Analysis Finds 73% of 4,966 Quantum Computing Papers Cannot Be Replicated
Updated
Updated · New Scientist · Aug 17
Analysis Finds 73% of 4,966 Quantum Computing Papers Cannot Be Replicated
1 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Aug 17
Summary
A review of 4,966 quantum-computing papers found only 26.8% included enough information to even attempt replication, raising doubts about many reported advances in the field.
In a manual check of 127 papers, just 24.4% provided runnable code, and 64.5% of those code packages failed to execute successfully on independent systems.
Researchers said the problem reflects both weak reproducibility practices and the instability of still-maturing quantum hardware, whose changing physical characteristics make results hard to reproduce across machines.
Some experts said the findings are not alarming for a young field, arguing innovation still outranks reproducible infrastructure, while others expect community standards and AI coding tools to improve replication over time.