One thing is certain: future quantum technologies will profoundly alter the planet.
As a result, our current choices have a lot of clout.
The scientific underpinnings for current car, rail, and air traffic, as well as modern communication and data processing, were established in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the foundations for the wonder technologies of the twenty-first century are being created now.
There is just a short window of opportunity before technology and social norms become so entrenched that we won't be able to reverse them.
This is why an active, wide-ranging social, and, of course, democratic debate is so critical.
The ethical assessment and political molding of future technologies must go beyond individual, corporate, or governmental economic or military objectives.
This will require a democratic commitment from everyone of us, including the responsibility to educate ourselves and share ideas.
It should also be a requirement of ours that the media offer thorough coverage of scientific advances and advancements.
When journalists and others who shape public opinion report on global events and significant social changes, there is much too little mention of physics, chemistry, or biology.
In addition to ethical integrity, we must expect intellectual honesty from politicians and other social and economic decision-makers.
This implies that intentional lies, as well as information distortion and filtering for the aim of imposing certain objectives, must be constantly combated.
It is intolerable that false news can wield such devastating propagandistic influence these days, and that a worrying proportion of politicians, for example, continue to genuinely question climate change and Darwin's theory of evolution.
The commandment of intellectual honesty, however, also applies to those who receive knowledge.
We must learn to think things through before jumping to conclusions, to examine our own biases, and to participate in complicated interrelationships without oversimplifying everything.
Last but not least, we must accept uncomfortable facts.
Every citizen's role in influencing our technological future is to aim for a wide, reasonable, information- and fact-based debate.
It will be beneficial to keep a careful eye on the progress of quantum physics research.
The unique characteristics of the quantum universe are becoming an essential part of our daily lives, and we are seeing a watershed point in human history.
Those who do not pay attention risk losing out and discovering what has occurred after it is too late.
Our current knowledge of entanglement offers us a peek of what may be possible in the not-too-distant future of technology. However, the future has already started.
~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan
You may also want to read more about Quantum Computing here.
