For Sundar Pichai, this is obviously news that he finds difficult to accept.
He is not a scientist and does not need to care about how theoretical progress will change mathematics and physics.
But he is a capitalist, or rather an agent of capital, and he needs to care about who holds the more advanced theories, and whether they can bring returns to capital.
Even if returns are not immediately apparent, at least they shouldn't bring losses to the capital he controls.
Unfortunately, he may now have to face the worst-case scenario. If this news spreads, losses are almost inevitable.
He is facing a decision now, whether to abandon or temporarily shelve Google Quantum AI team's research.
Abandoning it would mean tens of billions of dollars in investment are wasted, but that's not the most terrifying part.
This is over a decade of strategic planning.
