The race for quantum technology is accelerating, and 2025 marks a critical moment as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
The question is no longer just how quantum will evolve, but who will benefit, and who might be left behind.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is helping shape the future of quantum, with a new initiative launching at the AI for Good Global Summit in July 2025 − a new “Quantum for Good” track as part of the four-day programme.
Earlier this month, ITU brought the conversation to US film and multimedia festival South by Southwest (SXSW), where Frederic Werner, Chief of Strategy and Operations, and Kseniia Fontaine, Senior Business Development and Operations Officer, joined William Hurley (Whurley), CEO and Founder of Strangeworks and Charles Tahan, Partner at Microsoft Quantum, to discuss the future of quantum and the importance of international cooperation.
Learning from AI’s evolution
Quantum today is arguably where artificial intelligence (AI) was nearly a decade ago: filled with promise but still largely experimental. However, as AI has demonstrated, breakthroughs can come unexpectedly and at an exponential pace.
Werner pointed to AI’s trajectory as a cautionary tale for quantum.
“In 2017, our AI for Good initiative mainly existed in PowerPoint,” he explained. “Back then, AI was IBM Watson, AlphaGo, and people warning that we had ‘summoned the devil.’ No one knew if the real breakthroughs would come in five, ten, or fifteen years. Then, less than three years ago, generative AI changed everything.”
AI for Good −led by ITU with partners across the United Nations system – highlights AI solutions to advance sustainable development for all of humanity. Increasingly powerful computing models and robots, alongside the surge of everyday AI use for writing and research, heighten risks as well as opening new opportunities.
“With quantum, we don’t know exactly when that moment will come, but we have an opportunity to be proactive before it does,” Werner says.
Achieving meaningful progress in emerging technologies, whether AI or quantum, requires a broad coalition of partners.
ITU’s AI for Good team works with 47 UN agencies, along with industry, academia, civil society, and youth to develop standards, launch capacity building initiatives, and run global challenges. “We can’t do this alone,” Werner said. “We engage diverse voices to ensure that technological advancement serves all communities.”
Quantum, like AI, could help developing nations leapfrog technological gaps — provided key safeguards are in place. ITU has begun identifying practical use cases and started sharing best practices for quantum technologies across industries and regions.
ITU’s Quantum for Good track will bring together ongoing work to strengthen collaboration, target investments in skills, and ensure quantum technology benefits all.
The high stakes of the quantum era
Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize fields such as material science, drug discovery, and energy optimization with solutions to problems beyond the abilities of classical computers. However, one of the most immediate concerns is security.
Organizations with long-term security concerns, such as governments and financial institutions, face serious concerns about post-quantum cryptography seriously. Encryption systems currently in use are at risk, as one of the first identified applications of quantum computing is its ability to break public encryption systems.
Recognizing this threat, some governments have already begun adopting quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols in anticipation of future threats.
Despite incremental advances, quantum technology remains a field that demands patience.
Experts note major hurdles to overcome, including how large quantum systems need to be, how many qubits of information they will require, and how long it will take to deliver reliable results.
The best performing quantum systems today operate with several hundred qubits. Truly groundbreaking applications may require millions – a daunting engineering challenge.
Building viable systems involves far more than qubits alone. It requires a robust infrastructure that includes control electronics, real-time operating systems and cooling infrastructure. Even with decades of research behind them, quantum technologies are still evolving, and the optimal path to large-scale practical deployment remains uncertain, Tahan pointed out.
“This is still a technology that has been developing for 25 years, and it will still take time to evolve,” he said.
Bridging the quantum divide
Today, access to quantum technology remains limited to the world’s most developed tech markets.
Even there, it is largely confined to elite research institutions and tech giants.
While AI has become widely available through cloud platforms and open-source tools, quantum remains out of reach for most individuals and organizations.
Whurley cautioned that without deliberate efforts to broaden access, quantum technology could deepen global divides due to both financial and knowledge barriers.
“When we think about quantum for good, we think about all the problems in the world,” said Whurley. “We need quantum computing, a new form of computing, to address all these intractable problems, but alongside that, we need people involved in the process. We call that being ‘sci-curious’. We want everybody to get involved in science.”
A different investment approach
On the investment side, Whurley emphasized that quantum requires a fundamentally different approach from AI, as it relies on complex, hardware-intensive systems that demand long-term commitment far beyond the fast turnaround cycles investors are used to with AI.
Hype-driven investments can do more harm than good, as many investors lack a clear understanding of quantum technology, he warned. Unlike AI, where businesses can develop applications relatively quickly, quantum requires long-term investment and does not easily fit within traditional venture capital models.
Shaping a quantum future for all
The Quantum for Good track at the AI for Good Global Summit will activate global efforts to harness quantum technology for real-world impact. Through strategic partnerships that drive research, investment, and skills development, this new ITU-led initiative aims to broaden access and unlock solutions to some of the world’s pressing challenges, from disaster resilience to healthcare.
Organizations, researchers, and policymakers are invited to register now for the event here, to help shape a quantum future that is open, collaborative and beneficial for all.
Source: https://www.itu.int/hub/2025/03/advancing-quantum-technology-for-good/