As quantum technologies advance, concerns are growing about their potential misuse for repressive purposes, such as monitoring and surveillance, or increasing weapons systems’ destructive power. The combination of quantum technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) is particularly alarming, as it could enhance AI’s performance while exacerbating its existing ethical risks, including bias, lack of transparency, and problems with accountability. A new report in Nature outlines the risk of Quantum Technologies when it comes down to risk.
To mitigate these risks, policymakers must consider strategies to limit authoritarian governments’ access to quantum technologies, similar to existing regulations for the export of surveillance technologies. Defense and security technologies are developing in a geopolitically competitive environment where states try to outcompete each other for strategic advantage. However, this competition should be balanced with the potential global benefits of quantum technologies. International collaboration and oversight are crucial to ensure these technologies are developed and used responsibly.
One of the most pressing concerns is the potential for authoritarian governments to use quantum computing to break encryption standards, allowing them to monitor and surveil their citizens with unprecedented ease. This could have devastating consequences for human rights and individual privacy.
Furthermore, the combination of quantum technologies and AI can potentially exacerbate existing ethical risks associated with AI, such as bias, lack of transparency, and problems with attribution of responsibility. Using AI to detect patterns in data collected through quantum sensors could lead to mass surveillance and privacy breaches on a massive scale.
To mitigate these risks, we must develop a compelling and democratic vision for the innovation and adoption of quantum technologies. This vision must involve strategies to limit authoritarian governments’ access to these technologies, consistent with existing regulations such as the EU’s Dual-Use Regulation Recast.
We must also avoid the securitization of quantum technologies, which could lead to a race-like dynamic where states compete to develop and deploy these technologies without regard for their potential consequences. This approach has already proven detrimental to the development of AI, and we must learn from these mistakes.
Instead, policymakers should prioritize multilateral collaboration and oversight, establishing international regulatory frameworks and guidelines to govern quantum technologies. An independent oversight body for quantum technologies in the defence domain, similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency, would be a crucial step in this direction.
Furthermore, defence organizations must prioritize information security throughout the quantum technology life cycle, reducing the risks of information leaks and cyberattacks. They should also develop strategies to support civilian applications of quantum technologies, addressing global challenges such as healthcare, agriculture, and climate change.
Ultimately, the development of quantum technologies requires an anticipatory ethical governance approach that prioritizes societal values and human rights. This demands investments in time, funding, and human resources, but it is essential for steering the quantum transformation of defence in a responsible and beneficial direction.
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