AUSTRALIA TO INVEST $73 MILLION IN QUANTUM TECH AS IT BEEFS UP CRITICAL AREAS

Wed 17 November 2021:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Wednesday that Australia will spend A$100 million ($73 million) to develop quantum technology, as part of a list of nine technologies that Canberra considers important to the country’s interests.

Quantum technology, which is based on fundamental physics principles, is still in its infancy, but it has become a hot topic among investors hoping to revolutionize everything from healthcare and banking to artificial intelligence and weather forecasting.

He did, however, raise concerns about the ethical implications of such new advances.

Morrison says technology reflects the values of the society that creates and uses it.

“We want technology to protect our citizens’ autonomy, privacy and data.

“Australia, like the United States, is committed to playing our part so that rules and norms around technology reflect the values of our open societies.

“But … not all governments see technology the same way,” he says.

“We cannot shy away from the ethical implications of new technologies.

“We need to be asking ourselves what should be done with technology — not just what can be done.

“Ensuring our citizens understand that technologies are safe and secure and working in their interest is fundamental in providing the enabling environment necessary to support deployment.”

Australia has committed to spend billions of dollars in recent months to modernize its economy and reduce its reliance on China by boosting manufacturing in industries such as resources and vital minerals, as well as supporting the development of low-emission technology.

Australia will fund nine technologies as part of its economic plan, the first of which is quantum technology. The majority of the proposed A$100 million will go into commercializing Australia’s quantum research and establishing connections with global markets and supply networks.

The government’s “blueprint” says critical technologies – which can be digital, such as artificial intelligence or non-digital, such as synthetic biology – are those able “to significantly enhance or pose risk to our national interest”.

“Quantum science and technology has the potential to revolutionise a whole range of industries,” Morrison said in a speech on Wednesday.

Advanced cyber security, communications, mineral extraction, autonomous vehicles, and innovative antibiotics are among the other technologies that will be backed, according to Morrison.

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