Law and Policy for the Quantum Age

Abstract

We are at the cusp of a technological revolution, one where technologists master the special physics of the smallest particles; a revolution that promises to provide capabilities that are, somewhat paradoxically, extraordinarily large.

Law and Policy for the Quantum Age explains the genesis of quantum information science and the resulting quantum technologies that are so exciting today: quantum sensing, computing, and communication. This is the introduction chapter; the entire work is available from Cambridge University Press in open access.

Quantum technologies are poised to change our lives. Nation states are pouring billions into basic research. Companies operate secretive, moon-shot research labs seeking to build quantum computers. Militaries and intelligence agencies operate ambitious research projects to monitor adversaries.

What will quantum technologies mean for people? Are they “winner take all” technologies where one nation---and its industrial base---will be the anchor point for a revolution as powerful as the personal computer or the internet? Or will we experience a quantum “winter,” much like experiences with AI?

Tomorrow’s likely developments in QIS will have consequences for how we will measure and sense the world, for how we will communicate, and for how computing will work. This book starts a dialogue anticipating their consequences and seeding a policy approach for the quantum age.

Keywords: quantum technologies, industrial policy

JEL Classification: O3, O33, O24, O25