. The process had two main steps. First, the researchers sent the quantum computer a series of challenge circuits created from a small seed of randomness. The quantum computer had to solve these challenges by picking one of many possible answers at random. Then, in the second step, classical supercomputers checked the results to confirm the randomness was real.

The team used several supercomputers with a combined performance of 1.1 × 10¹⁸ floating-point operations per second (1.1 ExaFLOPS) to certify 71,313 bits of entropy. This means they proved that the random bits couldn’t have been generated by classical methods, at least not under realistic conditions and assumptions.

“This work marks a major milestone in quantum computing, demonstrating a solution to a real-world challenge using a quantum computer beyond the capabilities of classical supercomputers today,” said Marco Pistoia, Head of Global Technology Applied Research at JPMorganChase.

Quantinuum had upgraded its H2 system to 56 qubits in June 2024. Thanks to its high accuracy and ability for any qubit to connect with any other, the system was able to perform RCS far better than previous machines. This upgrade, combined with Aaronson’s protocol, made the breakthrough possible.

“Today, we celebrate a pivotal milestone that brings quantum computing firmly into the realm of practical, real-world applications,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President and CEO of Quantinuum.

“These results in quantum computing were enabled by the world-leading U.S. Department of Energy computing facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,” said Travis Humble, director of the Quantum Computing User Program at ORNL.

While quantum computers have shown they can outperform classical ones in theory, turning that power into something useful has been a challenge. This experiment shows that quantum computers can now do something practical that classical computers simply can’t match.

Source: University of Texas, Nature

This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

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Posted Friday 8 August 2025 at 1:04 pm AEST (my time).

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