Innovation, Quantum-AI Technology & Law

Blog over Kunstmatige Intelligentie, Quantum, Deep Learning, Blockchain en Big Data Law

Blog over juridische, sociale, ethische en policy aspecten van Kunstmatige Intelligentie, Quantum Computing, Sensing & Communication, Augmented Reality en Robotica, Big Data Wetgeving en Machine Learning Regelgeving. Kennisartikelen inzake de EU AI Act, de Data Governance Act, cloud computing, algoritmes, privacy, virtual reality, blockchain, robotlaw, smart contracts, informatierecht, ICT contracten, online platforms, apps en tools. Europese regels, auteursrecht, chipsrecht, databankrechten en juridische diensten AI recht.

Berichten in Governance
EU AI Act Compliance for Global Enterprises: The Daiki Solution for Mandatory AI Governance

The European Union's AI Act has crossed the line from proposal to binding law, and its phased rollout is now an active clock rather than a distant horizon. Daiki, the AI and quantum governance company co-founded by Mauritz Kop, has published an account of what mandatory AI governance demands of global enterprises—and how an integrated, standards-based platform can convert that obligation into a strategic advantage.

A calendar that has already started

The Act entered into force on August 1, 2024. The prohibition on unacceptable-risk practices took effect in February 2025; obligations for general-purpose AI models began in August 2025; and full application—conformity assessments, CE marking, EU-database registration, post-market monitoring for high-risk systems—arrives on August 2, 2026, with a final grace period for regulated-product components running to 2027. Because the Act binds any provider whose systems reach the EU market or whose outputs are used within it, its reach is extraterritorial: a firm headquartered in New York or Singapore is squarely within scope, and penalties of up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide turnover make non-compliance a board-level risk.

The pyramid of criticality

The Act's organizing idea is a risk-based pyramid: unacceptable-risk practices are banned; high-risk systems—reaching common enterprise uses in hiring, credit scoring, and critical infrastructure—carry the heaviest lifecycle obligations; limited-risk systems owe transparency; and minimal-risk applications attract no new mandates. The Daiki solution operationalizes that structure, classifying each system through a rules engine aligned with the Act's definitions and Annex III, then triggering a workflow proportionate to its tier, with every action logged to an auditable evidence trail. Its architecture is anchored in ISO/IEC 42001, bridged to the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and bounded throughout by deliberate human oversight—mirroring the Act's own Article 14.

A risk-based reading with a documented lineage

The post's central reading—that a risk-based regime rewards organizations able to prove their governance—has a clear history in Kop's scholarship. As Mauritz Kop's record of work shows, his 2021 analysis of the EU AI Act anticipated the four-tier architecture that is now law, and the same logic carries across the Atlantic to California's compute-threshold approach for frontier models. For general counsel and compliance leaders, the practical takeaway is consistent: build one coherent, standards-based governance system now—rather than a reactive checklist per statute—and the era of enforcement will reward exactly the discipline the era of voluntary principles merely recommended. Mandatory AI governance, as the post observes, is here to stay; the enterprises that treat it as design rather than damage control will be the trusted artificial intelligence leaders of the regulated decade ahead.

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The US ISO 42001 Standards-Centric Approach to AI Governance: Compliance, Trust, and Innovation (Daiki Repost)

AIRecht reposts, in full and with permission, a Daiki essay by Mauritz Kop, Co-Founder, on why the United States is converging on a standards-centric model of artificial intelligence governance—and why ISO/IEC 42001 has become its anchor. The repost is presented as published on May 13, 2025, with its original spellings, figures, and references intact.

A standards-first answer to a fragmented regime

The American approach to AI is, by design, light on binding federal statute and heavy on voluntary, risk-based guidance: the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, sector-specific direction from the FTC, EEOC, and FDA, and a patchwork of state laws. Into that fragmentation steps ISO/IEC 42001, the world's first international standard for AI Management Systems, published in December 2023. The essay's argument is that a single, certifiable management system can do what a stack of statute-shaped checklists cannot—give an organization one coherent governance posture that travels across jurisdictions.

The transatlantic bridge

The stakes are clearest for U.S. companies selling into Europe. ISO 42001 certification is not the same as EU AI Act compliance, but the two overlap heavily on risk management, data governance, transparency, documentation, and human oversight—precisely the obligations the Act imposes on high-risk systems. The repost frames the standard as a "common language" that lets a U.S. firm demonstrate diligence to European regulators and partners without building a separate compliance machine for each market. It is the same standards-first logic Kop and colleagues have argued for in quantum governance, where international standards substitute for legislation that has not yet caught up to the technology.

From paperwork to governance asset

The closing move is strategic rather than procedural. Under an anticipated period of U.S. federal deregulation, the essay contends, a globally recognized standard offers stability that domestic political cycles cannot: a baseline of good governance that holds regardless of which executive orders survive. The Daiki method then operationalizes that posture through six integrated components—an AI system registry, an EU AI Act toolkit, an ISO 42001 implementation framework, ISO 27001 data-security integration, MDR/ISO 13485 support for medical AI, and a responsible generative-AI framework—so overlapping requirements are managed once, not many times. The throughline connects to Daiki's wider body of work on operationalizing regulation, including its EU AI Act compliance solution and its quantum-governance recipe.

Why repost it here

For boards, general counsel, and AI program leads, the practical message is that the era of principles is giving way to an era of evidence: organizations will increasingly be asked to prove their governance, not merely assert it. Reposting the essay in full preserves Kop's argument verbatim while placing it alongside AIRecht's running coverage of Mauritz Kop's work at the intersection of AI, standards, and responsible technology governance.

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Mauritz Kop Delivers Keynote on Global Quantum Governance Frameworks at the World Quantum Summit in Washington DC

At the World Quantum Summit in Washington, DC, held during DC Climate Week on May 2, 2025, Mauritz Kop, Founder of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology, delivered a keynote on Global Quantum Governance Frameworks. The address landed in a symbolic year—the centennial of quantum mechanics and the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology—and made a single, sustained argument: that quantum's distinctive physics demands tailored governance, and that the world should cooperate to unlock quantum for societal progress rather than fracture into rival blocs.

A fragmented compliance web—and a standards-first answer

Kop's diagnosis is that developers of quantum and hybrid systems already face a fragmented web of regional and global requirements, from export controls to sector-specific rules supported by standards, certifications, and quality-management systems. His remedy is unified quantum interoperability standards to avert a "quantum splinternet," paired with the Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT) framework and its benchmarks. This standards-first posture—building technical consensus before locking in less adaptable legislation—runs through his scholarship on responsible quantum innovation, including the Ten Principles for Responsible Quantum Innovation published in IOP Quantum Science and Technology.

Benefits, risks, and Quantum-ELSPI

The keynote mapped quantum's promise and peril by domain. On the benefit side, Kop aligned responsible quantum innovation with the UN Sustainable Development Goals—drug discovery, weather forecasting, battery chemistry, carbon capture. On the risk side, he flagged "Q-day," when current RSA and AES encryption fails, alongside dual-use ambiguity in quantum simulation and sensing. These interrelated ethical, legal, socio-economic, and policy implications form what he calls Quantum-ELSPI, the lens through which he argues quantum should be governed in line with civil liberties, human rights, and the rule of law.

An Atomic Agency for the quantum age

The address built toward an institutional proposal: a globally harmonized "Quantum Acquis Planétaire," a UN Quantum Treaty modeled on the 2024 UN AI Resolution and the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and an "Atomic Agency for Quantum/AI" inspired by the IAEA's safeguards model, complemented by CERN-style international resource pooling. The keynote is distinct from Kop's role as a speaker for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025: that recognition concerns the year's designation, whereas this address sets out the specific governance architecture he believes the quantum age now requires. His central claim is that the architecture must be designed today—before second-generation, agentic quantum and AI systems outpace the law—and that it should be standards-first, rights-respecting, and global by construction, so that quantum technology serves a collective future of widespread, equitably distributed prosperity.

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Mauritz Kop Expert at Eric Schmidt backed von Neumann Commission

Stanford, CA – Mauritz Kop, the Frm. Founding Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT), has accepted an invitation to serve as an expert on The von Neumann Commission. The announcement, made on February 1, 2025, positions Kop to contribute to a critical global dialogue at the intersection of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and grand strategy. The Oxford-based, independent research commission is backed by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation and other key institutions. The von Neumann Commission’s inquiry will be multifaceted, addressing the core technical prospects for quantum acceleration, its strategic implications for the global balance of power, the risks to strategic stability, and the necessary governance frameworks to ensure responsible development. The Commission's investigation is set against the backdrop of a new technological paradigm—the convergence of quantum and AI—and is informed by the historical legacy of its namesake, the strategic vision of its sponsors, and the vital perspectives of its experts.

The Quantum-AI Convergence: A New Technological Paradigm

At the heart of The von Neumann Commission's inquiry is the powerful synergy between quantum computing and artificial intelligence. This convergence is not merely additive; it is a cross-pollination that promises to redefine the boundaries of both fields. To understand this, one must first grasp the fundamental difference between classical and quantum computation.

Classical computers, from supercomputers to smartphones, process information using bits, which can exist in one of two definite states: 0 or 1. Quantum computing, by contrast, operates on the principles of quantum mechanics. It uses qubits, which can exist in a state of superposition—representing both 0 and 1 simultaneously. This property, combined with entanglement, where the state of one qubit is instantly correlated with another regardless of distance, allows quantum computers to explore a vast computational space and perform parallel calculations on an exponential scale.

Professor Kop’s Expertise as a von Neumann Commissioner

As a Commission expert, Professor Kop will contribute a multidisciplinary perspective grounded in his extensive research on the law, ethics, societal impact, and policy of quantum and AI. Professor Kop has advised numerous governments and international organizations on their quantum technology strategies, including the United States (notably the Department of State on its quantum foreign policy, U.S. Senators on quantum governance, and as a Guest Professor at the US Air Force Academy), Canada, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands, as well as multilateral institutions such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), UNESCO, CERN, and the OECD. He has also provided expert guidance to the European Union on landmark AI legislation, including the EU AI Act and the Data Act. His specific contributions to The von Neumann Commission will draw from his expertise in:

● Geostrategy, Democracy, and Authoritarianism: Analyzing the strategic struggle between democratic and authoritarian models of technology governance. This includes his work in Foreign Policy and the Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Forum on forming a strategic tech alliance among democratic nations and his lectures at institutions like the Hoover Institution on the impact of quantum technologies on the global balance of power.

● Comparative Regulatory and Innovation Models: Analyzing the legal and policy differences between the US, EU, and China. His scholarship, including his "Ten principles for responsible quantum technology" in IOP Quantum Science and Technology, his “Establishing a Legal-Ethical Framework for Quantum Technology” at Yale University, and foundational articles at Harvard Berkman Klein and Nature, dissects these competing models and provides a crucial framework for navigating global strategic competition.

● China’s Quantum and AI Strategy: Providing in-depth analysis of China's legal, ethical, and policy landscape for quantum technologies. This includes evaluating the country's national strategy, its approach to dual use civil-military fusion, its influence on U.S. and E.U. national and economic security through China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative, and its comparative strengths and weaknesses in the global technology race, as analyzed in his “Towards an Atomic Agency for Quantum-AI” scholarship at the European Commission’s Futurium.

● National and Economic Security: Examining the role of export controls, rare earth and critical mineral supply chain vulnerability as published at the Stanford Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance at CISAC / FSI, intellectual property law as published at Berkeley and the Max Planck Institute, and cybersecurity in managing the geostrategic dimensions of quantum technology. His work in these areas, including his contributions to forums like Tel Aviv University's Cyber Week, provides critical insights into protecting strategic assets.

● Standards and Governance: Contributing to the development of robust standards, certification protocols, and performance benchmarks to ensure the safety, reliability, and ethical implementation of these powerful technologies, drawing from lessons from nuclear governance, and from his conferences and seminars at Stanford, Fordham Law, Arizona State, Copenhagen, the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo.

By integrating these insights, Kop will aid the Commission in formulating a holistic understanding of the challenges pertaining to systemic rivalry and great power competition ahead.

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Mauritz Kop Consults UNESCO and OECD on Ethics and Quantum Technology Policy

Paris, January 9, 2025— As quantum technologies advance at a rapid pace, global institutions are turning to leading experts to help shape the ethical and policy frameworks that will govern this transformative era. Mauritz Kop, a prominent scholar in the field of quantum law and governance Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology, has been actively consulting with two of the world's foremost international bodies: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). His contributions are helping to build a global consensus on the responsible development and deployment of quantum technologies.

Expert Opinions for UNESCO and its World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST)

UNESCO, through its World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), is at the forefront of establishing global ethical norms for emerging technologies. COMEST is an advisory body composed of leading international scholars tasked with formulating ethical principles to guide decision-makers beyond purely economic considerations.

Recognizing his expertise, COMEST invited Mauritz Kop to an exclusive Expert Hearing on May 13, 2024. This session was convened to gather insights for the Commission's forthcoming landmark report on the "Ethics of the Research, Development and Deployment of Quantum Computing Technologies." Together with three other experts who each presented different perspectives, Kop was asked to present his research on Responsible Quantum Technology, quantum-ELSPI (Ethical, Legal, Societal, and Policy Implications), and bespoke governance frameworks for Quantum Information Science (QIS). His scholarship - often co-authored with RQT Fellows such as Mateo Aboy, Eline de Jong, Mark Brongersma, and Raymond Laflamme, provides the Commission with state-of-the-art analysis of the ethical and governance challenges, helping to enrich the foundation of their upcoming report.

Stanford Law’s Mauritz Kop Provides Recommendations on UNESCO Preliminary Draft: 'Ethics of Quantum Computing'

Following the request to participate in the expert hearing, Stanford Law’s Mauritz Kop was formally invited to provide written recommendations on the "Preliminary Draft Report on the Ethics of Quantum Computing" on January 9, 2025. This invitation underscores the value of his contributions to the Commission's work. While the draft itself remains confidential, its direction can be understood through its public predecessor, the "Concept note of the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) on the ethics of quantum computing," published on July 24, 2024.

The concept note lays out a comprehensive vision for the ethical governance of quantum computing. It correctly asserts that while quantum technology is still in its early stages, the time to establish ethical guardrails is now, learning from the reactive approach taken with other technologies like social media. The note emphasizes that quantum technology is not neutral; its development and use have profound social and political impacts.

Mauritz Kop Invited by OECD to Speak on Global Policy and National Strategies for Responsible Quantum Technology Development

In addition to his work with UNESCO, Mauritz Kop was invited by the OECD to contribute his expertise to its Global Forum on Technology (GFTech) event, "Future in flux? Global policy issues and national strategies for responsible quantum technology development," held in November 2023. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv, Israel, but was moved to a virtual format due to regional unrest.

Looking Ahead: The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025

The work of UNESCO and the OECD is particularly timely, as the United Nations has officially declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ 2025). This global initiative, led by UNESCO, marks the 100th anniversary of the development of modern quantum mechanics and aims to raise global awareness of the importance of quantum science and its applications.

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Mauritz Kop Consults U.S. Department of State on Quantum Technology and Foreign Policy Strategy

Washington D.C. – On December 12, 2024, Mauritz Kop, Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT) and the Stanford Quantum Incubator, was invited to consult with the U.S. Department of State on the pressing challenges and strategic opportunities presented by the quantum era. The analytic outreach event, hosted by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s Office of Analytic Outreach (INR/AO), provided a critical forum to discuss the integration of quantum technology considerations into U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy.

This engagement highlights the growing recognition within the U.S. government that understanding quantum technology is no longer the exclusive domain of physicists and engineers, but a crucial imperative for diplomats, intelligence analysts, and foreign policy architects.

Informing Diplomacy with Strategic Insight

The U.S. Department of State is the nation’s lead foreign affairs agency, responsible for advancing the interests and security of the American people. Within the Department, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) holds a unique mandate to provide independent, all-source intelligence and analysis to the Secretary of State and other senior policymakers. INR’s primary mission is to deliver timely, objective, and insightful assessments that inform decision-making on the full spectrum of diplomatic and foreign policy challenges. It is within this context of providing deep, substantive expertise that the Office of Analytic Outreach convenes leading external experts like Mauritz Kop to engage directly with government analysts and officials.

A Bird's-Eye View of Quantum's Strategic Landscape

While the specific details of the consultation remain confidential, the discussion drew upon Mr. Kop’s extensive research on quantum governance, which offers a strategic framework for policymakers. His analysis emphasizes several key themes crucial for navigating the complexities of the quantum age.

A central theme is the inherently dual-use character of quantum technology. This paradigm holds both immense promise and profound risk. On one hand, quantum advancements are poised to revolutionize sectors vital to human progress; quantum sensors could dramatically improve medical imaging and seismic prediction, while quantum simulation could enhance drug discovery and macroeconomic modeling. On the other hand, this same power presents formidable threats. The advent of a fault-tolerant quantum computer, or "Q-Day," could catastrophically break the classical encryption that underpins global finance, data security, and critical infrastructure, with a potential timeframe of just two to three years.

This governance model is set against a backdrop of intense geopolitical competition. Kop’s research posits the risk of a "Quantum Event Horizon"—a governance tipping point at which one technological bloc could achieve quantum supremacy and with that the keys to the world’s operating system, creating an irreversible, "winner-takes-all" advantage that could destabilize the global order. This makes it a strategic imperative for the United States and its allies to lead in building a "globally leading, values-laden Made in America quantum ecosystem."

Embedding Democratic Values into the Quantum Future

A core pillar of the responsible governance framework presented is the imperative to embed democratic values and human rights principles into the very architecture of quantum systems. Technology is never neutral; it inherently carries the values of its creators. Therefore, the U.S. and its like-minded partners have a generational opportunity to set the "rules of the road" for quantum technology through international standard-setting that prioritizes privacy, fairness, and fundamental freedoms. This involves fostering diverse, interdisciplinary research and development teams to combat inherent biases and ensure outcomes align with the principles of a free society.

Stanford RQT and the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research

The engagement with the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research represents a vital step in bridging the gap between the academic frontier of quantum research and the pragmatic realities of foreign policy. The work of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology remains committed to fostering these essential conversations, ensuring that as humanity prepares to take its next great technological leap, it does so with foresight, responsibility, and a steadfast commitment to democratic values.

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The Innovator Features Mauritz Kop in Interview on Responsible Quantum Governance

In its weekly long-form feature, the Paris-based digital media outlet The Innovator sat down with Mauritz Kop—Founder and Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology and a Stanford Law School TTLF Fellow—to ask a deceptively simple question: how close is quantum technology, and who will it actually serve? The interview, conducted by founding editor Jennifer L. Schenker after Kop's appearance at the XPANSE conference in Abu Dhabi, is notable for refusing the two easy answers. It neither dismisses quantum as decades-distant nor inflates it into magic. Instead it offers a branch-by-branch reading—in Kop's own terms—of a technology arriving faster than the rules meant to govern it.

A family of technologies, not a single arrival

Kop's central move is to treat quantum as a family—computing, sensing, networking, cryptography—rather than a monolith. Useful, scalable quantum computing, on his estimate, is the nearest of the branches; secure quantum networking sits roughly a decade out; and quantum-AI hybrids are already under active development. Each branch keeps its own governance clock, and conflating them is precisely how policy goes wrong. The interview's discipline in separating the timelines is what makes it useful to the corporate readers The Innovator serves.

The divide, and the duty to close it

The conversation does not stop at capability. Kop is candid that quantum hardware is "difficult and expensive to develop," raising the prospect of a quantum divide that deepens existing inequalities rather than easing them. Set against that risk is a large, genuinely planetary upside: combined with AI and advances in energy, quantum tools could help address climate-scale problems in materials and chemistry. The gap between those two futures, in Kop's telling, is governance—which is why he calls for "planetary thinking" tied to values-laden standards, the same anticipatory posture that animates his broader scholarship on the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of quantum technology.

Advice for the early movers

For business leaders, the interview delivers a clear thesis: invest early, but build governance capability in step with technical capability. Quantum literacy, Kop argues, is a first-mover advantage, and the discipline responsible adoption requires today is the same discipline compliance is likely to require as regulatory expectations develop. That conviction runs through the body of work documented on Kop's scholar profile, where standards developed early give organizations something concrete to build toward before binding law settles. Featured in the aftermath of a deep-tech summit, the interview captures a field at its inflection point—and a scholar insisting that the responsible path and the strategic path are, increasingly, the same road.

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Stanford Law’s Jin-Hee Lee, Katie Liu and Mauritz Kop visit Caltech Quantum Research Center

Pasadena, CA – On July 6, 2024, a team from the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT) embarked on a research field trip to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), one of the world's preeminent hubs for quantum science research. This visit, part of an ongoing collaboration between the two world-leading institutions, was a crucial exercise in bridging the gap between the deeply technical world of quantum research and the complex legal, ethical, and societal frameworks required to govern it. The delegation, consisting of RQT Founding Director Mauritz Kop, RQT Fellow Jin-Hee Lee, and Research Assistant to the Director Katie Liu, traveled from Stanford to the heart of Southern California to engage directly with the scientists and engineers who are building the future of quantum. The visit was hosted by RQT Fellow Franz Pfanner, a PhD candidate at Caltech, and focused on the groundbreaking work being done at Caltech's Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM).

The day was dedicated to exploring the groundbreaking work being done at Caltech's Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), a flagship research center led by Professor Manuel Endres, within the university's prestigious Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy. This visit underscores the RQT Center's commitment to fostering a deeply interdisciplinary dialogue, ensuring that the development of responsible quantum governance is informed by a hands-on understanding of the technology itself.

The Epicenter of Quantum Innovation: Caltech's IQIM

Caltech stands as a global powerhouse in quantum research, and at its core is the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM). Under the leadership of Professor Manuel Endres, IQIM is dedicated to exploring the frontiers of quantum science, from the fundamental physics of quantum information to the development of novel quantum materials and devices. The institute's work is organized around several Major Activities (MAs), each tackling a different facet of the quantum puzzle.

Bridging Quantum Theory and Society: The Stanford RQT Projects

The visit to Caltech provided a rich technical context for the work being done by the Stanford RQT team, whose projects are focused on the human and societal dimensions of this emerging technological revolution.

Jin-Hee Lee, an RQT Fellow, is pioneering research in the nascent field of Quantum Human-Computer Interaction (Q-HCI). Her project addresses a critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of the quantum future: how will humans interact with these powerful and counterintuitive machines? As quantum computers move beyond the binary logic of classical computing and into the probabilistic realm of qubits and superposition, the interfaces through which we engage with them must be completely re-imagined. Jin-Hee's work, guided by the ELSPI (Ethical, Legal, Social, and Policy Implications) framework, aims to ensure that these interfaces are not only functional but also accessible, intuitive, and ethically designed, preventing the creation of a new digital divide and keeping humanity at the center of the quantum age.

Katie Liu, a Research Assistant at the RQT Center, is focusing on the intersection of quantum technology and neuroscience. Her project, "Responsible Quantum AI in Healthcare – Neurotechnology and Beyond," explores the transformative potential of quantum AI (QAI) to enhance diagnostics and treatments for complex neurological conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Using the SEA (Safeguarding, Engaging, Advancing) principles as her guide, Katie is investigating how quantum algorithms can analyze the vast datasets generated by neuroimaging and real-time brain monitoring to create personalized treatment plans. Her research also addresses the profound ethical challenges of this work, from ensuring patient data privacy through quantum-resistant encryption to mitigating the dual-use risks of advanced neurotechnology.

A Cross-pollination of Disciplines and a Moment of Reflection

Following the intellectually stimulating day at Caltech, the Stanford delegation visited The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, taking time to reflect in the serene beauty of the Chinese Garden. The garden, with its intricate design and harmonious balance of natural and man-made elements, served as a powerful metaphor for the work ahead: building a responsible quantum future requires a similar blend of technical ingenuity, ethical foresight, and a deep appreciation for the human values we seek to preserve and enhance.

The journey to a quantum-enabled world is just beginning. But as the collaboration between institutions like Stanford and Caltech demonstrates, by working together across disciplines, we can ensure that this powerful new chapter in human history is written not with reckless abandon, but with wisdom, responsibility, and a shared commitment to the common good.

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Mauritz Kop Keynote Speaker at Quantum Governance Workshop at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Phoenix, Arizona—On May 15, 2024, the Center for Law, Science & Innovation at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law hosted a timely Workshop on Quantum Governance, bringing together a diverse group of experts to chart a course for the responsible development of quantum technologies. Mauritz Kop, Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology, delivered the keynote address, setting the tone for a day of critical and forward-looking discussions.

Hosted at ASU's Beus Center for Law and Society in beautiful Phoenix, the workshop provided an ideal academic setting for this crucial conversation. ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is renowned for its focus on the intersection of law, science, and innovation, making it a natural hub for exploring thecomplex governance challenges presented by quantum's second revolution.

Kop's Keynote: Towards Responsible Quantum Technology Governance

In his keynote address, Mauritz Kop presented a comprehensive vision for establishing robust governance frameworks before quantum technology becomes widely integrated into society. He argued that the world must proactively prevent the missteps seen in the governance of previous transformative technologies like artificial intelligence, genetics, and nuclear power.

Kop's talk, "Towards Responsible Quantum Technology Governance," articulated the profound dual-use nature of the field. He detailed the immense potential benefits, from enhancing medical imaging and accelerating drug discovery to mitigating climate change and improving macroeconomic policy-making. Simultaneously, he outlined the significant risks, including the "Q-Day" threat to global cybersecurity, the potential for a new quantum arms race, and the dangers of misuse by authoritarian regimes for mass surveillance.

Learning from AI, Biosciences, and Nanotech

A core theme of the workshop, championed by host Professor Gary Marchant, was the importance of drawing lessons from the governance of prior technological waves. Professor Marchant, a leading scholar in the governance of emerging technologies, and other speakers presented valuable analyses of the successes and failures in regulating fields like biotechnology, nanotechnology, and AI.

A Synergy of Interdisciplinary Expertise

The workshop's strength lay in its rich diversity of speakers. The agenda featured experts from law, computer science, government, and industry, ensuring a holistic and multifaceted discussion. Presentations from Kaniah Konkoly-Thege of Quantinuum on regulatory developments, Jeffery Atik of Loyola Law School on antitrust implications, Royal "Aubrey" Davis of the United States Air Force Academy on historical approaches to transformative technologies, and Megan Wagner & Sarah Wastek from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law on Governance Lessons from Nanotechnology, among others, created a vibrant intellectual exchange. This collaborative environment is essential for developing governance solutions that are not only technically sound but also legally robust and ethically grounded.

A Lasting Contribution: The Workshop Paper

A significant outcome of this collaborative event is the group-authored paper, "Learning From Emerging Technology Governance for Guiding Quantum Technology," which is available on SSRN here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4923230. The paper synthesizes the insights and discussions from the workshop, providing a comprehensive roadmap for policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers. It serves as a durable and influential contribution to the global dialogue on quantum governance, outlining actionable strategies for fostering innovation while ensuring safety, equity, and accountability.

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Hoover Institution Invites Mauritz Kop to Speak on Quantum, Democracy and Authoriarianism

Professor Mauritz Kop Addresses Quantum Technology's Role in the Era of Digital Repression at Hoover Institution Workshop

Palo Alto, CA – April 22, 2024 – Professor Mauritz Kop, Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT), delivered insightful opening remarks at a breakout session on Quantum Technology as part of the two-day closed door workshop, "Getting Ahead of Digital Repression: Authoritarian Innovation and Democratic Response." The workshop, held on April 22-23, 2024, at Hoover Institution, Stanford University, was a collaborative effort by the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies, Stanford University’s Global Digital Policy Incubator, and the Hoover Institution’s China’s Global Sharp Power Project.

The event convened leading researchers and advocates to map how digital authoritarians are innovating globally and to identify new strategies for ongoing knowledge-sharing and cooperation to confront this deepening challenge. The agenda focused on understanding how autocrats leverage emerging technologies—from AI and digital currencies to quantum technology—for social control, censorship, and to export their governance models.

Guardrails Against Digital Authoritarianism

Professor Kop's address served as a crucial discussion starter for the breakout session, which aimed to brainstorm how advances in quantum technology might alter the dynamics of the struggle against digital authoritarianism and to explore potential guardrails. His remarks underscored the profound societal impact of quantum technologies and the imperative for proactive, principles-based governance to ensure they are developed and deployed responsibly, safeguarding human rights and democratic values on a global scale.

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IOP Quantum Science and Technology publishes Ten Principles for Responsible Quantum Innovation

Stanford, April 22, 2024—The leading peer-reviewed journal Quantum Science and Technology has published the open-access article, "Ten Principles for Responsible Quantum Innovation," a significant paper that offers actionable guidance for the ethical development of quantum technologies. The publication is the result of a two-year, deeply interdisciplinary study by a transatlantic group of leading scholars and represents a major step forward in operationalizing a framework for responsible quantum innovation.

This work builds upon the foundational research of the group, including the "Towards Responsible Quantum Technology" paper published by the Harvard Berkman Klein Center, and will be central to the mission of the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology.

A Global, Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The paper is a testament to the power of global, interdisciplinary collaboration. Authored by a spectacular team of leading lights in law, philosophy & ethics, socioeconomics, data science, quantum physics, materials science & engineering, and innovation policy, the study brings together a wealth of expertise from the world's most prestigious academic institutions.

The author group, led by Mauritz Kop of Stanford University, includes Mateo Aboy (University of Cambridge), Eline De Jong (University of Amsterdam), Urs Gasser (Technical University of Munich), Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen), I. Glenn Cohen (Harvard University), Mark Brongersma (Stanford University), Teresa Quintel (Maastricht University), Luciano Floridi (University of Oxford and Yale University), and Raymond Laflamme (University of Waterloo). This formidable team provides a holistic and robust foundation for the quantum governance principles outlined in the paper.

A Framework for Responsible Quantum Innovation

The paper's central contribution is a set of ten guiding principles designed to operationalize a framework for Responsible Quantum Technology (RQT). This framework seeks to integrate considerations of the Ethical, Legal, Social, and Policy Implications (ELSPI) of quantum technologies directly into the research and development lifecycle, while also responding to the core dimensions of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI): anticipation, inclusion, reflection, and responsiveness.

The principles are organized into three functional categories, termed the SEA framework, which provides a methodological guide for the quantum community:

  • Safeguarding: This pillar focuses on the proactive identification and mitigation of risks associated with quantum technologies.

  • Engaging: This principle emphasizes the critical need for inclusive and continuous dialogue among all stakeholders, from researchers and industry to policymakers and the public.

  • Advancing: This pillar is dedicated to ensuring that quantum technology is actively steered towards desirable societal outcomes and contributes to addressing the world's most pressing challenges.

The Ten Principles for Responsible Quantum Innovation

The Ten Principles paper proposes the following ten actionable principles to help address the risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with the entire suite of second-generation quantum technologies:

  1. Information Security: Make information security an integral part of QT, proactively addressing security threats, including the risk quantum computers pose to current encryption standards.

  2. Dual Use: Proactively anticipate the malicious use of quantum applications by addressing the risks of dual-use technologies that can be employed for both beneficial and harmful purposes.

  3. Quantum Race: Seek international collaboration based on shared values to address the winner-takes-all dynamics of a potential quantum arms race.

  4. Quantum Gap: Consider our planet as the sociotechnical environment in which QT should function, engaging states to ensure equitable access and prevent a "quantum divide."

  5. Intellectual Property: Incentivize innovation while being as open as possible and as closed as necessary, engaging institutions to find the right balance between protecting intellectual property and fostering an open research environment.

  6. Inclusion: Pursue diverse R&D communities in terms of disciplines and people, engaging a wide range of voices to ensure a holistic approach to innovation.

  7. Societal Relevance: Link quantum R&D explicitly to desirable societal goals, advancing society by focusing on applications that address pressing needs.

  8. Complementary Innovation: Actively stimulate sustainable, cross-disciplinary innovation, advancing technology by exploring synergies with other fields like AI and biotechnology.

  9. Responsibility: Create an ecosystem to learn about the possible uses and consequences of QT applications, advancing our understanding of Responsible QT through continuous feedback and assessment.

  10. Education and Dialogue: Facilitate dialogues with stakeholders to better envision possible quantum futures, advancing our collective thinking and education about QT and its impact.

A Catalyst for a Values-Based Quantum Future

The overarching objective of this interdisciplinary effort is to steer the development and use of quantum technology in a direction that is not only consistent with a values-based society but also actively contributes to solving its most significant challenges. The "Ten Principles for Responsible Quantum Innovation" provides a crucial foundation for this work.

The paper is a call to action for the entire quantum community—researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and the public—to engage in the vital work of building a responsible quantum ecosystem. As the authors conclude, the goal is to develop and operationalize these guiding principles into the best practices and real-world applications that will define the quantum future. The annual Stanford RQT Conference, among other initiatives, will continue to provide a forum for these critical, interdisciplinary discussions.

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