Quantum computing has reached a stage where quantum processors are beginning to challenge state-of-the-art classical methods on carefully chosen tasks, yet significant obstacles remain on the path to broadly useful quantum advantage. Foremost among these are noise and errors: as devices scale, the ability to characterize, mitigate and correct errors becomes essential for unlocking their full computational potential.

In this talk, I will present a realistic assessment of the current status of quantum computing and clarify what “quantum advantage” means from conceptual, experimental, and practical perspectives. I will then focus on recent theoretical and experimental advances showing how effective error-mitigation techniques can push quantum simulations on today’s leading hardware platforms beyond classical limits. I will also discuss how integrating error-mitigated quantum processors with high-performance classical computing further extends the range of accessible simulations. These developments, together with recent results on the combination of error mitigation and error correction, highlight the central role of error mitigation in enabling practical quantum advantage as quantum hardware transitions from the NISQ era toward early fault-tolerant quantum computation.