In collaboration with the Digital Ethics programme, this next iteration of techUK's Quantum Commercialisation campaign will navigate how to bring responsible innovation into commercialisation. This roundtable is member only. Please reach out if you have any questions
Quantum driven technologies will be transformational to areas such as national security, finance, telecommunications, construction and civil engineering. The UK has huge potential to be leaders of quantum commercialisation, with efforts across Government, industry and academia, including the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP), accelerating the UK journey towards quantum commercialisation.
As with all new technologies, there will be unforeseen implications of quantum. Many of these will be positive but there are also risks which we should try to anticipate. If we don’t, it will be more difficult to respond once the applications become fully available. We are learning this lesson from technologies such as AI where ethical challenges have already had an impact on public perceptions, leaving industry with the task to regain trust.
The NQTP already accounts for the importance of responsible innovation, and ensured a commitment to this in each of the four national quantum hubs. The ongoing research by these hubs has solidified the importance of RI for any leading nation in quantum and ensured that RI will be critical as we move towards quantum commercialisation in 2022.
This roundtable will build upon existing work and investigate what RI will mean for the commercialisation of quantum in the UK, with a specific focus on convening the UK tech sector to share ideas and tackle some of the greatest challenges the UK faces in amalgamating commercialisation and RI.
In doing so, this roundtable will widen access to ongoing debates about quantum supremacy; about what might be done with NISQ computing; and what might be possible with universal quantum computing and when, to opportunities and pain points of industry. It will enable industry to explore, prepare and respond to it through the process of commercialisation.
This Roundtable will specifically address
- What work has the UK already undertaken on RI and quantum? What can we take forward as we move towards commercialisation
- How do we engage the wider tech sector with responsible innovation, as they begin to integrate quantum technologies into their products and services
- Enabling responsible innovation practices throughout the supply chain
- What recommendations can we develop to ensure commercialisation is done in a fair and ethical way?
Laura Foster
Laura is techUK’s Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation.
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
Elis Thomas
Elis joined techUK in December 2023 as a Programme Manager for Tech and Innovation, focusing on AI, Semiconductors and Digital ID.
