This Impact Accelerator project picked up and carried forward the responsible innovation (RI) work in the Networked Quantum Information Hub. NQIT took national leadership in RI, in the social and ethical issues surrounding the landscape and early applications of quantum technologies (QT), including defence/national security and machine learning. This project worked to develop these issues further. The Quantum Computing and Simulation (QCS) Hub which succeeded NQIT will drive progress towards practical quantum computers to take quantum research out of the lab into commercial and real-world applications. In parallel, a new National Quantum Computing Centre will provide a dedicated resource for building intermediate-scale quantum computers in the near term and working eventually towards scalable, fault tolerant quantum computing.
This is a crucial juncture, as social and ethical implications of quantum computing become apparent and RI can make its greatest impact. A dedicated RI Hub, working with and across the QCS Hub, the National Quantum Computing Centre, and other key players in industry and academia, would be able to maximise the benefits to the UK as a whole by stimulating creativity, informing regulation and governance, and ultimately leading to products and services that are embraced and welcomed by industry and the public.
The objectives of this project are:
1. To build on the RI work in NQIT, expanding into industry and taking forward to next phase of NQTP, with a focus on Quantum Computing and Quantum Communications;
2. In taking this forward, to draw on and develop responsible innovation frameworks for anticipatory governance;
3. To lay the groundwork for establishing a national QT RI Hub as a locus of anticipatory governance, to ensure that RI is embedded throughout the NQTP.
The project’s outputs included a report, Creating a Responsible Quantum Future and a video discussing how responsible innovation can be applied in quantum computing, as well as the following papers:
- Inglesant, P., Ten Holter, C., Jirotka, M., & Williams, R. (2021). Asleep at the wheel? Responsible Innovation in quantum computing. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 0(0), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1988557
- Ten Holter, C., Inglesant, P., & Jirotka, M. (2021). Reading the road: challenges and opportunities on the path to responsible innovation in quantum computing. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1988070
- Ten Holter, C., Inglesant, P., Srivastava, R., & Jirotka, M. (2022). Bridging the quantum divides: a chance to repair classic(al) mistakes? Quantum Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565/ac8db6
Image: Quantum computing by Wichai Wi from the Noun Project
