Quantum Diplomacy for a New Technological Age /

Quantum Diplomacy for a New Technological Age Page 1 by Randolph Mank December 2017 Quantum Diplomacy for a New Technological Age W hat do alleged Russian meddling in the U. S. presidential election, the recent spate of global cyber-attacks, increased use of cruise missiles and drones, advances in nano- technology, the commercialization of quantum computers, and rapid developments in robotics and [...] The scientific discoveries around the strange realities of quantum mechanics date back a full century.1 Those discoveries, about the counter-intuitive behaviour of atoms and their sub- particles, have already yielded enormous technological advances, leading to today’s computers, smartphones, the internet, medical imaging, and an array of other remarkable and welcome inventions. [...] If that was the first phase of the Quantum Age, and if the by now familiar Information Technology revolution -- including computers and the internet -- were its second act, we are now undoubtedly on the threshold of a new and equally portentous phase. [...] With the pace of change exponential, not linear, the demands to control its more lethal aspects will be upon us sooner than we think.2 Though much has been made of the disruptive social and economic consequences of this new phase, relatively little discussion has been devoted to the challenges for global security and diplomacy. [...] In Canada, the University of Toronto recently announced its new Vector Institute to advance research and development in A. I.8 Already well established are the Perimeter Institute and the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.