Quantum Computing Advances Raise Potential and Risks Across Industries

Recent breakthroughs highlight quantum computing's transformative capabilities and its implications for digital security, human rights, and global competition.

• Microsoft's new quantum chip, Majorana 1, promises to reduce errors and bring quantum computing closer to solving large-scale industrial problems, though practical implementation remains years away.
• Quantum computers leverage qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously, enabling exponentially faster problem-solving compared to classical computers.
• The technology could revolutionize fields like medical research, climate modeling, and supply chain optimization, but also threatens current encryption standards and data security systems.
• Governments, particularly the U.S. and China, are heavily investing in quantum research, with China's $15 billion commitment far exceeding other nations, intensifying a global quantum arms race.
• Human rights advocates warn that quantum advancements could enhance state surveillance capabilities, posing risks to privacy, freedom of expression, and the safety of activists in repressive regimes.

3 Articles

The Hill Just Security Nature