As quantum computing becomes closer to reality it is not only the technology that society needs to contend with. Other issues of societal concern that need to be though through include environmental protection and ethics.
With ethics, quantum computing has the possibility of being used as a force to a good or a force for wrongdoing. If humanity acquires a technology, which can do whatever has been possible with the previous tech for 10 000 years in minutes (which is the case with quantum technology), it will be difficult to anticipate all the outcomes and each of the paths that the technology will take. An ethical framework will at least help to steer the technology in its early days across the right path.
Across the spectrum, from national security to medicine, from communications to finance, the potential for quantum technology to change the world is unprecedented. Quantum computers use quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement to perform computations that can vastly outperform classical computers at many tasks. This will present new opportunities for innovation, such as in chemistry and in solving new materials problems.
With the environmental aspects, there is, at the moment, a general acceptance of the need to develop an agreed framework to address and define these values. In a rare show of unity, scientists from top tech giants such as Google, IBM, Intel and startups alike have set out what the quantum technology industry needs to prioritize to address global sustainability issues.
These concerns have been presented in recent documentary titled Quantum Technology | Our Sustainable Future. The broadcast includes many leading experts on quantum technology.
Looking at the new documentary, there are insights from leading quantum computing experts considering how quantum technologies could reduce the energy required for complex computations even as demand continues to rise.
The documentary also looks at the challenge of minimizing quantum computing’s own potential environmental impact whilst ensuring the development of applications to address global sustainability issues is prioritized.
Featuring in the short movie are Alan Ho: Head of Product, Google Quantum AI, Carl Williams: Deputy Director, Physical Measurement Laboratory at NIST, and Flaviu Cipcigan: Research Staff Member, IBM Research.
While the prospects for quantum computing to enter our everyday lives remains a little further away, the documentary lays out the boundaries for green quantum technology and it raises awareness about the ethical decisions that face society in the quantum era.
