[Turley] Physics Professor Calls For The Abandonment Of “Quantum Supremacy” As Anti-Racism Measure

Physicists and Turley fans alike should enjoy this one.

Quantum Lunacy: Physics Professor Calls For The Abandonment Of “Quantum Supremacy” As Anti-Racism Measure

https://jonathanturley.org/2021/03/...-of-quantum-supremacy-as-anti-racism-measure/

excerpt:

In a Scientific American article entitled, “Physicists Need To Be More Careful How They Name Things,” two professors and a journalist call for the abandonment of the term “quantum supremacy” in physics because it is “uncomfortably reminiscent of ‘white supremacy.” Physics Professor Ian Durham (St. Anselm College), freelance journalist Daniel Garisto, and Math Professor Karoline Wiesner (University of Bristol) all agree that the term is not racist but still believe that it must be changed to avoid “adding insult to injury.”

The term was coined in 2012 by John Preskill to describe how quantum computers can perform tasks would take even supercomputers years to complete. The authors called for “quantum supremacy” to be replaced with “quantum primacy.”

The article struggles to make the case that this clearly non-racial term holds a dangerous potential for being viewed as racist, including reference to other terms like “judicial supremacy” which would also presumably have to be abandoned:

Since “judicial supremacy” is even more common than “quantum supremacy,” it would appear the same argument for abandonment would apply.
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more at the link

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may appeal to some clutch fans

How much of the quantum tech boom is just welfare for physicists?
Episode 391 of the Cyberlaw Podcast

That's the question I had after reading Law and Policy for the Quantum Age, by Chris Hoofnagle and Simson Garfinkel. It's a gracefully written and deeply informative look at the commercial and policy prospects of quantum computing and several other (often more promising) quantum technologies, including sensing, communications, and networking. And it left me with the question that heads this post. So, I invited Chris Hoofnagle to an interview and came away thinking the answer may be "close to half – and for sure all the quantum projects grounded in fear and envy of the National Security Agency." My exchange with Chris makes for a bracing and fast-paced half hour of futurology and policy and is not to be missed. Neither is the book.

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Download the 391st Episode (mp3)

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