Multilateral Dialogue on Quantum: Towards a Global Quantum Ecosystem
We look back at two wonderful days in Amsterdam with colleagues from thirteen nations for the fourth session of our “Multilateral Dialogue on Quantum”. Colleagues from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States joined us in Amsterdam for this four-day event, which was co-hosted by Denmark and the United Kingdom.
The group discussed shared principles to guide and elevate our work in the years to come, in particular:
Promoting scientific collaboration and the exchange of ideas to support quicker scientific discovery
Incorporating subject-matter expertise in policy discussions and decisions
Growing the talent base by sharing best practices
Creating a vibrant and trusted global industry by promoting scientific integrity, aligning and reinforcing technology protection measures, and supporting a fair marketplace
Planning for the deployment of quantum-resistant cyberinfrastructure and responsibly communicating the risks
Increasing quantum awareness and readiness
Encouraging the discovery of use cases for the benefit of society.
In Amsterdam, Quantum Delta NL hosted the group for a deep dive into policies to develop a sustainable and secure global quantum economy – including investment screening protocols and knowledge security policies, where Carlo Beenakker, Leo Kouwenhoven, Arinumar Sarkar, Diederick Croese and Maaike Okano-Heijmans shared their insights. We concluded with a pathway for the group to enhance further dialogue, alignment and collaboration. A first step towards a Circle of Trust!
Jointly defined guiding principles for a global quantum ecosystem, informed by science
1. Promote scientific collaboration and the exchange of ideas to support quicker scientific discovery in QIST. Many scientific questions remain for QIST to reach its full potential. International cooperation among scientists is key to jointly addressing the global challenges at the frontier of QIST, accelerating discovery, maintaining leadership for our ecosystems.
2. Incorporate subject-matter expertise in policy discussions and decisions. The general unfamiliarity with QIST among the public and policymakers lends itself to hype and misconceptions. The group can leverage QIST subject-matter expertise for policy discussions to facilitate decisions based on the best available science.
3. Share best practices and coordinate outreach in joint effort to grow the QIST talent base. The demand for QIST talent is currently outpacing supply. Sharing best practices for increasing awareness of and training in QIST will enable more people to have the opportunity to participate. Coordinated outreach efforts are mutually beneficial and expand the reach of any one nation.
4. Promote research security, align and reinforce technology protection measures, and support a fair marketplace, to create a vibrant and trusted global QIST industry. The QIST industry is globally interconnected. This ecosystem can be enhanced with a trusted supply chain and developing international standards that enable the adoption of new quantum technologies. It can be safeguarded by promoting research security and through multilateral protection measures informed by an understanding of the technology and its progress.
5. Plan for the deployment of quantum-resistant cyber infrastructure, such as quantum-resistant cryptography, to responsibly address the risks of QIST. Any system that uses existing public‑key cryptography standards could be vulnerable to an attack by a future large-scale quantum computer. To mitigate this risk, the group should alert decision makers to plan for transitioning cyber infrastructure to quantum-resistant cryptography.
6. Increase quantum awareness and readiness in the development and use of quantum-based technologies and applications. Awareness and understanding of the quantum domain and the inherent benefits and vulnerabilities of quantum-based technologies and applications concerns all aspects of society.
7. Encourage the discovery of use cases of QIST for the benefit of society. The most significant applications of QIST are likely still to be discovered through fundamental research and development. The discovery of applications and use cases of QIST can be further strengthened by connecting researchers with practitioners, pioneering industries, and end-users through cooperation and partnerships. Together, the group can contribute to creating an environment that encourages and enables the discovery of use cases that are consistent with shared values and that benefit society.
