As quantum technologies (QT) continue to progress and mature, the need to establish an ethical framework for their development becomes increasingly apparent. This urgency is emphasized by QT's significant geopolitical and corporate value, with global actors increasingly investing considerable resources into the technology. The diverse interests guiding these investments, ranging from bolstering national technological sovereignty to addressing contemporary "grand challenges”, are central to shaping QT’s advancement and reinforce the need for specifically tailored ethical methodologies within the sector. Current trends in the field include hyper-competitiveness and limited collaboration, all unfolding within a broader economic shift from globalization to more insular industrial policies aimed at reducing regional dependencies while simultaneously fostering a fragmented and non-transparent research environment.

These factors make the ethical journey of quantum technologies challenging, since addressing a technology’s social problems often requires collaborative efforts. Key ethical challenges anticipated in this domain include the amplification of existing societal disparities, notably the "quantum divide," as well as heightened privacy concerns, amongst others. Given these prospects, responsible research and innovation (RRI) is proposed as a fundamental concept of technology ethics to address these moral quandaries. Despite its valuable theoretical foundation, the practical application of RRI in the QT sector is debatable due to its frequent reliance on transparency and collaboration, dimensions constrained in today’s research climate. Thus, it is imperative to tailor RRI to the unique context of quantum technologies by considering the sector’s defining characteristics and integrating them into an effective ethical framework. This paper explores questions, such as: Why is the conventional RRI framework insufficient for QT? What are the limitations of RRI in this context? And, what considerations are necessary to adapt RRI to this distinct and dynamic landscape?

This presentation is part of the panel Assigning meaning to quantum technologies and their development