(RepublicanInformer.com)- President Joe Biden wants to advance the field of quantum information science through an executive order he signed this week.
The order aims to allow American to position itself “well ahead” of its adversaries, while mitigating risks that this emerging technology may post to both economic and national security.
Biden signed the national security memo and executive order on Wednesday.
According to one senior official in the Biden administration, America has “long been a global leader” in developing various new technologies. That includes quantum information, which is a broad discipline of both engineering and science in general.
This technology isn’t supposed to replace traditional computers. Instead, it’s a “fundamentally different kind of computer,” the official said. The technology can analyze data in some ways that the computers we know today simply can’t.
That’s why many people believe that quantum technologies have the potential to spur much further innovation in our economy. The senior official with the Biden administration explained recently:
“The goal of both the executive order and the National Strategy Memorandum is to ensure that we leapfrog well ahead of everyone else, both by promoting quantum information science and the benefits it can potentially bring from energy to medicine, in various areas of the economy, as well as to begin what will likely be a decade-long transition to protect our systems from an adversary having a potential quantum computer.
“America must start the lengthy process of updating our IT infrastructure today to protect against this quantum computing threat tomorrow.”
Through the executive order, the Biden administration is committing resources to promote potential breakthroughs in the technology. The National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee will see an enhancement through the order.
The committee serves as an advisory body on quantum technology and information science to the federal government. Now, that committee will operate directly under the White House.
By doing this, it will ensure that all federal agencies and departments, Congress, the president and the American public will get “the most current, accurate and relative quantum information, science and technology to drive forward U.S. policymaking in this area,” the official said.
At the same time as he signed the executive order to advance America’s development in the area, Biden also signed a memo for national security that outlined how the White House would address risks to the cybersecurity of the U.S. that are posted by other nation’s quantum computers.
According to that senior administration official, research has shown that sometime “in the not too distant future,” once the technology matures enough so that computers of this kind can reach a size that’s sufficient and level that’s sophisticated enough, they could break down the cryptography that’s securing digital communications right now.
He also added, though, that technological innovation and cybersecurity aren’t in conflict with each other, explaining:
“They underscore the president’s commitment to fostering innovation and cutting-edge science and technology while continuing to take the necessary steps to safeguard the economy and infrastructure of the future.
“This balanced approach of both foster, promote and protect rests on the president’s conviction that cybersecurity and technological innovation are not in conflict, but rather are complementary and essential to the success of one another.”
