GCRI · Quantum Technologies
Field overview
Quantum science studies how matter and light behave at the smallest scales, where particles exist in superpositions of states, can be entangled with one another and interfere like waves. Quantum technology engineers those effects into devices: computers that process information in qubits, sensors that measure time, gravity and magnetic fields with extraordinary precision, and communication systems whose security rests on physics. This page explains the field, why it matters and how it connects to other risks.
- STEM methods
- 5
- Canonical methods this field applies
- Topics
- 8
- Subject pages in the field
- Counterparts
- 5
- Platforms in shared fields across the network
- Report series
- 2
- Reports series it contributes to
Opportunity and disruption from the same physics.
Quantum technologies could advance chemistry, materials, navigation and Earth observation. They also threaten a foundation of digital trust: the public-key cryptography that secures communications, payments, software updates and identity. Both effects are uncertain in timing, but the cryptographic transition must begin before the threat matures because systems take years to change and some data must stay confidential for decades.
Quantum technology is also strategic: research capacity, specialised components and skilled people are concentrated in a few places, and governments treat the field as a matter of economic and national security. That shapes collaboration, export controls and access.
Field overview.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
The core questions.
- 01
Computation
What quantum computers can do, at what scale, with what error rates. See quantum computing and quantum and materials.
- 02
Measurement and communication
Sensing, timing and quantum-secured links. See quantum sensing and quantum communications.
- 03
Security transition
Migration to post-quantum cryptography. See post-quantum cryptography.
- 04
Capacity and economy
Skills, supply chains and applications. See quantum workforce and quantum industries.
- 05
Responsibility
Dual use, equity and honest communication of uncertainty. See responsible quantum innovation.
How quantum touches other systems.
The cryptographic transition affects every digitally dependent sector: finance, energy, health, government and telecommunications. Quantum sensing could change navigation and Earth observation, with consequences for space systems and critical infrastructure. Dependencies and consequences sets out the links. Counterparts include Cybersecurity and Digital Resilience at GCRI, AI and Digital Governance at The Global Risks Forum (GRF) and Financial Cyber and Operational Resilience at The Global Risks Alliance (GRA).
What the evidence rests on.
The field relies on physics and quantum science, quantum technology, cryptography, materials science and chemistry and statistics. Assumptions and limits are set out on methods and uncertainty.
Pages in Field overview.
Questions and answers.
What is a qubit?
Will quantum computers replace classical computers?
Which methods does the field rely on?
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