Responsible Quantum Technologies

  • type of event:

    hybrid workshop

  • place:

    Karlsruhe, online

  • date:

    16.04.24 - 18.04.24

Responsible Quantum Technologies

Workshop 2024
Responsible Quantum Technologies Poster
Responsible Quantum Technologies Workshop

The second quantum revolution has been ongoing for more than two decades now and many countries around the globe have noticed the promises of these technologies. Just in the last decade, the number of publicly supported national initiatives grew from zero to more than 15, with globally more than 30 B€ of public investments allocated or planned. Both the number of new publications per year and patents granted on quantum technologies (QT) has also been climbing steadily for the last decade, so has been the number of start-ups being founded and established companies getting into the field. Finally, the field started receiving attention from private funding sources in recent years, which some have been calling the ‘quantum gold rush’. Within two decades, QT became a strong contender for a potential future industry from a topic that was mainly discussed in physics conferences.

All this rapid development triggered a sort of quantum 'race', where countries, companies, and institutions compete to become the first to achieve a checkpoint or to be the current best at some quantum benchmark. However, it is also noted by many that the real/transformative effects of QT on society will be in the long run. In this respect, we would like to initiate a discussion on responsibility and introduce QT as a noteworthy emerging topic for technology assessment (TA) studies.

This workshop aims to be another step towards establishing connections between the QT and TA communities and to introduce some current discussions in the QT community to a new audience. It is organized as a collaboration between the QuTec project under KIT-ITAS.

To participate in the event, please register here.

You can find additional information on the 20212022 and 2023 events of this series by clicking on the dates. 

Program

Tuesday, 16 April 2024 (First day)

09:45 - 10:15 Registration
10:15 - 10:40 Welcome and opening speech
10:40 - 11:40 Responsible QT Efforts
  • Chair: Zeki C. Seskir (KIT)
  • Natasha Oughton (NQCC)
    Responsible and Ethical Quantum Computing at the UK’s NQCC
  • Mira Wolf-Bauwens (IBM Research Europe)
    The era of quantum utility must also be the era of responsible quantum computing
  • Oxana Mishina (CNR-INO c/o UniTS)
    European and national considerations about quantum technology impact for society
11:40 - 12:00 Short break
12:00 - 13:30 Ethics Education in QT Education & Training
  • Chair: Oxana Mishina (CNR-INO c/o UniTS)
  • Alexandre Artaud (TU Delft)
    Teaching ethics of QT in the QIST MSc: challenges, successes and pitfalls
  • Franziska Greinert (TU Braunschweig)
    The role of ethics within the European framework for QT education
  • Josephine Meyer (University of Colorado Boulder / QEP)
    Developing a modular, research-based curriculum for ethics education in the QT classroom
  • Wenzel Mehnert (AIT)
    Integrating Ethics in Quantum Technologies – What's to learn?
13:30 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 15:30 New Ways to Teach and Think "Quantum"
  • Chair: Natasha Oughton (NQCC)
  • Lia Yeh (University of Oxford)
    Quantum Picturalism: Learning Quantum Theory in High School
  • Fabienne Marco (TUM)
    *to be announced*
  • Carrie Weidner (University of Bristol)
    It's not just about the physics: training postgraduate quantum engineers to work responsibly in the real world
  • Pieter Vermaas (TU Delft)
    Don’t think quantum; think quantum technological functions
15:30 - 16:10 The "Workforce Development" Narrative: Do we only educate future workers? (Panel)
  • Moderator: Fabienne Marco (TUM)
  • Panelists: Oxana Mishina (CNR-INO c/o UniTS), Thomas Soddemann (Fraunhofer SCAI), Anca Albu (QAI Ventures)
16:10 - 16:30 Short break
16:30 - 18:00 Grassroots Initiatives in QT
  • Chair: Lia Yeh (University of Oxford)
  • Sahar Ben Rached (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya / QTunisia)
    Global grassroots initiatives for an inclusive future of quantum technology
  • Alexander Orlov (TUM / PushQuantum)
    PushQuantum: Shaping the Quantum Future, in between Lectures, Labs and Exams
  • Josephine Meyer (University of Colorado Boulder / QEP)
    Building and supporting a global network of quantum ethicists: lessons learned from the growth and governance of the Quantum Ethics Project
  • Sophia Gürtler (Girls in Quantum)
    How to excite girls for Quantum Tech and STEM
  • Ulrike Genenz (RWTH Aachen / KIT)
    Why teach quantum at your own time: The values of grassroots organisations involved in QT education and outreach
18:00 - 18:15 Roundup of the first day

 

Wednesday, 17 April 2024 (Second day)

10:00 - 11:40 Art-Science Interaction Efforts in QT
  • Chair: Zeki C. Seskir (KIT)
  • Emily Haworth (PushQuantum)
    *to be announced*
  • Adrian Schmidt (KIT)
    Artists in QT – their works, views and how they could shape the future of QTs
  • Anna Job (Goethe Institut)
    *to be announced*
  • Roman Lipski (Quantum Blur Art)
    The beauty of quantum mechanics: Quantum Blur Art
11:40 - 12:00 Short break
12:00 - 13:30 Role of QT in the Converging Technologies Debate: Space, Bio, AI and more
  • Chair: Wenzel Mehnert (AIT)
  • Thomas Soddemann (Fraunhofer SCAI)
    *to be announced*
  • Sibylle Bauer (SIPRI / EU Non-proliferation and Disarmament Consortium)
    Quantum plus X: security implications
  • Clément Javerzac-Galy (FNHW)
    Responsible quantum technologies in the life sciences
13:30 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 16:10 Global Infrastructures in Governance of QT
  • Chair: Pieter Vermaas (TU Delft)
  • Douglas K. R. Robinson (OECD)
    *to be announced*
  • Joris van Hoboken (University of Amsterdam)
    *to be announced*
  • Mira Wolf-Bauwens (IBM Research Europe)
    Multi-stakeholder Governance – Reflection on Current Initiatives
  • Bart Karstens (Rathenau Institute)
    Towards a New Quantum Paradigm in International Diplomacy
  • Tim Smith (CERN)
    Open Quantum Institute
16:10 - 16:30 Short break
16:30 - 17:30 How to assess QT in a De-Globalizing World?
  • Chair: Bart Karstens (Rathenau Institute)
  • Anna-Carolina Zuiderduin (STT)
    Geopolitics of quantum technology
  • Joakim Juhl (TUM)
    *to be announced*
  • Andrea G. Rodríguez (European Policy Centre)
    Building sustainable and dynamic quantum technology ecosystems in Europe in the age of economic security
  • Rodrigo Araiza Bravo (HarvardSTS)
    Quantum advantage?: Responsible innovation in a fragmented world
17:30 - 18:10 How to assess QT in a De-Globalizing World? (Young Panel)
  • Moderator: Josephine Meyer (University of Colorado Boulder / QEP)
  • Panelists: Lia Yeh (Oxford Uni. / PIQUE), Sahar Ben Rached (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya / QTunisia), Alexander Orlov (TUM / PushQuantum), Emily Haworth (PushQuantum), Marija Radulovic (University of Bristol)
18:10 - 18:30 Roundup of the the second day 
19:00 - 20:30 Conference dinner

 

Thursday, 18 April 2024 (Third day)

10:00 - 11:40 QT in the World (placeholder title)
  • Chair:  Marija Radulovic (University of Bristol)
  • Clarissa Ai Ling Lee (Asia School of Business/Monash University Malaysia)
    Responsible technological use through responsibility to society: solving mundane 'wicked' problems with emerging technologies
  • Shantanu Sharma (RSIS)
    *to be announced*
  • Sahar Ben Rached (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya / QTunisia)
    Building the quantum community in Africa
  • Mariana Filipova (STEALM Academy / ULSIT)
    Quantum Science, Technology, and Education Development in Bulgaria and the Neighboring Balkan Countries
  • David Chudožilov (FNSPE CTU)
    *to be announced*
11:40 - 12:00 Short break
12:00 - 13:30 Quantum for Climate-Relevant Use Cases
  • Chair: Adrian Schmidt (KIT)
  • Barbara Wellmann (Deloitte)
    Quantum Computing for Climate Action
  • Anna Knörr (SPEED2ZERO / ETH Zurich)
    QC4 energy systems optimization - a long term perspective
  • Somidh Saha (KIT)
    Application of quantum sensing, X-ray fluorescence, and cosmic ray neutron sensors in field ecological research
  • Robert Whitney (Université Grenoble Alpes)
    Do we already need research on minimizing the resources consumed by quantum technologies?
13:30 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 15:30 QT in Society (placeholder title)
  • Chair: Ulrike Genenz (KIT)
  • Shaeema Zaman (Science Melting Pot)
     Effective Science Communication Techniques to Shape Quantum Awareness in Society
  • Isabelle Lacroix & Karl Thibault (University of Sherbrooke)
    Anticipating the societal impacts of quantum computer integration: the challenges of Sherbrooke's "quantum dialogues" project
  • Arsev Umur Aydinoglu (METU)
    Decoding the Discourse: Public Perception of Quantum Technologies on Twitter through Text Analysis
  • Gregor Wolbring (University of Calgary)
    Quantum discussions: a Tech island?
15:30 - 16:10 Future Directions in Responsible QT / Open Discussions
16:10 - 16:30 Short break
16:30 - 17:30 Roundup of the conference and closing

 

Contact

Zeki Seskir (zeki.seskir∂kit.edu)