The fifth Strategy Lab of the Digital Society Initiative (DSI) focussed on the future of quantum technology. The results have been summarised in a position paper that provides realistic assessments of expected technical developments and reflects on the potential impact on society. A column on the topic was also published.
Two new DSI Spotlights were also created as part of the Strategy Lab. DSI Spotlights highlight individual aspects of digitalisation in short videos. In the future, quantum computers will be as commonplace as conventional computers are today. But what are quantum computers anyway? And what makes them so much better than the computers available to us today? This is exactly what physicist and professor at the University of Zurich, Marcelle Soares-Santos, explains in the video ‘Quantum computers in a nutshell’. Quantum computers will be much more powerful than today’s computers. There is therefore often concern that quantum computers will be able to crack encrypted data effortlessly, making it insecure. In the video ‘Quantum encryption’, Christof Aegerter, physicist and professor at the University of Zurich, explains why this concern is unfounded and why we will still be able to shop securely online in the future.
To mark the anniversary year of quantum mechanics, the UZH Department of Physics is organising a varied programme, including an exhibition and an escape room.