A Rawlsian standard for the quantum age

Abstract

Quantum technologies is expected to eventually replace the use of classical computers and encryption protocols, promising unconditional cyber security through encryption technologies such as quantum key distribution and the quantum internet, as well as enhanced decryption process through the use of quantum computers. Both instances have severe implications regarding the balance between privacy and security, one that is already precarious in the current digital age. This paper evaluates the possibility of ensuring the fair use of quantum technologies to prevent its abuse either on the hands of the government or the public using Rawls’ Theory of Justice. This paper discusses the privacy-security debate present in the digital age, and the implications this debate has for the quantum age, before establishing how Rawls’ theory may be adapted to suit the quantum age, arguing that the theory is apt to mitigate the potential negative consequences of quantum technology and ensure its fair, and therefore just, use between all parties of society.