Why Quantum Computing Is Even More Dangerous Than Artificial Intelligence (Foreign Policy)

Washington DC, August 21, 2022. Foreign Policy just published an article about regulating quantum technology authored by Vivek Wadhwa and Mauritz Kop. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/21/quantum-computing-artificial-intelligence-ai-technology-regulation/

United States and other democratic nations must prepare for tomorrow's quantum era today

To avoid the ethical problems that went so horribly wrong with AI and machine learning, democratic nations need to institute controls that both correspond to the predicted power of the emerging suite of second generation quantum technologies, and respect & reinforce democratic values, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. In fact, the quantum community itself has issued a call for action to immediately address these matters. We argue that governments must urgently begin to think about regulation, standards, and responsible use—and learn from the way countries handled or mishandled other revolutionary technologies, including AI, nanotechnology, biotechnology, semiconductors, and nuclear fission. Benefits and increased quantum driven prosperity should be equitably shared among members of society, and risks equally distributed. The United States and other democratic nations must not make the same mistake they made with AI—and prepare for tomorrow's quantum era today.

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Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Geopolitics, Foreign Policy, GuardrailsMauritz Kop21 augustus 2022Quantum Governance, AI-Regulation, geopolitics

Mauritz Kop Presents Oxford JIPLP Article on Quantum Computing, IP and Market Power at IPSC 2022, Stanford Law School

IPSC 2022 at Stanford: at the first in-person Intellectual Property Scholars Conference after two virtual years (August 11–12, 2022), Mauritz Kop presented his Oxford JIPLP article Intellectual property in quantum computing and market power: a theoretical discussion and empirical analysis, co-authored with Mateo Aboy and Timo Minssen.

When IP stops doing its job

The theory: intellectual property exists to incentivize innovation, but excessive proliferation of exclusive rights over a foundational technology produces anticommons effects — overlapping thickets that raise transaction costs, deter follow-on research and concentrate first-mover market power. Quantum computing, built on decades of publicly funded science, is exactly where that risk bites hardest.

The patent data behind the argument

The empirics: the article analyzes the quantum-computing patent landscape — who files, where portfolios cluster, and what that implies for market structure in a field whose hardware, algorithms and error-correction methods may all carry exclusive rights. Theory says when proliferation harms innovation; the data say where quantum technology stands today.

A transatlantic collaboration, a Stanford homecoming

Kop, Aboy and Minssen connect European and American IP scholarship on quantum computing; for Kop the venue completed a circle, having spent early 2022 as visiting scholar at Stanford Law School. The presentation put the market-power findings before the scholars best placed to attack the methodology — which is what the IPSC works-in-progress format exists to do. And after two virtual editions, the 22nd IPSC's return to a physical Stanford conference room restored the corridor conversations that turn a panel question into a coauthorship.

Standards: the other half of ownership

Beyond patents, quantum interoperability standards will run on disclosure and licensing commitments from the very portfolio holders the article tracks. Whether those commitments are negotiated early, FRAND-style, or after positions harden will shape access to the technology as surely as any patent dispute — and the article's empirical map is groundwork for getting that negotiation right.

Third station of a research arc

From AI's data inputs (IPSC 2020) via waive-or-pledge quantum IP (IPSC 2021) to ownership structure and market power (2022): the sequence tracks a research line moving from machine learning's raw material to quantum computing's ownership structure, each stage workshopped in public before publication. That line later grew into an institutional one — see Stanford University launches the Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology. If early patent concentration hardens into durable market power, access to the field's foundational capabilities narrows before the technology matures; making that risk empirically discussable, rather than rhetorical, is the article's lasting contribution.

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Intellectual Property, Academics, ConferenceHenry Quentir12 augustus 2022IPSC, Stanford Law School, quantum computing, intellectual property, market power, JIPLP

Intellectual Property in Quantum Computing and Market Power: A Theoretical Discussion and Empirical Analysis (Oxford University Press)

Delighted to see our article ‘Intellectual Property in Quantum Computing and Market Power: A Theoretical Discussion and Empirical Analysis’ -co-authored with my talented friends Prof. Mateo Aboy, PhD, SJD, FIT and Prof. Timo Minssen- published in the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (Oxford University Press), the flagship IP peer-reviewed OUP Journal, edited by Prof. Eleonora Rosati. Thanks to the JIPLP team for excellent editorial support! Our article: https://academic.oup.com/jiplp/article/17/8/613/6646536

This piece is the sisterpaper of our Max Planck @ Springer Nature published article titled ‘Mapping the Patent Landscape of Quantum Technologies: Patenting Trends, Innovation and Policy Implications’, which we wrote in parallel. The IIC quantum-patent study can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40319-022-01209-3. Our teamwork was absolutely gratifying and we hope it will inform strategic, evidence based transatlantic policy making.

IP and Antitrust Law

Please find a short synopsis of our work below:

We are on the verge of a technological revolution associated with quantum technologies, including quantum computing and quantum/artificial intelligence hybrids. Its complexity and global significance are creating potential innovation distortions, which could not have been foreseen when current IP and antitrust systems where developed.

Potential IP Overprotection

Using quantitative methods, we investigated our hypothesis that IP overprotection requires a reform of existing IP regimes for quantum tech, to avoid or repair IP thickets, fragmented exclusionary rights and anticommons concerns, lost opportunity costs, and an unwanted concentration of market power.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, we found that there appear to be (at least so far) no such overprotection problems in the real-world quantum computing field to the extent that their consequences would hinder exponential innovation in this specific branch of applied quantum technology, as more and more quantum patent information enters the public domain.

Patents versus Trade Secrets and State Secrets

However, developments taking place in secrecy, either by trade secrets or state secrets, remains the Achilles heel of our empirical approach, as information about these innovations is not represented by our dataset, and thus cannot be observed, replicated or generalized.

Interplay between IP and Antitrust Law: Open or Closed Innovation Systems

Policy makers should urgently answer questions regarding pushing for open or closed innovation systems including the interplay between IP and antitrust law, taking into account dilemma’s pertaining to equal/equitable access to benefits, risk control, ethics, and overall societal impact. Crucially, intellectual property in quantum technology has a national safety and (cyber)security dimension, often beyond the IP toolkit.

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Artificial Intelligence, Data processing, Intellectual Property, Antitrust, Competition Law, Empirical researchMauritz Kop19 juli 2022AI, Intellectueel Eigendom, Data, Antitrust, fair competition

Morning Brew and Dark Reading Interview Mauritz Kop on Quantum Ethics and the EU AI Act

Within the same fortnight in June 2022, two technology outlets sought out Mauritz Kop on the two governance questions that run through his scholarship: the ethics of quantum computing, and Europe's proposed AI Act. Emerging Tech Brew, Morning Brew's technology vertical, featured him in "As quantum computing advances, who's thinking about ethics?"; Dark Reading featured him in "EU Debates AI Act to Protect Human Rights, Define High-Risk Uses." In both, Kop is identified as a Transatlantic Technology Law Forum fellow at Stanford University and a strategic intellectual property lawyer at AIRecht.

Quantum ethics: act before the technology locks in

To Emerging Tech Brew, Kop's central message was about timing. "We were obviously too late for AI, and now, [for quantum computing], we still have the chance to be in time before the technology gets locked in," he said—invoking the Collingridge dilemma, in which a technology is easiest to steer precisely when its risks are hardest to see. The urgency is rooted in physics: superposition and entanglement give quantum machines a categorically different kind of power, including the eventual ability to break the public-key cryptography that protects today's communications—one reason the World Economic Forum's quantum governance principles name "non-maleficence" as a core value. Kop paired a call for transparency about present capability with a warning about a "Pandora's Box of unknown risks," and likened the field's duty of care to the Hippocratic Oath—"in this case, our society is the patient."

The EU AI Act: a product-safety regime for AI

To Dark Reading, Kop framed the EU AI Act as a product-safety regime that closes the gaps left by an otherwise unregulated field. "The risks are too high for nonbinding self-regulation by companies alone," he said, describing the act as "a human centric legal-ethical framework that intends to safeguard and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms from violations of these rights and freedoms by algorithms and smart machines." High-risk classification, he explained, scales obligations to danger—stricter rules for AI in healthcare and defense than for AI in tourism—through a dynamic, evolving list.

One conviction, two technologies

Both interviews express a single idea: that governance works best when embedded early, by design, and grounded in human rights rather than retrofitted after harm. Kop did not minimize the compliance burden on startups, nor the legal uncertainty that surrounds early regulation; his answer is "Trustworthy AI by Design," built in from the first line of code, and regulatory sandboxes that give responsible innovation room to breathe. More on the author's work is available via his scholar profile.

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Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Quantum TechnologyMauritz Kop21 juni 2022Mauritz Kop, Ethics, AI, Regulation, Policy, Human Rights, Quantum Governance, EU AI Act, Quantum Ethics, Morning Brew, Dark Reading, Collingridge dilemma, High-Risk AI, Product Safety

Mauritz Kop calls for a Quantum Governance Act at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law

Much enjoyed giving a lecture titled ‘Quantum-ELSPI: A Call for a Quantum Governance Act’ on Thursday June 9, 2022 at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law. This was an internal CeBiL event that took place before The Quantum Future symposium, organized by the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and its newly established Committee for Quantum Information and Quantum Computing, together with the Niels Bohr Institute’s Quantum Life Centre.

EU Quantum Governance Act

With its own Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics in which physical phenomena must be observed and measured to exist, the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law was the perfect place to propose an outline for a novel Quantum Governance Act on a European level, fostering open innovation while putting targeted, technology and industry specific risk based controls in place. The EU Quantum Act should jointly optimize advancing quantum technology (investment and innovation) with safeguaring quantum technology, society and humankind (guardrails, standards, values, IP protection and national security). For example, it could contain a product safety regime as found in the EU AI Act, combined with pro-innovation mechanisms as found in the US CHIPS Act. In addition, I connected regulating quantum to regulating general purpose technologies (GPT) like artificial intelligence (AI), but also to nanotechnology, biotechnology, semiconductors, and last not least to managing dual use fissionable materials such as nuclear isotopes and nuclear weapons, utilizing export and intellectual property controls.

The Law of Quantum: Quantum Regulatory Frameworks

The Quantum & Law lecture gave an overview of work done over the past 3 years on quantum regulatory frameworks, incentive and rewards systems, competition law, beyond intellectual property innovation law, ethics, national security policy, standardization, technology impact assessment, benchmarking and certification published or forthcoming in high impact journals at both sides of the Atlantic. My talk ended with discussing the latest research findings pertaining to the Law of Quantum, and Quantum-ELSPI academic disciplines. Thanks to the participants for their inspiring questions and comments!

Panel Debate about the Quantum Future at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences

The brilliant lectures on atoms, photons, qubits, the nature of quantum information, the history of quantum physics, and current research into quantum computer paradigms -including combatting decoherence on both software and hardware levels- at The Quantum Future symposium where highly enjoyable. This fascinating program ended with a panel debate on how quantum technology will change our society, at the beautiful building of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences, in attendance of fellow jurists Nicholson Price II, Louise C. Druedahl, Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, and Agnieszka Radziwon.

Surfing the Waves of the Second Quantum Revolution

The panel debate at the Academy -superbly moderated by Nanna Bonde Thylstrup- gave a true, almost symptomatic picture of the various stakeholders' viewpoints and positions. But we are learning to speak each other's language better and better, a crucial and exciting step when it comes to balancing the societal impact of our mystical family of quantum technologies. Surfing the waves of the second quantum revolution requires building bridges between disciplines, beyond traditional research silos. Bringing together the humanities, social and natural sciences to spur sustainable innovation driven by a golden triangle of academia, government and industry is essential.

Thank you to Professor Timo Minssen and his team at CeBiL for the kind invite. https://jura.ku.dk/cebil/

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Mauritz Kop joins Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)

Mauritz Kop joins the multidisciplinary Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) over 2022-2023, chaired by Professor Raymond Laflamme. In November 2023, The Expert Panel on the Responsible Adoption of Quantum Technologies published their final report titled Quantum Potential. https://cca-reports.ca/reports/quantum-technologies/

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) Investigates Future Impact of Quantum Technologies

As Chair, Dr. Raymond Laflamme will lead a multidisciplinary group with expertise in quantum technologies, economics, innovation, ethics, and legal and regulatory frameworks. The Panel will answer the following question:

In light of current trends affecting the evolution of quantum technologies, what opportunities and challenges do these present in Canada?

The Quantum Potential Report

Quantum technologies are poised to play a major role in Canada’s future, from its national security to its economic standing. While Canada is among the global leaders in quantum research, it nevertheless faces challenges in the adoption of these technologies as they approach market readiness. Quantum Potential, a new expert panel report from the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), outlines a responsible approach to quantum-technology adoption — a critical step toward ensuring Canada’s global competitiveness in the decades ahead.

Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Communications

Quantum Potential considers quantum computing, sensing, and communications, three categories of quantum technology at varying levels of maturity. While these technologies may strengthen digital infrastructure, improve data security, and optimize processes across a range of economic sectors, they also pose significant risks, such as misuse by malicious actors. Risks associated with quantum technologies span ethical, legal, social, and policy realms; without sufficient consideration, they may compromise public trust in quantum technologies, limit research funding, and stifle innovation.

The Commercialization Potential of Quantum Technologies in Canada

Quantum Potential explores the commercialization potential of quantum technologies, articulates Canada’s position within the global quantum value chain, and examines those conditions and policy levers that might promote their responsible adoption. https://cca-reports.ca/reports/quantum-technologies/

Quantum technologies offer opportunities to harness the properties of quantum mechanics for a breadth of applications, many of them novel. Though many quantum technologies are several years away from reaching market, it is believed that they have the potential to revolutionize many industries as they reach widespread commercial availability. Domestic industries will need to adopt these technologies if they wish to remain globally competitive, as will governments hoping to ensure national and economic security, public safety, and the integrity of critical infrastructure. To date, Canada has made noteworthy investments in the research and development of quantum technologies but has focused less on mechanisms to stimulate their diffusion and adoption.

Ethical, Legal, Social, and Policy Implications (Quantum-ELSPI)

The adoption of quantum technologies also carries significant ethical, legal, social, and policy implications. These include potential threats to data security and digital infrastructure, anticompetitive pressures by market-dominant firms, mass surveillance and privacy loss, regulatory uncertainty, inequitable access to technology, and social challenges related to employment and public trust in science. However, there are many strategies that could help address these challenges and stimulate the responsible adoption of quantum technologies. These include public-private co-operation, pro-competition oversight and policies, industry-led initiatives, and the creation of a diverse quantum workforce. In order to maximize the benefits of quantum technologies while mitigating potential risks, responsible approaches to adoption should use state-sanctioned and self-regulating measures – including quantum impact assessments, soft-law mechanisms, and consultations with stakeholders – to anticipate the effects of technological change.

Thanks to the sponsors National Research Council Canada and Innovation; Science and Economic Development Canada for facilitating this Report.

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Quantum Technology, Quantum ELSPI, Quantum ComputingMauritz Kop26 mei 2022responsible quantum technology, Canada, Mauritz Kop, strategy, policy, law, ethics, regulation, Raymond Laflamme, Intellectual Property Law, Governance, innovation, fair competition

IBM Invites Mauritz Kop for Lecture on Quantum Ethics

New York, May 17, 2022—The development of quantum technology represents a significant advance in computational capability, with the potential to reshape industries, accelerate scientific discovery, and address complex problems. As with other transformative technologies, its power introduces a range of responsibilities. The relevant questions are not only about the technical capabilities of quantum mechanics, but also about the appropriate uses of the technology.

Reflecting this, IBM, a leading company in the quantum field, convened a seminar on May 17, 2022, for its New York and San Francisco teams to focus on the legal and ethical dimensions of this emerging field. The invited speaker for the event was Mauritz Kop, a visiting scholar at Stanford Law School, who presented his work on establishing a governance framework for quantum technologies to an audience of researchers, engineers, and policymakers.

The event was part of IBM's Tech for Justice initiative, a cross-divisional program dedicated to using technology to address systemic biases and advance social equity. Situating the conversation about quantum ethics within this framework indicates an understanding that principles of fairness, accountability, and transparency should be integrated into new technologies from an early stage.

The session was hosted by Dr. Aminat Adebiyi, a Research Staff Member, Experimentalist, and Maker at IBM, and moderated by Dr. Mira Wolf-Bauwens. Kop's collaboration with Wolf-Bauwens includes their shared work on the World Economic Forum's foundational principles for quantum computing, a project that highlights the role of multi-stakeholder cooperation in this area.

The Quantum Vanguard: IBM's Technological Position

To understand the context of the ethical discussion, it is useful to consider the technological landscape. IBM Quantum is one of the leading organizations in quantum computing and has achieved notable milestones in the field. Central to its strategy is the development of universal fault-tolerant quantum computers based on superconducting transmon qubits. This approach, which involves creating and manipulating quantum states in circuits cooled to cryogenic temperatures, has enabled IBM to build increasingly powerful and stable quantum processors.

Charting a Course for Responsible Quantum Development: A Summary of the Lecture

The material presented in the lecture builds upon a body of foundational research by Kop. His work in the Yale Journal of Law & Technology first proposed a comprehensive legal-ethical framework and a set of ten guiding principles for quantum technology. In the Stanford Law School Transatlantic Technology Law Forum, he explored the crucial roles of intellectual property and standardization in fostering sustainable innovation. Furthermore, in Physics World, published by the Institute of Physics, he articulated the necessity of a dedicated field of "quantum ethics," urging the physics community to engage directly with the social and moral implications of their work. Lastly, together with Luciano Floridi at Oxford, Kop conceptualized the Quantum-ELSPI framework as the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of the suite of quantum technologies. The lecture for IBM synthesized and advanced these core themes.

Kop's lecture, "Legal and Ethical Guidelines for Quantum Technologies," was structured around the thesis that there is a timely opportunity to establish governance for quantum technology. In contrast to the development of the internet or artificial intelligence, where regulation often followed widespread adoption, it is possible to proactively embed democratic values and human rights principles into the architecture of quantum systems.

Interactive Discussion and Call to Action

The lecture was followed by an engaging Q&A session that highlighted the deep commitment of the IBM technical community to responsible innovation. The questions posed by participants explored the practical challenges and nuances of implementing ethical frameworks. Key themes of the discussion included the tangible impact of tech regulation to date, the specific processes needed to assess quantum's potential societal effects, and the distinct yet complementary roles of government and private enterprise in setting and adhering to standards.

Participants were keen to understand how a framework could effectively infuse 'humanism' into every aspect of technology development and how regulation could be used proactively to shape an emerging field for the better. The dialogue also addressed the most significant challenges facing quantum regulation specifically and the strategies required to overcome them.

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Montreal World Summit AI 2022 Features Mauritz Kop Keynote on EU AI Act

Montreal, Canada – May 4, 2022 – Today, at the prestigious World Summit AI Americas held at the Palais des congrès, Mauritz Kop, TTLF Fellow at Stanford Law School and Director of AIRecht, provided a concise overview of the proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act. He was a featured panellist in a critical discussion titled, "Does the proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act provide a regulatory framework for AI that should be adopted globally?". The summit, themed "AI with impact: for crisis response and business continuity and recovery," brings together leading AI brains and enterprise leaders.

Mr. Kop joined fellow distinguished panellists Professor Gillian Hadfield from the University of Toronto and José-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University and former NSCAI Commissioner. The session was moderated by Meredith Broadbent, Former Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and Senior Adviser at CSIS.

Novel Legal Framework for AI

During the panel, Mr. Kop outlined the main points of the novel legal framework for AI presented by the European Commission on April 21, 2021. He explained that the EU AI Act sets out horizontal rules applicable to all industries for the development, commodification, and use of AI-driven products, services, and systems within the EU's territory.

A core component of the Act is its sophisticated ‘product safety framework’, which is constructed around four distinct risk categories in a "pyramid of criticality". This risk-based approach dictates that AI applications with unacceptable risks are banned, while lighter legal regimes apply to low-risk applications. As the risk level increases, so do the stringency of the rules, ranging from non-binding self-regulation and impact assessments for lower-risk systems to potentially heavy, externally audited compliance requirements throughout the lifecycle of high-risk AI systems.

EU "Trustworthy AI" Paradigm

Mr. Kop emphasized that the Act aims to codify the high standards of the EU’s "trustworthy AI" paradigm, which mandates that AI systems must be legal, ethical, and technically robust, all while respecting democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law. A crucial aspect highlighted was the requirement for market entrance and certification of High-Risk AI Systems through a mandatory CE-marking procedure. This pre-market conformity regime also extends to the machine learning training, testing, and validation datasets used by these systems. Only after a declaration of conformity is signed and the CE marking is affixed can these high-risk systems enter and be traded on the European markets.

Enforcement will be managed by a new Union-level body, the European Artificial Intelligence Board (EAIB), supported by national supervisors in each Member State, similar to the GDPR's oversight structure. Mr. Kop noted the seriousness of non-compliance, with potential fines reaching up to 6% of a company's global turnover.

Balancing regulation with innovation, the EU AI Act also introduces legal sandboxes. These are designed to provide AI developers with "breathing room" to test new inventions and foster a flourishing AI ecosystem in Europe.

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Artificial Intelligence, ConferenceMauritz Kop4 mei 2022World Summit AI, EU AI Act, Mauritz Kop, Gillian Hadfield, José-Marie Griffiths, Meredith Broadbent, Sarah Porter

Mauritz Kop and Mateo Aboy Present QT and Law Research at Lund Quantum Conference

When Lund University convened The Quantum Law Conference in late April 2022, the legal scholarship on quantum computing was still in its infancy. Organized by Valentin Jeutner under the WASP-HS-funded Quantum Law Project, the gathering—formally titled The Legal Dimensions of Quantum Computing—gave an early home to a question that has only grown more urgent: whether intellectual property law is fit for the quantum age. Mauritz Kop, then a TTLF Fellow at Stanford Law School, and Mateo Aboy, Principal Research Scholar at the University of Cambridge, brought a distinctive answer—one built on data rather than intuition.

Theory meets the patent record

Kop's theoretical contribution warned of IP overprotection: a "rainbow" of overlapping rights that could entrench first movers and concentrate market power in a young field. Rather than rest on the argument, the team tested it. Aboy led a patent-landscape study of the quantum computing subfield, asking whether feared "thicket" and "anticommons" effects were actually appearing. The pairing of a normative framework with empirical patent analysis is what made the Lund presentation unusual—and useful to policymakers who need evidence, not assertion.

A counter-intuitive result

The data pointed the other way. The patent system in quantum computing was not, at that stage, generating innovation-choking overprotection; instead, a growing share of quantum patent information was entering the publicly available disclosure record through lapsed and non-granted filings, forming an expanding information commons. The important caveat was secrecy: trade secrets and state secrets ordinarily do not appear in patent datasets, so quantitative mapping must always be read alongside qualitative analysis. The conclusion was measured—IP law works best in concert with competition law, steering between under- and overprotection.

From a conference room toward the journals

The work is not staying in Lund. The theoretical and market-power strand is forthcoming as a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (Oxford University Press), and the companion patent-landscape study is forthcoming in IIC – International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (Springer), with a transatlantic author team spanning Stanford, Cambridge, and CeBIL at the University of Copenhagen. Together they promise one of the earliest evidence-based treatments of quantum-IP policy. It is a quieter companion to Kop's better-known warning that quantum computing carries risks that rival those of artificial intelligence: here the concern is not catastrophe but market structure—who gets to build on quantum technology, and on what terms. The answer the Lund research offers is calibration, not maximalism: predictability enough to attract investment, openness enough to keep the field competitive.

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Intellectual Property, Quantum Technology, AcademicsMauritz Kop2 mei 2022Mauritz Kop, Quantum Governance, Quantum Technology, Intellectual Property, Patents, Mateo Aboy, Timo Minssen, Lund University, Conference, Competition Law, JIPLP, IIC

Scarcity, Regulation, and the Abundance Society Roundtable at Stanford Law

In 2022, Mauritz Kop had the honor of contributing a chapter to the book project "Scarcity, Regulation, and the Abundance Society," a special volume of Frontiers in Research edited by two leading minds in technology law, Professor Mark Lemley of Stanford Law School and Professor Deven Desai of Georgia Institute of Technology. The project culminates years of research and dialogue, including a memorable and insightful roundtable held at Stanford Law School.

The central inquiry of the project is to explore how our legal and economic institutions, which are fundamentally built on scarcity, should respond as "technologies of abundance" make scarcity a thing of the past in many industries. As new technologies like AI, 3D printing, and synthetic biology democratize and disrupt production, the book examines whether we will try to legally replicate scarcity or reorder our society to focus on things other than scarcity.

The "Abundance and Equality" Chapter Edited by Mark Lemley

His chapter, titled "Abundance and Equality," was edited by Mark Lemley and connects the concepts of good governance and the end of scarcity by unifying equality with technology-driven abundance. The piece introduces the Equal Relative Abundance (ERA) principle—a post-Rawlsian framework for distributive justice designed for an age of abundance.

The ERA principle builds on John Rawls's "difference principle" but integrates desert-based critique, arguing that unequal rewards for contributions (due to hard work, talent, or entrepreneurial spirit) are justified only to the extent that they also improve the position of the least advantaged members of society. The chapter examines how ten key exponential technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—including AI, quantum technology, and biotechnology—are the primary drivers of this shift from scarcity to abundance. It critically analyzes our existing scarcity-based institutions, particularly property and intellectual property law, and posits that we must begin experimenting with hybrid systems that mix the best of forward-thinking socialist and ethical post-capitalist paradigms, built on a foundation of participatory democracy.

Mauritz Kop Presents Book Chapter at 2022 Stanford Law’s Abundance Roundtable

On April 22, 2022, the project's contributors gathered for a roundtable workshop at Stanford Law School. The event provided a forum for a deeply interdisciplinary group of scholars to present their work and engage in a robust dialogue about the future of our society. The format consisted of short 8-10 minute presentations followed by 20 minutes of discussion, fostering a rich exchange of ideas.

A Convergence of Post-Scarcity Presentations and Discussions

During his session, Kop presented the core arguments from his "Abundance and Equality" chapter, outlining the tension between technology-driven abundance and the persistent reality of inequality for many across the globe. He introduced the ERA principle as a moral and political guide for distributing the benefits and burdens of our increasingly abundant future.

The roundtable featured a breadth of perspectives. Vivek Wadhwa discussed solving humanity's grand challenges, while Funmi Arewa explored the scarcity of opportunity within the digital economy. Zahr Said and Joshua Fairfield tackled the creation of artificial scarcity through intellectual property and the legal status of virtual property in the age of NFTs, respectively. Shane Greenstein of Harvard Business School offered insights on supply chains and the platformization of clothing personalization. This convergence of ideas underscored the complexity of the transition ahead and the need for holistic solutions.

Musical Interlude: A Spontaneous Translation of Ideas

The roundtable was a stimulating intellectual affair, filled with rigorous debate. During lunch break, celebrating the occasion, Mauritz Kop sat down at the piano in the Stanford Faculty Lounge and performed a brief impromptu musical interlude. It was a personal endeavour to translate the abstract and often-dense themes of our discussion—the post-scarcity economy, abundance, equality, and the human condition—into the universal language of music. It was an opportunity for him to share that moment with his colleagues, connecting the analytical with the artistic.

The "Scarcity, Regulation, and the Abundance Society" project is a vital and timely undertaking. The discussions at the Stanford roundtable and the resulting publications provide a critical foundation for reimagining our legal, economic, and social institutions for a new era. These forward-looking conversations are essential for ensuring that the future of technological abundance is one that fosters not new forms of inequality, but greater justice and human flourishing for all.

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Academics, Conference, StanfordMauritz Kop22 april 2022Stanford, Abundance, Scarcity, Rawls, Technology, Society, Philosophy, Deven Desai, Mark Lemley, Mauritz Kop, Equal Relative Abundance (ERA) principle, Prosperity, Futurism

Mauritz Kop Lecturer AI Regulation and Intellectual Property Law at CEIPI, University of Strasbourg

Strasbourg, France – We are pleased to feature insights from a lecture on "Intellectual Property and Ownership of AI Input and Output Data" delivered by Professor Mauritz Kop at the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), University of Strasbourg. This session was part of the University Diploma in Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property.

Rights and responsibilities pertaining to AI and data

Professor Kop, a Fellow at Stanford University and a strategic IP lawyer, shared his expertise on the rights and responsibilities pertaining to AI and data, offering both theoretical perspectives and practical tips at the current state of technological and legal development. The lecture aimed to equip attendees with a bird's-eye view of the intertwined key elements of this multidimensional topic.

AI, data governance, and intellectual property law

Professor Kop's session underscored the dynamic interplay between AI advancement, data governance, and intellectual property law. It highlighted the necessity for legal professionals to be "double or triple educated" to navigate this complex field and for ongoing efforts to create legal frameworks that foster responsible innovation while addressing societal and ethical considerations.

The lecture concluded by stressing that AI literacy and awareness, continuous learning, and proactive legal strategies are essential for all stakeholders in the AI ecosystem.

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Artificial Intelligence, Data processing, Intellectual PropertyMauritz Kop17 maart 2022AI, data, Intellectual Property Law

Mauritz Kop Visiting Quantum & Law Scholar at Stanford Law School

Mauritz Kop is Visiting Quantum & Law Scholar at Stanford Law School in 2022-2023. Kop was invited by Prof. Mark Lemley, the William H. Neukom Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and the Director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology.

Advanced legal research on Regulating Quantum technology at Stanford Law School

This Stanford Law School ‘Regulating Quantum Technology’ research project will perform a detailed study of how to sensibly regulate the suite of quantum technologies including computing, sensing and networking, unifying the world of the large with that of the small. It intends to answer questions on how our innovation architecture should be constructed, so that benefits of quantum computing, sensing, simulation, and communication -including quantum-AI hybrids- will be distributed equitably, and risks proportionally addressed. Building upon foundational work done on quantum and AI innovation policy mechanisms, national security strategy, standardization & certification, ethics, responsible quantum R&D, governance principles, technology impact assessments, data ownership and intellectual property in quantum software and hardware structures - published in flagship Journals at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Physics World, Max Planck, Springer Nature, and Oxford - the transdisciplinary research aims to develop an integrated, holistic vision on smart governance and regulation of quantum & AI infused digital transformation.

Happy to speak at a number of in person events in the nexus of AI, Quantum & Law in the coming weeks:

Scarcity, Regulation and the Abundance Society Roundtable at Stanford

1. April 22, Scarcity, Regulation and the Abundance Society Roundtable at Stanford, where I will present a chapter titled ‘Abundance & Equality’ for the book project co-edited by Mark Lemley and Deven Desai. The chapter connects good governance to the end of scarcity and unifies equality with technology driven abundance, by introducing a novel Post-Rawlsian Equal Relative Abundance (ERA) principle of distributive justice. As befits tradition, we will insert musical interludes for piano, with me performing ‘Stanford Theme & Variations’ à l'improviste in the Stanford Law School Faculty Lounge. https://law.stanford.edu/publications/scarcity-regulation-and-the-abundance-society/

Patenting Quantum Computing Technologies talk at Quantum & Law Conference in Lund

2. April 29, presenting our 'Patenting Quantum Computing Technologies and Market Power: A Quantitative Analysis' research together with my academic friends Profs Mateo Aboy (Cambridge) and Timo Minssen (Copenhagen) at the Quantum & Law Conference in Lund. We wrote 2 papers focusing on IP portfolio strategies, trade & state secrets, and their interface with antitrust regulations, utilizing industry and quantum domain specific mixed theoretical & empirical research methods. http://quantum-law.org/conference/

EU AI Act Presentation at AI World Summit Americas in Montreal

3. May 4, I’ll present an overview of the EU AI Act with its ‘product safety framework’ and market entrance requirements, constructed around a set of 4 risk categories at the AI World Summit Americas in Montreal. We will discuss whether it provides a regulatory framework for AI that should be adopted globally during a Headline panel with Prof. Gillian Hadfield (Toronto) and Dr José-Marie Griffiths (President Dakota State), moderated by Meredith Broadbent (Washington). https://americas.worldsummit.ai/speakers/

Keynote Quantum Computing Ethics at IBM Research

4. May 17, I’ll give a keynote on Quantum Computing Ethics at IBM Research during their Tech for Racial and Social Justice Seminar (internal event), organized by Dr Aminat Adebiyi, moderated by Dr Mira Wolf-Bauwens, with whom I worked together on the WEF Quantum Computing Principles. https://www.weforum.org/publications/quantum-computing-governance-principles/

Quantum Impact Assessment (QIA)

5. We are creating a world’s first application-driven Quantum Impact Assessment (QIA) in The Netherlands -raising ELSA awareness and removing barriers for adoption of QT- with a diverse, multidisciplinary team lead by Prof. Bart Schermer (Leiden) and Daniël Frijters for the Centre for Quantum & Society, made possible by ECP and Quantum Delta NL. https://quantumdelta.nl/centre-for-quantum-and-society

Quantum-ELSPI special for Springer Nature with Luciano Floridi

6. Meanwhile I am editing the Quantum-ELSPI special for Springer Nature on the Ethical, Legal, Social and Policy Implications of Quantum Technology, together with EiC Prof. Luciano Floridi (Oxford). https://web.archive.org/web/20260126194629/https://law.stanford.edu/publications/quantum-elspi-ethical-legal-social-and-policy-implications-of-quantum-technology/

More exciting projects soon ...

Meer lezen

Quantum Technology, Research, University, AcademicsMauritz Kop21 februari 2022Stanford Law School, Quantum, AI, Law, Policy, Visiting Scholar, Mauritz Kop, Mark Lemley, Luciano Floridi, Oxford University, Timo Minssen, Mateo Aboy, Cambridge

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

United States and other democratic nations must prepare for tomorrow's quantum era today

When IP stops doing its job

The patent data behind the argument

A transatlantic collaboration, a Stanford homecoming

Standards: the other half of ownership

Third station of a research arc

IP and Antitrust Law

Potential IP Overprotection

Patents versus Trade Secrets and State Secrets

Interplay between IP and Antitrust Law: Open or Closed Innovation Systems

Quantum ethics: act before the technology locks in

The EU AI Act: a product-safety regime for AI

One conviction, two technologies

EU Quantum Governance Act

The Law of Quantum: Quantum Regulatory Frameworks

Panel Debate about the Quantum Future at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences

Surfing the Waves of the Second Quantum Revolution

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) Investigates Future Impact of Quantum Technologies

The Quantum Potential Report

Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Communications

The Commercialization Potential of Quantum Technologies in Canada

Ethical, Legal, Social, and Policy Implications (Quantum-ELSPI)

The Quantum Vanguard: IBM's Technological Position

Charting a Course for Responsible Quantum Development: A Summary of the Lecture

Interactive Discussion and Call to Action

Novel Legal Framework for AI

EU "Trustworthy AI" Paradigm

Theory meets the patent record

A counter-intuitive result

From a conference room toward the journals

The "Abundance and Equality" Chapter Edited by Mark Lemley

Mauritz Kop Presents Book Chapter at 2022 Stanford Law’s Abundance Roundtable

A Convergence of Post-Scarcity Presentations and Discussions

Musical Interlude: A Spontaneous Translation of Ideas

Rights and responsibilities pertaining to AI and data

AI, data governance, and intellectual property law

Advanced legal research on Regulating Quantum technology at Stanford Law School

Scarcity, Regulation and the Abundance Society Roundtable at Stanford

Patenting Quantum Computing Technologies talk at Quantum & Law Conference in Lund

EU AI Act Presentation at AI World Summit Americas in Montreal

Keynote Quantum Computing Ethics at IBM Research

Quantum Impact Assessment (QIA)

Quantum-ELSPI special for Springer Nature with Luciano Floridi

Juridische diensten en projecten in Nederland en daarbuiten