Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis and the science and diplomacy platform GESDA on Friday launched the Open Quantum Institute, which will be operational at CERN in Geneva next March.
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Switzerland wants to ensure that future quantum computers, with their enormous potential, are used for the common good.
This initiative was announced a year ago at a summit of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA). At the time, the stated objective was to set the institute up within three to five years. But GESDA Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe accelerated the process.
After a preparatory phase with 130 partners, the institute will be ready in March. With the Open Quantum Institute (OQI), “we have the first concrete initiative on how international governance can prepare for the challenges of the 21st century,” said Cassis, speaking at the third GESDA summit.
Quantum computers have been compared by some scientists to the “nuclear weapon” of this century. Whoever masters this technology will have a clear advantage.
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