Quantum Computing Surge Raises Alarms Over Power, Inequality and Digital Rights, LSE Researcher Warns

LONDON – Quantum computing may soon redefine the limits of computation, but it could also reshape who holds power over data, security and everyday life, warns London School of Economics researcher Dr Seeta Peña Gangadharan in a new video exploring the social stakes of the technology. Describing quantum systems as a step change beyond classical machines, she explains that qubits and superposition enable unprecedented analysis of massive datasets, opening up breakthroughs in fields from cryptography to complex optimisation.​

That disruptive potential is driving an intense race among governments and technology firms, which see quantum infrastructure as a strategic asset comparable to the early commercial internet. Yet Dr Gangadharan cautions that, rather than a simple contest between “good” and “rogue” actors, the real risk is that a small group of public and private institutions with quantum capacity will gain outsized influence over which problems are prioritised, how populations are monitored, and whose interests technology ultimately serves.​

The video places quantum computing within a wider debate about digital rights, arguing that emerging technologies have repeatedly widened social and economic gaps, especially for communities excluded from digital transformations. Instead of relying solely on diversifying the tech workforce, Dr Gangadharan calls for earlier and more inventive modes of intervention – from new public forums that bring quantum scientists together with ordinary citizens, to leveraging financial systems such as pensions to push back against extractive, high-growth tech models.​

By foregrounding equity and refusal alongside innovation, the LSE research highlights a central question for policymakers and the public: whether the coming era of quantum computing will democratise knowledge and security, or further concentrate decision-making power in the hands of a few well-resourced actors.​

Source: London School of Economics – “What’s next for quantum computing? | LSE Research” video and associated AI, technology and society materials.