New technical developments, economic investment, and global promotion are bringing second-generation quantum technologies (QT) more and more into focus. The first market-ready quantum sensors are being developed, quantum communication is possible over ever greater distances, and significant progress is being made in the basic elements and the scaling of quantum computers. Partly due to the wide range of potential applications and benefits of these technologies, the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

Nevertheless, despite these developments, there is still uncertainty surrounding specific applications, implementation timelines, and potential societal impacts. Concerns about a quantum divide are growing, although it remains unclear which regions of the world will ultimately be affected when quantum advantage is achieved. Numerous military and security-related applications of QT are being postulated, but their specific impact on security architectures remains unclear. In addition, the development of QT is influenced by geopolitical changes that shift the focus to technological sovereignty and dynamically change the futures of QT.

In this situation of open, influenceable futures (Collingridge) and insufficient analysis of concrete QT developments and effects, a detailed examination using technology assessment (TA) methods is required. However, such TA studies are still rare and lack thematic differentiation. Since a purely consequentialist consideration of the technological consequences is impossible due to the early stages of some QT developments, an investigation using hermeneutic TA methods appears necessary.

This thesis therefore aims to analyze the historical, current, and evolving narratives and visions (technological futures) of QT, their group-specific origins, and how they are used. It will address the question of which QT futures are being shaped and disseminated by whom, and whether there have been any changes over time. The art and cultural scene currently emerging around QT will be examined in particular, as it could influence not only the social attention and reception of QT but also its development. This is also linked to the question of whether and how QT could introduce something fundamentally different to the world, thereby influencing existing norms and cultural or conceptual narratives.

Specifically, the following research questions will be investigated:

1. What narratives and visions of QT exist, in particular in the cultural and artistic spheres? How are these narratives developing, and how did they emerge? How could they influence the further development, dissemination, and application of QT?
2. Who develops these narratives, which groups are involved, and how do the narratives differ between different groups? Which narratives dominate which areas of discourse, and what influence do stakeholders from the cultural sector in particular have?

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