Quantum computing is often framed as the next great leap in technological progress, one that will redefine everything from medicine to national security. Erik Hosler, a quantum photonics strategist shaping PsiQuantum’s approach to scalable quantum systems, emphasizes the broader purpose behind this innovation. He reminds us that the benchmark for success isn’t just whether a quantum computer works but whether it matters.
This redirection is crucial. In recent years, public discourse around quantum computing has tended to focus on abstract capabilities or technical benchmarks like quantum supremacy. What’s often missing is a deeper conversation about the impact on people, industries, and global challenges. As quantum technologies advance, it’s essential to keep asking how they will improve society in ways that are both meaningful and measurable.
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A Broader Horizon: Beyond Labs and Data Centers
Today’s quantum computers are mostly prototypes, housed in physics labs under highly specialized conditions such as near absolute zero temperatures, extreme isolation, and extensive cooling systems. Their outputs remain narrow in scope, typically aimed at academic exploration or proof-of-concept experiments rather than practical, public-facing applications.
But that’s not where the field wants to go. The vision is much bigger than building machines that can accelerate drug discovery, uncover new materials, boost energy efficiency, and tackle logistical bottlenecks. In other words, solving the kinds of problems that affect millions, if not billions, of lives.
That vision is grounded in the idea of societal-scale utility. The quantum computing community is starting to pivot toward defining success not just in terms of speed or novelty but in terms of relevance.
The Standard: Societal Impact as a Metric of Usefulness
During his plenary session at SPIE Advanced Lithography and Patterning, Erik Hosler emphasizes, “It must impact society at large.” This statement is more than an aspirational slogan. It’s a guiding principle for research agendas, funding strategies, and business models. Quantum systems must provide solutions to problems that affect niche domains more to justify their cost and complexity.
His framing invites a recalibration of expectations. It tells developers and investors alike to consider how quantum breakthroughs translate into improvements in people’s lives. From public health to transportation, from financial security to climate science, the applications must be as broad as they are deep.
The Stakes: Why the World Needs Quantum Innovation
There’s a compelling case to be made for why quantum computing should serve society at large. Classical computing, after all, is reaching practical limits in many areas. Simulating the behavior of molecules, predicting the weather with high precision, and optimizing complex systems in real-time all push the boundaries of what classical machines can manage.
Quantum computers offer a fundamentally different approach to computation. By harnessing phenomena like superposition and entanglement, they can evaluate vast numbers of possibilities in parallel. Imagine being able to:
- Design new materials for solar panels or batteries in weeks instead of years.
- Model protein folding to develop next-generation therapies for genetic disorders.
- Improve supply chains for critical goods like food or medicine using advanced optimization.
These are not speculative hopes. Given the right scale and stability in quantum systems and a clear focus on societal relevance, these are plausible outcomes.
Building Toward a Socially Impactful Architecture
For quantum computers to deliver on this promise, their architecture and development trajectory must support both scale and application versatility. That’s why companies like PsiQuantum are betting on photonics, which uses light rather than encoding and manipulating qubits.
Photon-based systems have the theoretical advantage of being easier to scale and more compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing processes. That matters because scalability is the bridge between lab demonstrations and real-world applications. A few dozen qubits might help with scientific curiosity, but solutions for climate modeling or advanced chemistry will require hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of logical qubits.
Those systems must be cost-efficient enough to be deployed beyond elite institutions. If quantum computing is to have a societal impact, it must reach sectors that deal with widespread challenges, not just serve specialized interests or academic environments.
Where Quantum Could Touch Everyday Life
Let’s take a closer look at specific domains where quantum computing could reshape the societal landscape:
Healthcare
Quantum simulations could dramatically reduce the time it takes to identify new drug compounds, lowering development costs and speeding up access to life-saving treatments. Personalized medicine could also advance through quantum-enhanced diagnostics and modeling.
Energy and Environment
Climate modeling and energy grid optimization are ripe for disruption. Quantum algorithms could help forecast environmental changes with higher accuracy or discover materials for more efficient energy storage.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Routing, scheduling, and congestion modeling, particularly in urban environments, are computationally intensive tasks. Quantum-enhanced logistics could streamline freight movement, reduce emissions, and improve access to essential services.
Cybersecurity
Quantum encryption protocols like Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) offer new ways to secure data. In a world increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, such capabilities are not just technical marvels; they’re societal safeguards.
The Policy and Equity Imperative
While technical progress is critical, it is responsible for governance. If quantum computing is to serve society, access and equity must be central to its development. Just as the internet and AI have raised questions about digital divides and algorithmic fairness, quantum computing could deepen existing disparities if not carefully deployed.
It means governments, academic institutions, and private companies must collaborate on not just technology but also frameworks for ethical use, equitable access, and public accountability.
Public-private partnerships and national quantum initiatives should embed social impact metrics into their objectives. For instance, how many public health projects use quantum resources? How are underrepresented communities being trained in quantum-related fields? These are not side questions. They are central to ensuring that this technology benefits all.
The Responsibility of Power
Quantum computing holds the potential to become one of the most powerful tools of the 21st century. But with that power comes the responsibility to ensure that the benefits extend beyond academia and industry, reaching the public in visible, meaningful ways.
That reminder that “it must impact society at large” is not just a design target. It is a mandate for the field to think more holistically, to build systems that solve urgent problems, and to anchor progress in human value.
If quantum technology is to fulfill its destiny, it must do more than compute. It must contribute.
