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Nousiainen, Katri; Keski-Rahkonen, Joonas; McDonald, Tim; Feldmann, Sascha --- "Towards Society of Quantum Tomorrow" [2022] ANZCompuLawJl 6; (2022) 94 Computers & Law, Article 6


TOWARDS SOCIETY OF QUANTUM TOMORROW

KATRI NOUSIAINEN,[*] JOONAS KESKI-RAHKONEN,[†] TIM MCDONALD[‡] AND SASCHA FELDMANN[§]

ABSTRACT

Quantum technologies encompass a wide and ever-growing field of applications which leverage unique quantum-mechanical properties for performing tasks that existing, classical technologies could not. To benefit all of society optimally, it is a linchpin that we are aware of not just the potential of these emerging technologies, but also of the risks involved, to analyze them thoroughly, and to take political action accordingly – an A-cubed approach. Here, we follow this approach by first depicting a picture of the future quantum society. We then present a five-point roadmap to examine social, ethical and economical dimensions of quantum technologies, with a call for further discussions on the prospective legal and policy framework. Finally, we look over possible steps we can take on the path towards a bright society of quantum tomorrow.

CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION

The brave new world of quantum technologies is upon us. As we are entering into the new era of quantum technologies, the sovereign states, institutional and organizational operators, as well as businesses should reflect upon the social and legal relevance of this technological progress. Towards this goal, we propose the A-cubed approach - awareness, analysis, and action - being employed for socio-economic framework construction (visualized in Fig. 1).

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Figure 1. A-cubed approach to integrate new emerging quantum technologies into a part of future society: Raise awareness, analyze the environment, and take appropriate action.

First, it is of crucial importance that we are aware of these new technologies; secondly, their implications and ramifications must be carefully analyzed within their respective environments, and lastly appropriate actions should be taken to work for their development but also to safeguard for individual and social rights. In the international arena, the path dependency process plays a crucial role in finding balance with various rights and obligations. In the quantum-technological environment, we see that the legal design approach, which aims to empower within improving, supporting, and demonstrating, can pave the way towards a legal framework that is transparent, human-centric, efficient, and comprehensible as well as foster equality and nondiscrimination. We recognize that it is better to be proactive than reactive.

II AWARENESS: FUTURE IS QUANTUM

To take full social benefit of new emerging quantum technologies, we should first be aware of what they encompass. Based on the economic theories on path dependency,[1] knowledge is prevalent in society and learning is considered as gradual. We encounter the same dilemma with quantum technologies: we have the golden opportunity to embrace learnings from the past, to enhance, and build on the understanding that we have today. As a matter of exemplary incident, we may study the policy frameworks of the 1990’s for the internet.[2] A more modern reference point for the embodiment of quantum technologies is an envisaged social-legal-ethnic framework for nanotechnology.[3] Though, just reflecting the past is not enough, and a new point of view on quantum matters is a linchpin, even when the learning process comes with a cost. At the end of the day, comprehensive understanding and knowledge are pivotal for successful innovation, development, and competition. In this respect, we should raise quantum awareness – there is a new game in town.

The topic of “quantum” has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, starting from science and media until it now has reached every part of society through the first applications coined “quantum” in the consumer market. Yet, for the majority of people it is not actually clear what “quantum” really means, leave alone what implications quantum technologies might have for society in the future. Right now, we find ourselves in the midst of a quantum revolution – however, not in the first, but the second one in the history of quantum physics.

The first quantum evolution began with the discovery of quantum mechanics and its laws in the beginning of the 20th century, pioneered by physicists like Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, to acknowledge only a few of the most notable ones. Following the initial observations on the quantized nature of our underlying reality and the dualism between waves and particles, the understanding of these principles has by now enabled inventions that have had a lasting impact on the development of civilization. Examples include the transistor or laser - essential building blocks in modern computers and telecommunication, thus forming the backbone of our digitalized society and the motor of globalization.

The second quantum evolution is currently underway, and most scientific efforts in the present focus on building, fully controlling and taking advantage of quantum systems. One widely anticipated embodiment of emerging quantum technologies is a functional quantum computer. In a nutshell, a quantum computer is a device that harnesses the properties of quantum mechanics to store data and to perform computational tasks.[4] Although conventional computers have been present in some form since the 20th century, the possibility of a computer operating exclusively with quantum mechanical principles was put forward in the 1980s[5], which has led to the current rise of the quantum computing and information field[6], onside stimulating the evolution of other quantum technologies.

Even though any computational challenge with a classical computer can also, in principle, be targeted by a quantum computer, there are mathematical problems where a quantum computer outshines its classical counterparts spectacularly.[7] Whereas classical computers, such as modern laptops and smartphones, encode information in binary bits, i.e., as either zeros or ones, the fundamental element of a quantum computer is a qubit, which in a simplified picture can be a zero and one at the same time. These quantum bits are nowadays realized in various physical set-ups.[8] Over the last decade, significant progress has been made, and real-life quantum computers exist. For the time being, classical computers seem to handle most daily computational tasks with which a quantum computer is challenged, with a similar efficiency. On the other hand, based on some companies, such as IBM and Google, we are on the verge of achieving a genuine quantum advantage[9]. However, current devices are early examples of noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers, and these have just begun to find important applications in quantum simulation and chemistry.[10] The biggest adversary for the triumph of quantum computing has been the fragile nature of its building blocks, qubits, that will be rendered into an old-fashioned classical computer employing zeros and ones, i.e., bits, by unwanted disturbance, colloquially known as decoherence. A future challenge is to design devices with an ability to shield their quantum nature from decoherence, while remaining easy to operate. Whether it will be more robust, error-tolerant quantum processors[11] or better ways to correct and mitigate errors[12], or both - only time will show us.

It is the peculiar nature of qubits that gives a quantum computer an edge to solve certain complex problems better than the best conventional supercomputers.[13] Figure 2 gives an overview of potential future applications which could harness this “quantum advantage”. For completeness, we want to emphasize that there are also many situations where a quantum computer will always be inferior to a classical one, or where the quantum-boost will be minor.[14] Most likely, the supercomputers of the future are a hybrid[15]; a quantum computer and a classical computer working in symbiosis to tackle hard computational problems more efficiently. In other words, there will be no future extinction of classical computers, at least not due to quantum computing!

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Figure 2. The future is quantum - Potential applications related to quantum technologies that could enter the consumer market within the next decade. Examples include drug and materials discovery, quantum computing and cryptography as well as boosts towards a more sustainable energy consumption and production.

The sought-after quantum advantage[16], sometimes called quantum supremacy[17], stems from the ability of a qubit array to represent and analyze a very large set of information[18]. In fact, a few hundred entangled qubits are sufficient to describe all atoms in the whole Universe, whereas no classical computer would have enough available memory for this task. More precisely, a quantum computer excels in computational tasks which require going through a myriad of possible combinations to find the solution. For instance, the quantum advantage over classical computers can be achieved in solving mathematical optimization issues such as the prime number factorization problem[19], which is closely linked to modern encryption methods, and the traveling salesman problem[20], which is in turn, for example, to the optimization of parcel delivery routes. Even though this casts a shadow on the widely employed encryption protocols, quantum can also be an answer[21]: quantum information processing and quantum cryptography are thus promising applications leveraging the laws of quantum mechanics in the future. Furthermore, the quantum enchantment is shown to pay dividends in both machine learning and artificial intelligence that are valuable tools to utilize the ever-increasing mountain of available data.[22] In addition to the computational speed-up, quantum computers are a natural platform to test the fundamental principles of nature[23], as well as to simulate the behavior of (complex) physical systems[24], which could act as a new catalyst to material science and chemistry.

Quantum computers could also assist to map out and benchmark future pharmaceuticals, and thus dramatically accelerate the discovery of new therapeutics or other useful drugs, while screening the highly multidimensional chemical space with classical methods is almost impossible.[25] Indeed, most total synthesis of target drug molecules to date still relies on the chemical intuition and experience of chemists in envisioning potential synthesis routes, which ultimately need to be tested in cost-extensive trial and error processes.[26] In addition, quantum sensing can be utilized, for example, to make structures and functions of individual biomolecules visible under physiological conditions.[27]

Likewise, materials discovery could be dramatically improved using a combination of machine learning approaches based on existing data bases and the highly parallelized nature of quantum simulations to find new material compositions. Examples and pressing challenges to tackle here include building material that could substitute concrete with its extreme carbon and energy footprint, while being more light-weight and versatile to manipulate, high-performance polymers, or highly efficient semiconductors that could substitute silicon in solar cells or electronics components with enhanced energy efficiency.

Aside from directly using quantum systems in quantum simulation and quantum information, there exists also a plethora of applications already in use today, which could see a dramatic “quantum boost” in efficiency in the near future. Examples here include the use of charges or light with a precise control over multiple quantum properties, such as the spin, momentum and polarization[28]. Controlling the spin of electrons in optoelectronic devices could result in a reduction of scattering losses for enhanced solar cell performance, or significantly improve the rate of catalyzed chemical reactions, while in a spinLED (LED = light-emitting diode) the emitted circularly polarized light could double light-outcoupling efficiencies and thus the energy efficiency in most existing LED displays currently featuring anti-glare filters[29]. This would dramatically enhance the battery life or conversely reduce the energy consumption in most digital consumer products. As such, quantum-boosted technology improvements could enable a more sustainable energy future.[30]

Other potential quantum advantages could lie in the energy-consuming nature of computing itself: This occurs currently almost exclusively employing transistors based on electronics, meaning information can be transmitted through electrical current either flowing or not flowing. As such, a bit of information (a “1” or a “0”) relies on permanent consumption of electrical energy. In contrast, employing a quantum-mechanical property of an electron called its “spin” would enable spintronics applications which would be by far more energy-efficient than electronics, as preserving a specific state of information would not consume energy and switching it would consume much less energy than switching in electronics[31]. As such, quantum applications would highly enable energy efficient information processing in the future. In particular, quantum technologies could help reaching multiple Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations, including Affordable and Clean Energy (#7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (#9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (#11), and Responsible Consumption and Production (#12)[32].

For the most part, new quantum technologies at the moment are still in the early stage of pioneering and commercialization, but the race for quantum resources has nevertheless clearly begun. There are high expectations and hopes that new emerging quantum technologies, like quantum computers, may assist us to tackle some of today’s acute issues, thereby providing a means towards a greener and brighter society. A step into this direction is to remember that there should still ideally be no great knowledge and information asymmetry between all the relevant operators. Furthermore, knowledge on quantum technologies should also be disseminated in understandable terms to the general audience to achieve a wide social comprehension. In particular, the academy and education system has a central role to play in raising public quantum awareness, and to generate “quantum-skilled workforce” which is a necessary prerequisite to sustain and to drive a quantum ecosystem.

In order to learn from best interdisciplinary practices and to create awareness and the most value, it is crucial to bridge more between business, academia and society. We see it is worthy of increasing knowledge and information between different operators, such as the academy, policy makers and industry, regarding interests, incentives, and objectives supporting the creation of standardization and best practices within quantum technologies. Thus, the goal is to thrive the technological development and its social embodiment, and to create a flourishing quantum ecosystem in the future. A pivotal aspect in quantum awareness is to acknowledge that the employment and possession of new technologies create possibilities but also bring responsibilities. As we are now ushering into the next era of quantum, time is ripe to dissect the social-legal-ethical situation of today, and then to act in preparation for the quantum leap ahead.

III ANALYSIS: QUANTUM ROADMAP

As briefly discussed above, the quantum way of thinking has reshaped our worldview about the Universe but has also led to significant practical applications our modern society relies on in the past century. A current trend is to innovate more efficient and greener materials or components for future nanoelectronics by taking a better advantage of quantum resources[33], as it is getting harder to push the boundaries of Moore’s law[34], i.e., doubling the transistor density on a microchip every second year. In addition to this evolutionary development, we are now experiencing a new wave of novel quantum technologies that are promising in terms of social impact and commercial applications[35]: quantum sensing[36], imaging[37], metrology[38], communication[39] and computing[40]. Furthermore, different technologies affect each other, especially when combined. For instance, quantum technologies may influence the survival and evolution of other technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data applications, but this kind of interactions may vice versa increase the power and employment of the quantum technologies.

Although the emerging quantum technologies, such quantum computing, are still at the initial stage of utilization – transiting from the pilot phase to the commercial sphere, they have already begun to influence the structures and functions of society in a spectrum of ways. Sovereign states, institutions, organizations, and corporations should be prepared for the emergence of these new technologies, with the constant goal of improving the current legislative framework and initiating new ones. The upcoming technological shift will take place gradually, thus continuing efforts to stay updated on this development is crucial in order to provide for meaningful legislation initiatives.

The application and possession of new technologies involve harmonizing different rights but also taking account of rising obligations. In anticipation of the social embodiment of quantum technologies, we address this regulatory dilemma within a legal design framework which comes together in our guideline – Quantum Roadmap.[41] It analyzes the emerging legal and ethical responsibilities into five basic principles that are ethics, inclusion, balancing regulatory activities, safeguarding individual rights, and innovating by design (see fig. 3).

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Figure 3. Quantum roadmap suggested by the authors. It has been motivated by the desire to raise quantum awareness and to encourage further debate on the topic. The roadmap charts the social landscape into five interconnecting areas which each is supplemented with a basic guiding principle for the integration of quantum technologies into our daily life.

A Ethics

Equal access, public good, and transparency

are the guiding ethical principles.

What ethical risks does quantum technology create, and how can we mitigate those risks? To what extent has quantum technology become a military asset, and what kind of role should international organizations play in governing quantum-based weapon technology?

Law and ethics frequently interrelate, but ethical standards are never a supplementation or replacement to legal measure. In particular, ethics alone is not adequate when regulating high-risk technologies. Nevertheless, ethical aspects do provide a valuable direction to construct a legal framework for society. For example, the development or employment of new technologies should not create or aggravate inequalities. It should neither create a different level of standing through its design nor should it leave room for hidden discriminatory practices. Primary calls for the benefit of humankind should be recognized together with commercial incentives.

When it comes to the ethical issues regarding the uprise of new technologies in a society, we do not start ex nihilo. There has been a lot of discussion on ethical rules for different technologies, which has paved the way to modern generic ethical guidelines. Nevertheless, every field has its own special traits; surprisingly the society has relatively recently woken-up to consider the ethical aspects of quantum circumstances.[42] However, for the authors' knowledge, there is no well-established quantum-specific legal-ethics at the current state of affairs. Therefore, we herald for opening a discussion and constructing a legal-ethical framework to cover the emerging quantum technologies. Furthermore, since society is in a constant flux, the ethical norms are thus expected to be dynamic and contextual: the exact quantum-tech regulations will always be a product of their time following the current trend of the applications and implications of the given technology. Consequently, the legal-ethical framework has to be agile and updated with regular intervals.

An exemplary, near-future ethical issue is the dual-usage of quantum technologies.[43] The “dual-usage” term refers to the aspect that technology can be employed in both military and in the commercial sphere. In fact, at the end of 2018, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced that certain quantum technologies, such as quantum computing, sensing as well as quantum encryption, should be added to a list of blocking U.S exports due to their dual-usage character. [44] Subsequently, the United States has included some quantum technologies on the list of goods whose export is being restricted.[45] There is surely a call for a more extensive and legally binding regulatory framework to address quantum technologies and their export restrictions based on the ethical point of views and the common-good practice.

On the other hand, we must ensure that regulations and export restrictions will not hinder the development of new technologies[46] or cause excessive barriers for their financing, other investments, or slow down scientific dialogues. In general, we see that equal access and transparency lie at the heart of ethics. For this purpose, we suggest following the dogma of legal design approach when approaching the legal-ethical conundrum of quantum technology.

By definition, the legal design is to apply a user-centered approach to judicial information, services, products, and processes to design them to be more comprehensible.[47] This approach aims to generate a systemic impact via empowering lay people with law: by supporting equality, creating and building value, increasing tools and products, reducing knowledge and information asymmetry in society, and enabling better access to law and legal information. Within this approach, all actors in the legal field as well as people outside of it are empowered by employing means, such as, design methods, interdisciplinary best practices, and technology.

The legal design operates at least in four prominent ways: empowering, improving, supporting, and demonstrating. It builds on the design thinking process in reaching these functions.[48] The design thinking process determines the challenges and then executes solutions that take end-users' needs into account. These needs are at the essence of solutions and concept development. The design thinking process centralizes understanding, thinking, need-finding, creating, and doing.[49] Here the legal design approach may transform law and legal practice related to quantum technologies becoming more transparent, human-centric, efficient, and comprehensible as well as to foster better quality and the values of non-discrimination. Nonetheless, further research is required to demonstrate and to support the expectations on benefits derived from the legal design approach in the quantum technology field.[50]

B Inclusiveness

Democratic involvement and the sharing of knowledge and resources

are the guiding inclusive principles.

How will quantum technology affect international trade, trade relations, and trade organizations, and what kind of regulatory challenges does it raise? What kind of positive and negative effects will export and import restrictions have on the quantum-technology industry from a social, economic and innovation perspective? What role should the public and the private sector play, and at which stages? How can or should we fund quantum infrastructure?

We see that the development or employment of new technologies should be inclusive and provide benefits to be utilized for the good of the whole of humankind. The ambition of the inclusiveness is to prevent various risks of increased inequality, e.g., stemming from the monopolization through immaterial property patents, and a quantum division during the commercialization phase, which holds both companies as well as countries. Furthermore, it aims to integrate our democratic values into the social-ontogenesis of new quantum technologies, which, for example, requires educating the general public on quantum-related technologies. For commercial players, a further motivation to this direction is that technology which has gained the trust of the people has a significant market advantage.

From the standpoint of our principle, equal access and openness could, to some extent, help to impede, or at least restrict, the first operators from dominating the field. One concrete future software-level solution could be a cloud-based service enabling researchers and companies to fully tap into the benefits of quantum computers on an equal footing. This cloud-based quantum computing could be either provided by a commercial actor or organized by government authorities. Indeed, the current key actors of the quantum computing market, such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, are on pace to establish their quantum clouds, thus allowing the quantum computing experience to a broader audience.[51]

In contrast to quantum-software design, the situation is more challenging on the hardware level, i.e., designing and manufacturing quantum-computer architectures. Whereas we are on the software level, the hardware progress lacks behind, but it is catching up at an accelerating speed. However, unlike quantum-algorithms such as the quantum Fourier-transformation that commonly belong to the public domain, the hardware development is currently strongly led by the private sector so that the corresponding technological breakthroughs fall under immaterial protection rights and corporational trade secrets. At some level, this aspect is problematic for the evolution of quantum computing, e.g., in respect to the openness and further development of the technology. Due to a major innovation or to the early-bird advantage, there may occur a winner-takes-all scenario in the quantum game where one actor begins to dominate the market and the technological development in an unhealthy fashion. In general, it raises a question what role the public and the private sector should play, and at which stages. For instance, there might be a reason for governmental institutes to prohibit or to restrict access to some part of the technology, e.g., because of dual-usage and mitigating security risks.

Some countries have already taken export restriction actions at their national level regarding quantum technologies. These actions have been realized in the form of export controls. It is even expected that we will witness the US and China technology war in the future.[52] However, similarly to the usage of technology, export policy also has a dual character: it can be channeled for good and evil. States should be prudent to goals they aim to achieve through export restrictions. We recognize that the exportation also offers great opportunities to collaborate,[53] learn from each other, and it also provides transparency in the development of new technologies. As the quantum technologies get commercialized, it is a linchpin to find the right balance to safeguard security, and peace, as well as to improve technological development. In particular, we call for international influencers such as the United Nations (UN) or World Trade Organization (WTO) to take a bigger role in addressing these issues.

C Balancing Regulatory Activities

Innovativeness, common good, effectiveness and being technology-friendly

are the guiding regulatory principles.

What type of institutions and governance structures does the emerging quantum technology require? To what extent can we rely on current and emerging regulatory frameworks? What can we learn from the history of technological governance and regulatory restrictions?

The development or employment of new technologies should not be hindered by regulatory measures. In other words, the goal of the regulatory route is to maximize benefits to the whole society and mitigate risks of applied quantum technology. At the same time, the legislative actions should be cohesive and respectful towards the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity while providing a stable and predictive regulatory environment, which is a key element for commercial players. The regulatory actions should be guided by the Aristotelian-like philosophy on the excess and deficiency: balancing legal development, legal rights and obligations, public good, and incentives to innovate as well as to safeguard a fertile soil to develop technologies further.

Although some initial steps have been taken,[54] contemporary legal frameworks are inadequate to cover quantum technologies. We want to emphasize that there is particularly a pressing demand for an international regulatory framework for the employment of quantum technologies in the society-wide global context. For example, WTO could be a prominent and connecting entity between different nations for addressing the commercial usage of future quantum technologies. Overall, it is of the utmost importance to find the regulatory balance.

With quantum technologies maturing rapidly, it will be seen whether the current incentives are enough for different operators to come together to take precautionary actions. Despite being better to be proactive than reactive, a cynical prediction is – by reflecting on the past – that a major incident often needs to occur before appropriate measures are set in place.

D Safeguarding Individual Rights and Liberties

Prioritizing individual autonomy, fundamental rights and liberties,

equality and fairness are the guiding principles.

How will quantum technology affect digital surveillance, privacy, fairness, trust, access to information, and human rights? What are recommendations for the private sector to collaborate with the government?

The development or employment of new technologies should not interfere with recognized individual rights and liberties, exclude individual access without good cause unreasonably, create or aggravate inequalities between individuals, interfere within individual autonomy, create barriers to access to justice or other recognized democratic fundamental principles. Safeguarding equal standing, non-interference on individual rights, and safeguarding for taking larger frameworks into account when making justified decisions affecting individual’s rights and obligations.

For instance, the future quantum applications and innovations can be expected to comply with the legislation on data protection, governance and privacy. However, it is currently unknown to what extent can we rely on current and emerging regulatory frameworks such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)[55],The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)/ California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA),[56]Proposal for a regulation of the European parliament and of the council laying down harmonized rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain union legislative acts (AI Act), [57]Digital Markets Act (DMA)[58], The Digital Services Act, (DSA),[59] Data Act,[60] Wassenaar Arrangement[61] to mention a few. This privacy issue culminates in the matter of cybersecurity where one must switch eventually to new quantum-proof encryption standards as quantum computers scale up. Like with balancing the regulatory actions, it remains to be seen whether the current incentives are enough for the field itself to take the precautionary step, or if a governmental nudge is required to motivate its reformation.

Currently, we are living in the age of information. In fact, we are almost drowning in the sea of data, but a quantum way of thinking may give us an ability to efficiently process enormous data sets. In the coming decades, synergies of quantum technology and AI may open a new chapter in data science. As regards, for instance, quantum-boosted artificial intelligence can be employed to categorize data, to track patterns, to benefit process development, and to make more accurate forecasts. Moreover, it is speculated that quantum-enhanced AI will play a major role in the rise of autonomous decision making. Nevertheless, quantum data utilization should not violate human rights, including human dignity, agency and oversight with the right to an explanation, and the rights of humans with respect to artificial intelligence. This core principle should be methodically embedded in existing and future regulatory structures. To ensure human-centricity, one can employ the design methods mentioned previously above as one possible solution, e.g., for designing and generating data sets according to the principle.

E Innovating by Design

A steered innovation design towards human centricity, transparency,

openness and sustainability is the guiding principle.

What type of innovation should we want? How can and should governments and public entities shape innovation in quantum technology, and what path dependencies might the corresponding actions and inactions create?

A fundamental question is what type of innovations we want in the future. The governments, public and private entities, like different institutions, and other players, such as the developers and investors, have a possibility – and responsibility – to shape innovation in quantum technology, but at the same time keeping track of the path dependencies that the corresponding actions and inactions create in respect to the other four guidelines above. The development or employment of new technologies should be designed in accordance with equality, transparency, ethics, and human centricity. The design of the technology should help provide an equal access to technology, designing technologies to foster non-discriminatory practices, transparency, and sustainability.

First of all, when we investigate, develop and design quantum technology, academia plays a central role and is a good medium to initiate the quantum debate. Researchers do have the duty to steer research and innovation; various risks, legal gaps, ethical questions, societal implications and other unknown ramifications associated with quantum technologies should be factored in. Prospective practices should be designed and tested. Subsequently, insights should be shared and disseminated openly within and outside of the academic community.

Side by side with academia, a public sector needs to step in. For example, governments and governmental institutions can bring the quantum community together, which instead can forecast future trends of quantum technology evolution for the service of the public. With this information, the public sector can become more aware of risks and engage in potential benefits related to quantum technologies. Moreover, it enables the public sector to set up quantum-targeted strategies and policies to steer the progress into the right direction, to maximize the social benefit of the technology. This also enables governments to found new specialized public institutes to offer legal-ethical guidance on the current possibilities associated with the development and usage of quantum technologies from the public point of view. The public sector should also have healthy dialogue with the private sector to establish a pathway for commercial innovations.

Basic research conducted by academia through public funding is usually a precursor for commercial incentives. For example, quantum computing is rapidly evolving field whose the basic research funding still mostly comes from public resources, where the European Union[62] with 7,2 billion and China with 15 billion have a clear leadership on funding. The USA[63] has announced a planned governmental funding for 1.3 billion dollars. However, the private funding has also significantly increased during the recent years, in 2021 quantum computing start-ups raised 1,7 billion (Fig. 4). It is expected that the private funding will just further increase as the commercial applications gain attraction. Operators such as IBM, Amazon, Alibaba, Microsoft, and Google have already launched their quantum computing services in the commercial sphere.[64]

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Figure 4. Governmental funding in billion US-dollars in China, EU, and the US.

In consequence, we can ask what type of governmental and public ties the emerging technology requires to achieve a bright quantum future. For example, if the development of such basic research is carried out or supported by public funding, the fruits could be then shared accordingly. This could mean that the fundamental research results should be announced as open access to be utilized, and the commercialization could take place via licensing to prevent the centralization of the crucial quantum innovations on one player. This kind of proactive involvement of the public sector could be also a precursor to establish industry-wide hardware standards which further stimulate technological evolution on a broader front, e.g., to lure smaller, new players into the quantum play. Therefore, along with the legislational route, an effective regulatory tool is to control the flows of (public) funding in order to design socially and ethically equitable quantum infrastructure without sacrificing the evolution and integration of the technology.

IV ACTION: STEPS TOWARDS A FUTURE QUANTUM SOCIETY

By knowing the “bigger picture”, we can take steps to ascertain the functionality and gain of society, while not smothering the evolution and integration of quantum technologies. In practice, success, most likely, requires a strategy plan with concrete steps for how to incorporate these technologies in order to fully capture the commercial opportunities, and to deliver maximum benefit to society at the same time. For example, one of these measures can be to launch a fleet of mission-driven flagships to solve industrial and societal challenges related to the embodiment of quantum technologies. Naturally, our legislational environment needs to be ready for the upcoming quantum change. For instance, the immaterial property right framework could encourage commercialisation as well as accessibility. In the long run, there may be a necessity for an international framework to ensure the coherence and the optimal functionality of the global quantum community in respect to the values presented in Quantum Roadmap. To support the advancement of quantum technologies while mitigating risks for destructive conflict, there need to be frameworks and new institutions that address legal, economic, political, and security issues. This will require institutional innovation, as quantum technologies exist in terms of the “tri-sector” of government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.[65]

Quantum technologies present challenges in terms of both shared development and governance. Companies and nations are cooperating and in competition, or what has been described as “co-opetition,” referring to when stakeholders can gain through working together, but are also in fierce competition and must balance the risks of over-exposure, protecting security or trade secrets.[66] In contrast to the Cold War, when Western and Soviet-aligned nations had entirely different economic, political, and security institutions – such as the European Economic Community and NATO, or the Soviet-aligned Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) and Warsaw Pact – nations today are closely linked, even when they have extensive divisions. The new competition between the United States, Europe, and China for example is fundamentally different, with integration. Economies have much more integration, there are more exchanges of citizens, and many shared interests.

Co-opetition is possible when both parties can gain without putting critical factors at risk, or the two parties together can gain an advantage over others. The key is in how partnerships are structured. The task is to manage these tensions and be proactive, to ensure benefits and manage risks. and we may need new institutions and processes. Naturally, our legislational environment needs to be ready for the upcoming quantum change. For instance, the immaterial property right framework could encourage commercialisation as well as accessibility. An international framework will be required to ensure the coherence and the optimal functionality of the global quantum community in respect to the values presented in Quantum Roadmap.

This can be done by creating an architecture of the system.[67] Currently legal, economic, political, and security issues are negotiated through international bodies like the United Nations, World Trade Organization, regional bodies like the European Union, academic societies, and Non-Governmental Organizations such as ICANN. These are voluntary, and their formation is led often by a smaller group of powerful actors.

Regulations need to cover data privacy, and access for government authorities such as law enforcement, shared governance of quantum internet, managing norms around cyberattacks, developing solutions to shared challenges such as climate change, and establishing a common language and terms among all three sectors. These have been significant challenges for the United States and China, and quantum computing provides an opportunity to form new institutional arrangements for a fundamentally new technology. These could take the form of new voluntary bodies modeled after the World Trade Organization which have governed challenging economic issues, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers which has facilitated cross-national governance of the internet.

Quantum-safe data transfers and storage is closely entangled with the security and defense field. Most likely, there will be a demand for a new intergovernmental legal rule framework and surveillance in certain research areas of quantum computing to ensure worldwide security. The possession and employment of new technologies creates opportunities but also responsibilities. A great part of decision power is often vested and employed by public authorities and governments. Furthermore, there will be questions of a deeper functional collaboration and legal rule framework between sovereign states to prevent abusing quantum technologies, such as employing it for purposes to produce war materials.

A solution could be to establish a legal collaborative framework for “Mandatory Reporting and Supervision” to ensure international peace and security. For instance, this could be realized as a form of a Security Council or of a Union of Sovereign States - committing to the same goals on security and sustainability. The operations and accomplishment of the goals should be overseen equally by all the coalition members, and the power should not be centered upon a few selected parties. Ideally, these member states should represent comprehensively sovereign states - not just a few powerful ones - but more equally the sovereign states of the world. The more equal standing of the sovereign states in this possible “Mandatory Reporting and Supervision Body” would allow actions to be taken with less political and historical impact, that is quite the opposite, for instance, to the unfortunate situation with the United Nations Security Council (that is mostly comprised of the War winning countries). The historical burden and political impact have frequently caused the United Nations Security Council to be toothless in taking appropriate measures and actions in reply to threats on international peace and security. Often, a mere “condemn” is insufficient to resolve the incidents occurring at the international arena. The former challenges with international organizations and supervisory bodies should be converted into knowledge for anticipatory and precautionary practices. Therefore, we could learn from the past to ensure the future peace and security. According to economic theory, it should be in the interest of operators to collaborate as without collaboration the stakes are extremely high and can lead in the worst scenario, a full-scale mutual destruction. Thus, the game theory advises that it is best to collaborate.

In general, our vision about a bright society of tomorrow is established upon broad scientific capabilities in a coordinated symbiosis with the tech industry to push the cutting-edge quantum technologies forward. At the same, we see an importance to deepen the dialogue within the “Tri-Sectors” of industry, academia and government so that social-level actions are taken in the “right” direction. In the process, a virtuous circle may be set up. Public and private funding stimulates basic research yielding blooming quantum hubs and eventually connecting into a thriving quantum ecosystem. On the other hand, some money will flow back into research to generate more knowledge we can transform into further advantageous innovation, and into more benefits to society.

V CONCLUSION

A new quantum revolution is underway, with innovation enabling the building and controlling of quantum systems in areas of computing, cryptography and cybersecurity, sustainable energy, pharmaceuticals, and materials.

To conceptualize the changes, we propose an A-cubic approach of awareness, analysis, and action to organize legal design. Awareness provides for knowledge of quantum to the general public and to regulators and specialists, bridging between business, academia, and society. To assist in the analysis of quantum capabilities we propose creation of standardization and best practices that cross national and sectoral boundaries. This can be supported through a Quantum Roadmap regulatory framework organizing emerging legal and ethical issues relating to quantum technologies into five categories of ethics, inclusion, regulatory activities, safeguarding individual rights, and innovating by design.

The ethical principles to guide a regulatory framework include equal access, public good, and transparency. The inclusiveness principles include democratic involvement and sharing of knowledge and resources. The principles for balancing regulatory activities are supporting innovativeness and the common good. The principles behind safeguarding individual rights are prioritizing individual autonomy, and fundamental rights such as equality and fairness. Innovating by design means steering innovation design toward human centricity, openness, and sustainability.

Quantum technologies are “tri-sector” and impact industry, academia, and government, mirroring the tensions of both cooperation and competition. New institutions will be needed for this regulation. We propose the establishment of a legal collaborative framework for mandatory reporting and supervision, reflecting a type of Security Council or a Union of Sovereign States, to coordinate across these boundaries and ensure that the development of quantum technologies advances, rather than inhibits or destructs, the betterment of society.


[*] Teaching Faculty at Harvard University and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School.

[†] Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Fellow, Department of Physics, Harvard University.

[‡] Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation.

[§] Research Group Leader and Rowland Fellow, The Rowland Institute, Harvard University.

[1] See for instance FA Hayek, New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and the History of Ideas (University of Chicago Press, 2018).

[2] Andrew Chadwick and Christopher May, ‘Interaction between States and Citizens in the Age of the Internet: “E-Government” in the United States, Britain, and the European Union’ (2003) 16(2) Governance 271; Jan Van Dijk, The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society (Sage Publications, 2005).

[3] See for instance, Barry L Shumpert et al, ‘Specificity and Engagement: Increasing ELSI’s Relevance to Nano–Scientists’ (2014) 8(2) Nanoethics 193; Antonio G Spagnolo and Viviana Daloiso, ‘Outlining Ethical Issues in Nanotechnologies’ (2009) 23(7) Bioethics 394; Tsjalling Swierstra et al, ‘Converging Technologies, Shifting Boundaries’ (2009) 3(3) NanoEthics 213.

[4] There are a myriad of text books on quantum computing and information, see for example Masahito Hayashi, Quantum Information Theory (Springer, 2016); David McMahon, Quantum Computing Explained (John Wiley & Sons, 2007); Michael A Nielsen and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information (Cambridge University Press, 2019); Venkateswaran Kasirajan, Fundamentals of Quantum Computing (Springer Nature, 2021); John Watrous, The Theory of Quantum Information (Cambridge University Press, 2018); Mark M Wilde, Quantum Information Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2017); Noson S Yanofsky and Mirco A Mannucci, Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists (Cambridge University Press, 2008).

[5] Richard P Feynman, ‘Simulating Physics with Computers’ (1982) 21(6-7) International Journal of Theoretical Physics 467; Paul Benioff, ‘The Computer as a Physical System: A Microscopic Quantum Mechanical Hamiltonian Model of Computers as Represented by Turing Machines’ (1980) 22(5) Journal of Statistical Physics 563; D Deutsch, ‘Quantum Theory, the Church-Turing Principle and the Universal Quantum Computer’ (1985) 400(1818) Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 97.

[6] TD Ladd et al, ‘Quantum Computers’ (2010) 464(7285) Nature 45; Antonio Acín et al, ‘The Quantum Technologies Roadmap: A European Community View’ (2018) 20(8) New Journal of Physics 080201.

[7] See, for instance, Takashi Yamakawa and Mark Zhandry, ‘Verifiable Quantum Advantage without Structure’ (2022) arXiv 2204.02063.

[8] TD Ladd et al, ‘Quantum Computers’ (2010) 464(7285) Nature 45; S Lloyd, ‘A Potentially Realizable Quantum Computer’ (1993) 261(5128) Science 1569; Colin D Bruzewicz et al, ‘Trapped-Ion Quantum Computing: Progress and Challenges’ (2019) 6(2) Applied Physics Reviews 021314; Sergei Slussarenko and Geoff J Pryde, ‘Photonic Quantum Information Processing: A Concise Review’ (2019) 6(4) Applied Physics Reviews; Morten Kjaergaard et al, ‘Superconducting Qubits: Current State of Play’ (2020) 11(1) Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 369.

[9] Therefore, the field is accumulating more and more attention and resources from industrial players: not only broad-interests corporations such as Google and Microsoft, but also from companies linked to the area of hardware development, like Intel and IBM. Besides commercial actors, the field has also piqued the wide interest of various universities, international organizations and non-governmental bodies.

[10] John Preskill, ‘Quantum Computing in the NISQ Era and Beyond’ (2018) 2(2) Quantum 79; Kishor Bharti et al, ‘Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) Algorithms’ (2022) 94(1) Reviews of Modern Physics 015004; Matteo Ippoliti et al, ‘Many-Body Physics in the NISQ Era: Quantum Programming a Discrete Time Crystal’ (2021) 2(3) PRX Quantum 030346.

[11] Earl T Campbell, Barbara M Terhal and Christophe Vuillot, ‘Roads towards Fault-Tolerant Universal Quantum Computation’ (2017) 549(7671) Nature 172.

[12] Iulia Georgescu, ‘25 Years of Quantum Error Correction’ (2020) 2(10) Nature Reviews Physics 519; Simon J Devitt, William J Munro and Kae Nemoto, ‘Quantum Error Correction for Beginners’ (2013) 76(7) Reports on Progress in Physics 076001.

[13] See, for instance, Ethan Bernstein and Umesh Vazirani, ‘Quantum Complexity Theory’ (1997) 26(5) SIAM Journal on Computing 1411; Daniel R Simon, ‘On the Power of Quantum Computation’ (1997) 26(5) SIAM Journal on Computing 1474; Peter W Shor, ‘Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Prime Factorization and Discrete Logarithms on a Quantum Computer’ (1997) 26(5) SIAM Journal on Computing 1484.

[14] See, for example, Dorit Aharonov et al, ‘A Polynomial-Time Classical Algorithm for Noisy Random Circuit Sampling’ (2023) arXiv 2211.03999.

[15] Alberto Peruzzo et al, ‘A Variational Eigenvalue Solver on a Photonic Quantum Processor’ (2014) 5(1) Nature Communications 4213; Abhinav Kandala et al, ‘Hardware-Efficient Variational Quantum Eigensolver for Small Molecules and Quantum Magnets’ (2017) 549(7671) Nature 242; Nikolaj Moll et al, ‘Quantum Optimization Using Variational Algorithms on Near-Term Quantum Devices’ (2018) 3(3) Quantum Science and Technology 030503; Jarrod R McClean et al, ‘The Theory of Variational Hybrid Quantum-Classical Algorithms’ (2016) 18(2) New Journal of Physics 023023; Ying Li and Simon C Benjamin, ‘Efficient Variational Quantum Simulator Incorporating Active Error Minimization’ (2017) 7(2) Physical Review X 021050; D Zhu et al, ‘Training of Quantum Circuits on a Hybrid Quantum Computer’ (2019) 5(10) Science Advances eaaw9918; Ryan R Ferguson et al, ‘A Measurement-Based Variational Quantum Eigensolver’ (2021) 126(22) Physical Review Letters 220501; Bela Bauer et al, ‘Hybrid Quantum-Classical Approach to Correlated Materials’ (2016) 6(3) Physical Review X 031045.

[16] Yulin Wu et al, ‘Strong Quantum Computational Advantage Using a Superconducting Quantum Processor’ (2021) 127(18) Physical Review Letters 180501; Han-Sen Zhong et al, ‘Quantum Computational Advantage Using Photons’ (2020) 370(6523) Science 1460.

[17] Frank Arute et al, ‘Quantum Supremacy Using a Programmable Superconducting Processor’ (2019) 574(7779) Nature 505; Aram W Harrow and Ashley Montanaro, ‘Quantum Computational Supremacy’ (2017) 549(7671) Nature 203; Adam Bouland et al, ‘On the Complexity and Verification of Quantum Random Circuit Sampling’ (2018) 15(2) Nature Physics 159.

[18] See, for example, Lov K Grover, ‘Quantum Mechanics Helps in Searching for a Needle in a Haystack’ (1997) 79(2) Physical Review Letters 325.

[19] Peter W Shor, ‘Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Prime Factorization and Discrete Logarithms on a Quantum Computer’ (1997) 26(5) SIAM Journal on Computing 1484.

[20] Charles H Bennett et al, ‘Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantum Computing’ (1997) 26(5) SIAM Journal on Computing 1510; Lov K Grover, ‘Quantum Mechanics Helps in Searching for a Needle in a Haystack’ (1997) 79(2) Physical Review Letters 325.

[21] See, for instance, Dustin Moody et al, Status Report on the Second Round of the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process (US Department of Commerce, NIST, 2022).

[22] Vedran Dunjko and Hans J Briegel, ‘Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence in the Quantum Domain: A Review of Recent Progress’ (2018) 81(7) Reports on Progress in Physics 074001; Vojtech Havlícek et al, ‘Supervised Learning with Quantum-Enhanced Feature Spaces’ (2019) 567 Nature 209; Yunchao Liu, Srinivasan Arunachalam and Kristan Temme, ‘A Rigorous and Robust Quantum Speed-up in Supervised Machine Learning’ (2021) 17(9) Nature Physics 1013; Vicente Moret-Bonillo, ‘Can Artificial Intelligence Benefit from Quantum Computing?’ (2014) 3(2) Progress in Artificial Intelligence 89; V Saggio et al, ‘Experimental Quantum Speed-up in Reinforcement Learning Agents’ (2021) 591(7849) Nature 229; Andreas Trabesinger, ‘Quantum Computing: Towards Reality’ (2017) 543(7646) Nature S1.

[23] Shruti Dogra, Artem A Melnikov and Gheorghe Sorin Paraoanu, ‘Quantum Simulation of Parity–Time Symmetry Breaking with a Superconducting Quantum Processor’ (2021) 4(1) Communications Physics 26; Simanraj Sadana, Lorenzo Maccone and Urbasi Sinha, ‘Testing Quantum Foundations with Quantum Computers’ (2022) 4(2) Physical Review Research L022001; Scott E Smart, David I Schuster and David A Mazziotti, ‘Experimental Data from a Quantum Computer Verifies the Generalized Pauli Exclusion Principle’ (2019) 2(1) Communications Physics 11.

[24] Ehud Altman et al, ‘Quantum Simulators: Architectures and Opportunities’ (2019) 2(1) PRX Quantum 017003; Bruce M Boghosian and Washington Taylor, ‘Simulating Quantum Mechanics on a Quantum Computer’ (1998) 120(1-2) Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena 30; Richard P Feynman, ‘Simulating Physics with Computers’ (1982) 21(6-7) International Journal of Theoretical Physics 467; Francesco Tacchino et al, ‘Quantum Computers as Universal Quantum Simulators: State‐Of‐The‐Art and Perspectives’ (2020) 3(3) Advanced Quantum Technologies 1900052; Nathan Wiebe et al, ‘Simulating Quantum Dynamics on a Quantum Computer’ (2011) 44(44) Journal of Physics A 445308; Christof Zalka, ‘Simulating Quantum Systems on a Quantum Computer’ (1998) 454(1969) Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 313.

[25] See, for instance, Carlos Outeiral et al, ‘The Prospects of Quantum Computing in Computational Molecular Biology’ (2021) 11(1) Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Molecular Science e1481.

[26] Tameem Albash and Daniel A Lidar, ‘Adiabatic Quantum Computation’ (2018) 90(1) Reviews of Modern Physics 015002; Y Cao, J Romero and A Aspuru-Guzik, ‘Potential of Quantum Computing for Drug Discovery’ (2018) 62(6) IBM Journal of Research and Development 6.

[27] See, for example, Bruno Miranda et al, ‘Recent Advances in the Fabrication and Functionalization of Flexible Optical Biosensors: Toward Smart Life-Sciences Applications’ (2021) 11(4) Biosensors 107; Antoine Reserbat-Plantey et al, ‘Quantum Nanophotonics in Two-Dimensional Materials’ (2021) 8(1) ACS Photonics 85; Tongtong Zhang et al, ‘Toward Quantitative Bio-Sensing with Nitrogen–Vacancy Center in Diamond’ (2021) 6(6) ACS Sensors 2077.

[28] Crassous, Jeanne et al, ‘Materials for Chiral Light Control’ (2023) 8(6) Nature Reviews Materials 365.

[29] Young Hoon Kim et al, ‘Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity Enables a Room-Temperature Spin Light-Emitting Diode’ (2021) 371(6534) Science 1129.

[30] See, for instance, Jonathan Ruane, Andrew McAfee and William D Oliver, ‘Quantum Computing for Business Leaders’, Harvard Business Review (1 January 2022) <https://hbr.org/2022/01/quantum-computing-for-business-leaders>; Matthias Möller and Cornelis Vuik, ’On the Impact of Quantum Computing Technology on Future Developments in High-Performance Scientific Computing (2017) 19 Ethics and Information Technology 269; Akshay Ajagekar and Fengqi You, ‘Quantum Computing and Quantum Artificial Intelligence for Renewable and Sustainable Energy: A Emerging Prospect towards Climate Neutrality’ (2022) 165 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 112493; Annarita Giani and Zachary Eldredge, ‘Quantum Computing Opportunities in Renewable Energy’ (2021) 2(5) SN Computer Science 393.

[31] Igor Žutić, Jaroslav Fabian and S Das Sarma, ‘Spintronics: Fundamentals and Applications’ (2004) 76(2) Reviews of Modern Physics 323.

[32] Transforming Our World: The 2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN GAOR, 70th sess, Agenda items 15 and 116 UN Doc A/RES/70/1 (21 October 2015).

[33] See, for instance, Philip Ball, ‘Materials Innovation from Quantum to Global’ (2022) 21(9) Nature Materials 962; F Pelayo García de Arquer et al, ‘Semiconductor Quantum Dots: Technological Progress and Future Challenges’ (2021) 373(6555) Science eaaz8541.

[34] G E Moore, ‘Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits’ (1998) 86(1) Proceedings of the IEEE 82.

[35] See, for instance, Antonio Acín et al, ‘The Quantum Technologies Roadmap: A European Community View’ (2018) 20(8) New Journal of Physics 080201.

[36] See, e.g., C L Degen, F Reinhard and P Cappellaro, ‘Quantum Sensing’ (2017) 89(3) Reviews of Modern Physics 035002.

[37] See, e.g., Omar S Magaña-Loaiza and Robert W Boyd, ‘Quantum Imaging and Information’ (2019) 82(12) Reports on Progress in Physics 124401; Paul-Antoine Moreau et al, ‘Imaging with Quantum States of Light’ (2019) 1(6) Nature Review Physics 367.

[38] See, e.g., Vittorio Giovannetti, Seth Lloyd and Lorenzo Maccone, ‘Advances in Quantum Metrology’ (2011) 5(4) Nature Photonics 222; Luca Pezzè et al, ‘Quantum Metrology with Nonclassical States of Atomic Ensembles’ (2018) 90(3) Reviews of Modern Physics 035005; Michael A Taylor and Warwick P Bowen, ‘Quantum Metrology and Its Application in Biology’ (2016) 615 Physics Reports 1; Géza Tóth and Iagoba Apellaniz, ‘Quantum Metrology from a Quantum Information Science Perspective’ (2014) 47(42) Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical 424006.

[39] Nicolas Gisin et al, ‘Quantum Cryptography’ (2002) 74(1) Reviews of Modern Physics 145; Nicolas Gisin and Rob Thew, ‘Quantum Communication’ (2007) 1(3) Nature Photonics 165; H J Kimble, ‘The Quantum Internet’ (2008) 453(7198) Nature 1023; Stephanie Wehner, David Elkouss and Ronald Hanson, ‘Quantum Internet: A Vision for the Road Ahead’ (2018) 362(6412) Science eaam9288.

[40] See, e.g., Michael A Nielsen and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information (Cambridge University Press, 2019); T D Ladd et al, ‘Quantum Computers’ (2010) 464(7285) Nature 45.

[41] See also, Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen, Quantum Computing Era: New Legal Order, Berkeley Global Society: The Tech Book (Europa Institute at the University of Zurich, forthcoming 2023); Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen, Navigating in a Post-Quantum Legal Design Landscape, in Legal Design Book (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2023); ‘Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen on “Quantum Computing”’, Berkeley Technology Law Journal Podcast (Seth Bertolucci and Isabel Jones, 23 August 2022) <https://btlj.org/2022/08/berkeley-technology-law-journal-podcast-quantum-computing>.

[42] See for instance, Mauritz Kop, ‘Establishing a Legal-Ethical Framework for Quantum Technology’, Yale Journal of Law & Technology: The Record (Web Page, 30 March 2021) <https://yjolt.org/blog/establishing-legal-ethical-framework-quantum-technology>.

[43] See, for instance, Michal Krelina, ‘Quantum Technology for Military Applications’ (2021) 8 EPJ Quantum Technology 24.

[44] See further on Review of Controls for Certain Emerging Technologies, 83 FR 58201 (2018). Note: Commerce and Defense both are part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury /CFIUS which makes decisions related to export-control. See further, ‘CFIUS Overview’, US Department of the Treasury (Web Page, 25 August 2023) <https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/international/the-committee-on-foreign-investment-in-the-united-states-cfius/cfius-overview>. See further on Export Controls for Quantum Computers, 15 CFR 774 (2021).

[45] Implementation of Certain New Controls on Emerging Technologies Agreed at Wassenaar Arrangement 2019 Plenary, 85 FR 62583 (2020).

[46] On current technological development, see for instance, Edward Parker et al, ‘An Assessment of the U.S. And Chinese Industrial Bases in Quantum Technology’, Rand Corporation (Web Page, 2 February 2022) <https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA869-1.html>. Note: Although China is leading on quantum communications, the USA and EU are ahead on quantum sensing.

[47] Katri Nousiainen, ‘Legal Design in Commercial Contracting and Business Sustainability New Legal Quality Metrics Standards’ (2022) 6(2) Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation 137.

[48] Katri Nousiainen, ‘What Have I Signed? Do I Really Understand the Contract?’, Contracting Excellence Journal (Web Page, 12 September 2020) <https://www.worldcc.com/Resources/Blogs-and-Journals/Contracting-Excellence-Journal/View/ArticleID/10812>.

[49]A Design Thinking Process’, Stanford Education ME 113 (Web Page, 2 February 2022) <https://web.stanford.edu/class/me113/d_thinking.html>. Note: there exist also various paths as regards the number and content of the design thinking process stages.

[50] See for instance, Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen, Quantum Computing Era: New Legal Order, Berkeley Global Society: The Tech Book (Europa Institute at the University of Zurich, forthcoming 2023); Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen, Navigating in a Post-Quantum Legal Design Landscape, in Legal Design Book (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2023); ‘Katri Nousiainen and Joonas Keski-Rahkonen on “Quantum Computing”’, Berkeley Technology Law Journal Podcast (Seth Bertolucci and Isabel Jones, 23 August 2022) <https://btlj.org/2022/08/berkeley-technology-law-journal-podcast-quantum-computing>.

[51] See, for instance, Davide Castelvecchi, ‘IBM's Quantum Cloud Computer Goes Commercial (2017) 543 Nature 159; Evan R MacQuarrie et al, ‘The Emerging Commercial Landscape of Quantum Computing(2020) 2(11) Nature Reviews Physics 596, 598; Frederic T Chong, Diana Franklin and Margaret Martonosi, ‘Programming Languages and Compiler Design for Realistic Quantum Hardware (2017) 549 Nature 180, 187.

[52] Noah Barkin, ‘Export Controls and the US-China Tech War Policy Challenges for Europe’, Tendenz Blick (Web Page, 18 March 2020) <https://tendenzblick.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/merics_ChinaMonitor_US-CH-EU-Export-Controls_en_final.pdf>.

[53] See for instance some examples of intergovernmental friendly agreements and research partnerships on quantum technologies; (FIN-USA) ‘Joint Statement of the United States and Finland on Cooperation in Quantum Information Science and Technology’, United States Department of State (Web Page, 6 April 2022) <https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-of-the-united-states-and-finland-on-cooperation-in-quantum-information-science-and-technology>; (AU-USA) ‘Cooperation in Quantum Science and Technology’, United States Department of State (Web Page, 17 November 2021) <https://www.state.gov/cooperation-in-quantum-science-and-technology-aus>; (SWE-USA) Thomas Wong, ‘The United States and Sweden Sign Quantum Cooperation Statement’, National Quantum Initiative (Web Page, 11 April 2022) <https://www.quantum.gov/the-united-states-and-sweden-sign-quantum-cooperation-statement>; (UK -USA) ‘The United States and United Kingdom Issue Joint Statement to Enhance Cooperation on Quantum Information Science and Technology’, The White House (Web Page, 4 November 2021) <https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2021/11/04/the-united-states-and-united-kingdom-issue-joint-statement-to-enhance-cooperation-on-quantum-information-science-and-technology>; (UK-SWE) George Freeman, ‘New Joint Statement between UK and US to Strengthen Quantum Collaboration’, Department for Business, Energy & Industry Strategy (Web Page, 4 October 2021) <https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-joint-statement-between-uk-and-us-to-strengthen-quantum-collaboration>.

[54] Ibid; See for instance, National Quantum Initiative Act, Pub L No 115-368, 132 Stat 5902-5103; National Quantum Initiative Act, HR 6227, 115th Congress (2017-2018) <https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6227/text>.

[55] See Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L 119/1.

[56] Cal Civ Code § 1798.100-1798.199.100 (‘California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018’).

[57] European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Laying down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and Amending Certain Union Legislative Acts’, Eur-Lex (Web Page, 21 April 2021) <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0206>.

[58] Digital Markets Act (DMA), expected to be adopted in September or October 2022. ‘Digital Markets Act (DMA)’, European Commission (Web Page, 8 July 2022), archived at <https://web.archive.org/web/20220708202056/https://ec.europa.eu/competition-policy/sectors/ict/dma_en>; ‘Europe Fit for the Digital Age: Commission Proposes New Rules for Digital Platforms, European Commission (Web Page, 15 December 2020) <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2347>.

[59] ‘The Digital Services Act Package’, European Commission (Web Page, 25 September 2023) <https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package>; ‘Europe Fit for the Digital Age: Commission Proposes New Rules for Digital Platforms, European Commission (Web Page, 15 December 2020) <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2347>.

[60]Data Act: Commission Proposes Measures for a Fair and Innovative Data Economy’, European Commission (Web Page, 23 February 2022) <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1113>.

'[61] Bureau of Nonproliferation, US Department of State, ‘Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies’ (Web Page, 22 March 2000), archived at <https://1997-2001.state.gov/global/arms/np/mtcr/000322_wassenaar.html>.

[62] For further reading, European Commission’s Shaping Europe’s Digital Future - Quantum Technologies Flagship, that intends to place the European Union at front of the second quantum revolution in fostering long term research and innovation, ‘Quantum Technologies Flagship’, European Commission (Web Page, 4 October 2022) <https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/quantum-technologies-flagship>; Council Regulation on Establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and Repealing Regulation EU2018/1488 [2021] OJ L 256/3 (‘EuroHPC’). The regulation aims to foster making the EU the leading actor in super computing. ‘The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking,’ European Commission (Web Page, 30 June 2023) <https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/high-performance-computing-joint-undertaking>.

[63] See also National Quantum Initiative Act, Pub L No 115-368, 132 Stat 5902-5103; National Quantum Initiative Act, HR 6227, 115th Congress (2017-2018) <https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6227/text>; ‘National Quantum Initiative’, National Quantum Coordination Office (Web Page) <https://www.quantum.gov>; ‘National Quantum Initiative Supplement to the President’s FY 2023 Budget’, National Quantum Coordination Office (Report, January 2023) <https://www.quantum.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NQI-Annual-Report-FY2023.pdf>; ‘National Quantum Initiative Supplement to the President’s FY 2022 Budget’, National Quantum Coordination Office (Report, December 2021) <https://www.quantum.gov/wp-content/

uploads/2021/12/NQI-Annual-Report-FY2022.pdf>. See further discussion around quantum computing and cybersecurity: Christopher Monroe, Michael G Raymer and Jacob Taylor, ‘The U.S. National Quantum Initiative: From Act to Action’ (2019) 364(6439) Science 440; National Quantum Initiative Act, Pub L No 115-368, 132 Stat 5902-5103; Arthur Herman, ‘At Last America Is Moving on Quantum’, Forbes (Web Page, 20 August 2018) <https://www.forbes.com/sites/arthurherman/2018/08/20/at-last-america-is-moving-on-quantum/#71eaa5d55327>; Office of Science and Technology, The White House, ‘White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and U.S. National Science Foundation Host “Quantum Workforce: Q-12 Actions for Community Growth” Event, Release Quantum Workforce Development Plan’ (Web Page, 1 February 2022) <https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/02/01/white-house-office-of-science-technology-policy-and-u-s-national-science-foundation-host-quantum-workforce-q-12-actions-for-community-growth-event-release-quantum-workforce>.

[64] See, for instance, Edwin Cartlidge, ‘Europe’s Billion-Euro Quantum Flagship Hands out First Grants’, Science (Web Page, 29 October 2018) <https://www.science.org/content/article/europe-s-billion-euro-quantum-flagship-hands-out-first-grants>; Garrelt J N Alberts et al, ‘Accelerating Quantum Computer Developments’ (2021) 8(1) EPJ Quantum Technology 18; Jonathan Ruane, Andrew McAfee and William D Oliver, ‘Quantum Computing for Business Leaders’, Harvard Business Review (1 January 2022) <https://hbr.org/2022/01/quantum-computing-for-business-leaders>.

[65] Nick Lovegrove and Matthew Thomas, ‘Why the World Needs Tri-Sector Leaders’, Harvard Business Review (Web Page, 13 February 2013) <http://hbr.org/2013/02/why-the-world-needs-tri-sector> .

[66] Adam Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff, ‘The Rules of Co-Opetition’, Harvard Business Review (January-February 2021) <http://hbr.org/2021/01/the-rules-of-co-opetition> .

[67] Michael J Mazarr and Tim McDonald, ‘Competing for the System: The Essence of Emerging Strategic Rivalries’, Rand Corporation (Web Page, 10 November 2022) <http://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA1404-2.html> .


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