In response to the US, UK and Australia’s announcement of a trilateral security collaboration that includes enhancing joint capabilities in quantum technologies, Duncan Jones, head of quantum security for Cambridge Quantum and Michael Biercuk, founder and CEO of Sydney-based quantum start-up Q-CTRL, have offered their analysis to Digital Journal.
The changes also see the US share nuclear technology that will help Australia create a multibillion-dollar fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. All three countries will work over the next 18 months to figure out how best to deliver the technology.
Duncan Jones, head of quantum security for Cambridge Quantum, explains that quantum computing carries enormous potential for tackling cybersecurity concerns.
Jones says: “Quantum technology is a critical tool being used by nations to strengthen cyber systems now and into the future, so we are reassured to see it highlighted in the recent AUKUS announcement. Cyber warfare will only increase in sophistication, and we must employ every advantage to keep our nations safe.”
In addition Michael Biercuk, founder and CEO of Q-CTRL looks at the motivations of the Australian government.
Biercuk sets out the context: “The Australian quantum industry is growing rapidly and is built on a long history of engagement with US researchers and basic-research support from the US Department of Defense.”
Biercuk also notes the involvement of the private sector: “As Australia’s first venture-capital-backed quantum technology start-up, boasting both Australian and US investors, Q-CTRL has been an early industrial beneficiary of this extraordinary international technical partnership.”
There is a strange side to this development, which Biercuk acknowledges: “Nonetheless our growth has come against a backdrop of emerging nationalism in advanced technologies that has threatened to isolate us from key partners, investors, and customers.”
The CEO also sees value in different nations coming together. Here Biercuk notes: “International collaboration among closely allied nations is as essential to the development of advanced technology as it is to developing weapons systems.”
He concludes with: “We were excited to see quantum technology explicitly noted by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and President Biden as a key area for joint development.”
