June 27, 2023
Quantum Computing is the Future — But We May Lose the Race if We Don’t Act Now
American leadership in quantum computing is a national and economic security imperative. Quantum computers promise to deliver lucrative breakthroughs in a range of industries, from automotive and defense to finance and pharmaceuticals. They also could equip users to crack legacy encryption methods, build unbreakable encrypted communications networks, and develop highly precise sensors.
Now is an ideal time to create policies that protect U.S. quantum advantages and promote quantum strengths.
The possible strategic advantages of quantum computing are significant, and the United States is locked in a high-stakes global competition to secure leadership in the field.
The first country to build, scale, and commercialize a quantum computer will gain a toolkit of capabilities that can overwhelm unprepared adversaries, as well as an upper hand in establishing market dominance and setting technology standards. Advancing U.S. competitiveness requires a firm technical understanding of quantum technology and the policy challenges it could generate.
Read the full article from The Messenger.
More from CNAS
-
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Beyond Bans: Expanding the Policy Options for Tech-Security ThreatsStuck between a rock (the fact that banning all Chinese tech that poses a risk is expensive and impractical) and a hard place (the fact that many existing mitigation proposals...
By Geoffrey Gertz
-
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
Cyber Crossroads in the Indo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific faces a cyber crossroads. Down one path lies deeper military, intelligence, and economic ties between Washington and its key allies and partners in this strat...
By Vivek Chilukuri, Lisa Curtis, Janet Egan, Morgan Peirce, Elizabeth Whatcott & Nathaniel Schochet
-
Technology & National Security
Securing America’s AI Future: Federal Research and Development PrioritiesOn April 29, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Information on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligenc...
By Caleb Withers & Spencer Michaels
-
Middle East Security / Technology & National Security
‘We Want Peace’: How Attacks Between Israel and Iran Could Impact People in NCRetired Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security. Shanahan provided some context on how the two Middle East countries got her...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan