Quantum Policy and Ethics Roadmap
Outcome/Accomplishment
Scholars in quantum technology and ethics associated with the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN), a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) headquartered at the University of Arizona, created the first version of a living document that accounts for the societal impacts of emerging quantum applications. The CQN Applications Roadmap was proposed as a means to document applications of the quantum internet and their impact on society, driven by the evolving understanding of projected system capabilities based on knowledge created during the Center’s lifespan. In 2023, the document was pre-published in the open-access preprint repository Social Science Research Network (SSRN) (Figure 1).
Impact/Benefits
This document generates awareness and understanding among policymakers, journalists, and the general public. Identifying the sometimes-competing societal goals that should guide how quantum technologies are designed, implemented, or regulated, it proposes a research agenda for a wide community of social science scholars.
This outcome helps the private industry and government, who have made heavy investments into the quantum sector, prepare for the vast ethical implications of the widespread adoption of quantum technologies.
Explanation/Background
The living document, ‘A Quantum Policy and Ethics Roadmap’, provides concrete examples of first-wave quantum technology applications, such as quantum sensors, quantum-assisted AI, and quantum-based data security. It offers insights such as the trade-offs that come with the presence of these technologies in society, which could safeguard potential advances in a diversity of sectors that range from healthcare to environmental sustainability. The authors’ informed approach to the issues posed by quantum technologies emerging in society lends to those at the helm of the technologies’ emergence a framework for reducing the risks associated with their power.
The roadmap is centered in CQN’s innovation ecosystem. Industry advisors, in collaboration with CQN scientists, are forecasting what systems-level performance means in terms of the quantum network applications capabilities most likely to emerge in the respective periods.
CQN faculty and staff worked with IAB members to identify multiple applications of quantum networking technology, and to quantify the level of scientific and engineering development required along eight independent metrics to bring them to commercial deployment. Regular updates to the roadmap will allow all CQN pillars to modify their activities based on the most reliable information about future applications.
In 2023, CQN completed the Quantum Networks Application Roadmap (QNAR) 1.0. The graph (Figure 2) summarizes QNAR 1.0, highlighting the proposed applications along with their respective required network characteristics. Continuing this project, CQN has partnered with the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) to develop an updated version of QNAR, scheduled for completion in 2025.
Location
Tucson, Arizonawebsite
Start Year
Microelectronics and IT
Microelectronics, Sensing, and IT
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Outcome/Accomplishment
Scholars in quantum technology and ethics associated with the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN), a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) headquartered at the University of Arizona, created the first version of a living document that accounts for the societal impacts of emerging quantum applications. The CQN Applications Roadmap was proposed as a means to document applications of the quantum internet and their impact on society, driven by the evolving understanding of projected system capabilities based on knowledge created during the Center’s lifespan. In 2023, the document was pre-published in the open-access preprint repository Social Science Research Network (SSRN) (Figure 1).
Location
Tucson, Arizonawebsite
Start Year
Microelectronics and IT
Microelectronics, Sensing, and IT
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Impact/benefits
This document generates awareness and understanding among policymakers, journalists, and the general public. Identifying the sometimes-competing societal goals that should guide how quantum technologies are designed, implemented, or regulated, it proposes a research agenda for a wide community of social science scholars.
This outcome helps the private industry and government, who have made heavy investments into the quantum sector, prepare for the vast ethical implications of the widespread adoption of quantum technologies.
Explanation/Background
The living document, ‘A Quantum Policy and Ethics Roadmap’, provides concrete examples of first-wave quantum technology applications, such as quantum sensors, quantum-assisted AI, and quantum-based data security. It offers insights such as the trade-offs that come with the presence of these technologies in society, which could safeguard potential advances in a diversity of sectors that range from healthcare to environmental sustainability. The authors’ informed approach to the issues posed by quantum technologies emerging in society lends to those at the helm of the technologies’ emergence a framework for reducing the risks associated with their power.
The roadmap is centered in CQN’s innovation ecosystem. Industry advisors, in collaboration with CQN scientists, are forecasting what systems-level performance means in terms of the quantum network applications capabilities most likely to emerge in the respective periods.
CQN faculty and staff worked with IAB members to identify multiple applications of quantum networking technology, and to quantify the level of scientific and engineering development required along eight independent metrics to bring them to commercial deployment. Regular updates to the roadmap will allow all CQN pillars to modify their activities based on the most reliable information about future applications.
In 2023, CQN completed the Quantum Networks Application Roadmap (QNAR) 1.0. The graph (Figure 2) summarizes QNAR 1.0, highlighting the proposed applications along with their respective required network characteristics. Continuing this project, CQN has partnered with the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) to develop an updated version of QNAR, scheduled for completion in 2025.