Launching the world’s first Centre for Quantum and Society
On November 3rd, Quantum Delta NL launched the Centre for Quantum & Society (CQS). This is the world’s first centre of expertise for the societal impact of quantum technologies. CQS stands as a co-creation Centre where businesses, governments, societal organizations, scientists, and citizens come together to research and co-create ethical, legal, and societal standards. It aims at guiding the development of quantum technologies and their applications to the benefit of society, and boost social readiness levels.
As part of its ongoing development since its foundation in 2021, CQS has partnered with organizations like Qlimate, which directly supports the goals of the European Green Deal while providing research into the ethical, legal, and societal implications of decarbonization use cases. It also collaborates with Quantum Application Lab (QAL) to support the ethical, legal, and societal embedding of early quantum computing use cases. QAL is a field lab that offers a unique collaboration with world-leading knowledge, know-how, and facilities to explore the potential power of quantum computing and develop applications.
“We need to start understanding the ethical, legal and societal implications of quantum technologies as this is crucial to propel applications of quantum technologies with a positive impact. We are proud that a growing number of organizations are partnering with our centre to explore the positive societal impact of quantum technologies in an early stage of the innovation process.”
Deborah Nas, initiative lead of The Centre for Quantum and Society
Three per cent of the Quantum Delta NL budget was allocated to this part of the national programme, which is a globally unprecedented amount to support the positive societal impact of quantum technologies.
During the event, some of CQS’s first activities were highlighted, such as the creation of a series of white papers on ‘Learnings from AI’. The first of three papers, which focuses on stakeholder engagement, is now available. (link)
Want to know more about how the Centre for Quantum and Society independently supports startups, small businesses, and corporate innovation teams in understanding the impact of their quantum innovations on their sector, customers, and society? Or would you like to get involved? Mail to cqs@quantumdelta.nl.
