There was no shortage of advice, updates and points to consider for the more than 200 attendees at a panel discussion held earlier this month. quantum day 2023,
The panel, moderated by Professor Raymond Laflamme, a leading Canadian theoretical physicist who studied for his PhD under Stephen Hawking and currently teaches at the University of Waterloo, also included updates and discussion on another panel, which he chairs – Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies.
In May, it was announced that at the request of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ised), Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) formed a panel to “examine the impacts, opportunities and challenges quantum technologies present to Canadian industry, governments and Canadians”.
Laflamme said at the time that “quantum technologies have the potential to transform computing, sensing, communications, healthcare, navigation and many other fields. But it is important to closely examine the risks and vulnerabilities of these technologies.”
At this month’s event, he was joined by Jeff Kinder, project director of Quantum Technologies with the CCA, an organization that says it “evaluates the best available evidence on complex issues where understanding the science is challenging, contradictory or gathering Can be difficult. ,” as well as Dr. Jacqueline Bartlett, an associate professor at Memorial University, and Prof. Moritz Kopp, both are members of the expert panel.
Kinder states that “in addition to answering a fairly broad main question about the opportunities and challenges of quantum technologies, there are three sub-questions that provide a tighter focus for the assessment. Asks about the enabling conditions as well as the social, ethical and legal challenges associated with their adoption.
Panel members, said Bartlett, who has worked with entrepreneurs and small businesses in the technology sector for 25 years, are examining quantum from several different lenses.
Describing it as a “bird’s eye view”, he said they are looking at “programmes, initiatives, policies, everything you can imagine. Which collaborations are actually driving those different areas.” are we looking at, but equally important, are there any low hanging fruits that we can get some early wins from and if so, where are they? What are the priorities and are there preconditions that we need to really have to be completed before some programs can be implemented?”
While Bartlett’s expertise revolves around entrepreneurship, Kopp, who is a visiting scholar at Stanford Law School and whose current research includes the Ethical, Legal, Social and Policy Implications (ELSPIs) of quantum computing, emphasized the importance of guidelines. talked about in detail. ,
“Raising Quantum ELSPI awareness is really about building bridges between disciplines – hard sciences, humanities and social sciences – and it is about learning to speak each other’s language,” he said.
“We must apply the broader quantum ELSPI vision to the Canadian quantum sector. Therefore, this is a promising sign that Canada’s National Quantum Strategy Clearly states in his own words the importance of ethical, legal, social and policy issues, such as innovation, social impact, national security and intellectual property.
Some of the questions to ponder, said Kopp, whose work on regulating AI, machine learning training data, and quantum technology has been published in scholarly journals from Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and Yale universities, is finding ways to apply it in the real world. Revolves around “operating quantum ethics”. action. Should we be using codes of conduct and guidelines for responsible quantum design? And how do you agree on ethics, which of course is culturally sensitive.
“For example, while Western ideologies often focus on winning and being conquered, the Native Canadian world view may emphasize living in harmony with our planet. That’s a big difference.”
One of the central goals in Quantum ELSPI is that everyone in society will benefit from the same amount of prosperity, Kopp said, but he wonders how we ensure equal access.
Another important question that needs to be answered, he said, is will ELSPI’s ideas influence innovation? Cope’s view is that they won’t: “They enable innovation, they convey trust, which is key to the acceptance of this technology.
“And one of the central goals in the quantum ELSPI concept is that everyone can benefit from the richness that quantum will bring to society. imminent internet At least for convenience, either via fiber or satellite?
“I mean, Canada is a huge country. And we have to think carefully about the practicalities of logistics and access, not just talk about it but do it.
In closing, he told the audience that they can expect regulation at the federal level within the next three years, “so it might be a good time to start thinking about regulatory conformance and legal compliance today.”
