- From bits to qubits, quantum science promises to disrupt the future of business, science and government as billions are invested across the public and private sector.
- A new Insight Report presents best-practice governance principles to guide future design and adoption as investment boomed. It is critical to address ethical concerns well before commercialization and set standards now to ensure an equitable framework for the future.
- Read the report [PDF · 5.5MB]
National governments have invested over $25 billion into quantum computing research and over $1 billion in venture capital deals have closed in the past year – more than the past three years combined. Quantum computing promises to disrupt the future of business, science, government and society itself, but an equitable framework is crucial to address future risks.
A new Insight Report [PDF · 5.5MB] released today at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 provides a roadmap for these emerging opportunities across public and private sectors. The principles have been co-designed by a global multi-stakeholder community composed of quantum experts, emerging technology ethics and law experts, decision makers and policy makers, social scientists and academics.
"The critical opportunity at the dawn of this historic transformation is to address ethical, societal and legal concerns well before commercialization,” said Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum. "This report represents an early intervention and the beginning of a multi-disciplinary, global conversation that will guide the development of quantum computing to the benefit of all society."
"Quantum computing holds the potential to help solve some of society's greatest challenges, and IBM has been at the forefront of bringing quantum hardware and software to communities of discovery worldwide," said Dr. Heike Riel, IBM Fellow, Head of Science and Technology and Lead, Quantum, IBM Research Europe. "This report is a key step in initiating the discussion around how quantum computing should be shaped and governed, for the benefit of all."
Professor Bronwyn Fox, Chief Scientist at CSIRO, Australia's science national agency said, "the Principles reflect conversations CSIRO's scientists have had with partners from around the world who share an ambition for a responsible quantum future. Embedding responsible innovation in quantum computing is key to its successful deployment and uptake for generations to come. CSIRO is committed to ensuring these Principles are used to support a strong quantum industry in Australia and generate significant social and public good."
In adapting to the coming hybrid model of classical, multi-cloud, and soon quantum computing, the Forum's framework establishes best-practice principles and core values. These guidelines set the foundation and give rise to a new information-processing paradigm while ensuring stakeholder equity, risk mitigation, and consumer benefit.
The governance principles are grouped into nine themes and underpinned by a set of seven core values. Themes and respective goals defining the principles:
- Transformative capabilities: Harness the transformative capabilities of this technology and the applications for the good of humanity while managing the risks appropriately.
- Access to hardware infrastructure: Ensure wide access to quantum computing hardware.
- Open innovation: Encourage collaboration and a precompetitive environment, enabling faster development of the technology and the realization of its applications.
- Creating awareness: Ensure the general population and quantum computing stakeholders are aware, engaged and sufficiently informed to enable ongoing responsible dialogue and communication; stakeholders with oversight and authority should be able to make informed decisions about quantum computing in their respective domains.
- Workforce development and capability-building: Build and sustain a quantum-ready workforce.
- Cybersecurity: Ensure the transition to a quantum-secure digital world.
- Privacy: Mitigate potential data-privacy violations through theft and processing by quantum computers.
- Standardization: Promote standards and road-mapping mechanisms to accelerate the development of the technology.
- Sustainability: Develop a sustainable future with and for quantum computing technology.
Quantum computing core values that hold across the themes and principles:
- Common good: The transformative capabilities of quantum computing and its applications are harnessed to ensure they will be used to benefit humanity.
- Accountability: Use of quantum computing in any context has mechanisms in place to ensure human accountability, both in its design and in its uses and outcomes. All stakeholders in the quantum computing community are responsible for ensuring that the intentional misuse of quantum computing for harmful purposes is not accepted or inadvertently positively sanctioned.
- Inclusiveness: In the development of quantum computing, insofar as possible, a broad and truly diverse range of stakeholder perspectives are engaged in meaningful dialogue to avoid narrow definitions of what may be considered a harmful or beneficial use of the technology.
- Equitability: Quantum computing developers and users ensure that the technology is equitable by design, and that quantum computing-based technologies are fairly and evenly distributed insofar as possible. Particular consideration is given to any specific needs of vulnerable populations to ensure equitability.
- Non-maleficence: All stakeholders use quantum computing in a safe, ethical and responsible manner. Furthermore, all stakeholders ensure quantum computing does not put humans at risk of harm, either in the intended or unintended outcomes of its use, and that it is not used for nefarious purposes.
- Accessibility: Quantum computing technology and knowledge are actively made widely accessible. This includes the development, deployment and use of the technology. The aim is to cultivate a general ability among the population, societal actors, corporations and governments to understand the main principles of quantum computing, the ways in which it differs from classical computing and the potential it brings.
- Transparency: Users, developers and regulators are transparent about their purpose and intentions with regard to quantum computing.
“Governments and industries are accelerating their investments in quantum computing research and development worldwide,” said Derek O’Halloran, Head of Digital Economy, World Economic Forum. “This report starts the conversation that will help us understand the opportunities, set the premise for ethical guidelines, and pre-empt socioeconomic, political and legal risks well ahead of global deployment.”
The Quantum Computing Governance Principles is an initiative of the World Economic Forum’s Quantum Computing Network, a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on accelerating responsible quantum computing.
Next steps for the Quantum Computing Governance Initiative will be to work with wider stakeholder groups to adopt these principles as part of broader governance frameworks and policy approaches. With this framework, business and investment communities along with policy makers and academia will be better equipped to adopt to the coming paradigm shift. Ultimately, everyone will be better prepared to harness the transformative capabilities of quantum sciences – perhaps the most exciting emergent technologies of the 21st Century.
About The Davos Agenda 2022
For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has been the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the focal point at the start of the year for leaders to share their outlook, insights and plans relating to the most urgent global issues. The meeting will provide a platform to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle shared challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future. Learn more about the programme and view sessions live and on-demand.
This partner release was originally published by the World Economic Forum.