September 26, 2018
The Lawfare Podcast: Elsa Kania on China’s Quantum Quest
If you ask scientists what is most likely to kick off the next great wave of technological change, a good number will answer “quantum mechanics”—a field whose physics Albert Einstein once described as “spooky,” but whose potential, once tapped, could unleash exponentially faster computer processes, unbreakable cryptography, and new frontiers in surveillance technology.
No one understands this better than the People’s Republic of China, who over the last several years has built up an aggressive state-driven campaign to accelerate the development of quantum technology—a set of policies intended to put it at the very front of the pack of the next technological revolution, and all the competitive advantages it is likely to bring.
To discuss this development, what it may mean for the future, and how the United States should respond, Scott R. Anderson sat down with Elsa Kania, an adjunct fellow with the Center for a New American Security and the co-author of a new report on China’s efforts to achieve “Quantum Hegemony.”
Listen to this podcast and more from Lawfare
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
NOTUS Perspectives: AI Requires Massive Allocations of Energy. Will Other Sectors Suffer?On the current trajectory, the government may need to prioritize energy for AI over other uses to ensure the United States remains the global leader in advanced AI....
By Janet Egan
-
Reports
Technology & National Security
Countering the Digital Silk RoadThe year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s effort to strengthen its global ties and influence through technology. In the decade since the...
By Vivek Chilukuri & Ruby Scanlon
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
Microsoft Announcement Highlights Complicated Relationship Between Big Tech and WarMicrosoft restricted the Israeli military's access to some of its technology after it found that Israel's Defense Ministry was using its services to carry out mass surveillanc...
By Paul Scharre
-
Video
Technology & National Security
Quantum Sensing at Scale: Navigating Commercialization RoadblocksQuantum sensing is racing forward in the lab—but turning prototypes into products still means wrestling with supply chains, certification, and unit economics. In “Quantum Sens...
By Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante
