Quantum Ethics, the Conversation Continues

 In the magazine Foreign Policy, Vivek Wadwha and Mauritz Kop have an article titled, "Why Quantum Computing is Even More Dangerous than Artificial Intelligence", published in August 2022. It's one in a series of recent articles by Vivek arguing that technology needs to be regulated to address ethical concerns. In the article, Vivek and Mauritz argue that the unregulated, market-driven, ad hoc use of technology such as AI has produced outcomes that we would all consider undesirable, chiefly through mechanisms such as AI adopting our own biases or misuse of indiscriminately collected personal data. They tie quantum to these same issues, which I think is correct. In fact, I argued in a March blog posting that the ethical issues in quantum are, in the short run, very similar to classical computing, though I consider it too early to connect quantum to AI.

The authors have referenced some valuable online resources, such as the video "Quantum Ethics | A Call to Action", which includes excerpts from John Martinis, Nick Farina, Faye Wattleton, Ilyas Khan, Ilana Wisby, and Abe Asfaw, which I highly recommend.

I would not have picked the adjective "dangerous", but the conversation is critical. We should not be afraid of our technological future, but we should not use it without paying attention to the macro-level changes it brings. I believe quantum technology, the Second Quantum Revolution, will bring tremendous benefits in the long run -- if we use it wisely.