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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: Ibrahim Almosallam, Consultant , Saudi Information Technology Company

It is hard to underestimate the power of quantum computers. Compared to a classical computer, a quantum computer is like a plane is to a car. They operate fundamentally differently and no matter how fast a car is, it cannot fly over a river. Quantum computers use different physical principles, or quantum mechanics, to communicate and process information in such a way that no classical computer can ever do using classical physics.

A classical computer can only hold one bit of information at a time (0 or 1), whereas qubits in quantum computers can be in a superposition state and have aspects of both 0 and 1 simultaneously. However, the result of an operation will also be in a superposition state and manipulating superposition states to extract the desired answer is the field of quantum algorithms. The focus of this article is on how to govern this technology to ensure a secure future.

We now live in a Wright brothers moment in quantum computing history. But when a commercial jet version arrives, it will deliver a new leap in information technology similar to what classical computation delivered in the 20th century, and, just like with any general-purpose technology such as the internet, electricity, and, for that matter, fire alongside great benefits, comes great risks.

Among the benefits are that quantum computers could be used to simulate quantum physical processes for much faster drug and material design; to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development and to provide new levels of security and information communication. But they could also be used to break public-key encryptions, to amplify current AI risks at a faster pace, or be misused in biotechnology to design bio-weapons or other risks.

As such, it is hard to imagine the success of such technologies without strong regulations and governance policies. Can you imagine a world without electricity regulations, internet protocols and fire safety standards? However, even though the risks of quantum computers are well understood, little has yet been done to mitigate them due to the unclear horizon as to their future.

Proper governance is key to minimizing the risks and maximizing the benefits of quantum computing. However, it is easy to get lost in all the detail about potential benefits and risks and, as an extension of classical computing, it will inevitably inherit them both.

So when forming quantum computing policies, it is more effective to first examine current policies to determine which needs to be:

One promising area of quantum computing is optimization, which will accelerate AI development, and, consequently, its risks, such as data bias. Therefore, it is vital to distinguish between what quantum computing will add and what it will multiply.

Taking cybersecurity as an example, without loss of generality, governance approaches can be grouped into three categories:

All three are equally important, but the latter is often overlooked. Procedural approaches are based on classical economic theory that assumes humans are rational, selfish and profit maximizers. On the other hand, behavioural techniques are based on modern behavioural economics that understands that humans are not perfectly rational and are influenced by their emotions and cognitive biases.

There are many ways to mitigate quantum risks through behavioural tactics, but well highlight two examples here.

A fault-tolerant quantum computer will be able to break most public-key encryptions that secure our modern communications. Even if the threat is still far away in the future, preparation has to start now because an adversary can store encrypted data today, then retroactively decrypt once the technology is mature enough.

This threat is an excellent example of how all the above tactics can be employed. A technical take on the problem, for example, is to develop new encryption schemes that are quantum-proof, which is already an active field of research in cryptography. Another technical approach is to use quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols combating quantum computers with quantum communication channels to exchange keys.

On the procedural front, the NISTs post-quantum cryptography competition and EUs OpenQKD projects are great examples of putting standards and agreements in place to pave the way for a quantum-secure future.

However, people need to be incentivized to walk down this path and this is where we think behavioural approaches can help. Simply raising awareness will not cut it; anti-smoking campaigns being a case in point.

Instead, creating a sense of urgency might be a more effective behavioural approach such as drawing an artificial deadline to transition to post-quantum cryptography. Deadlines, even if self-imposed, have shown to be effective in improving performance.

For example, after the NIST standards are announced, say within five years that any data encrypted using pre-quantum cryptography would no longer be protected legally. This way, consumers will pressure vendors to provide quantum-safe solutions, and, as a result, vendors will accelerate their transition efforts.

It is well known in the sociology sphere that humans tend to overestimate, and sometimes underestimate, their performance compared to their peers. A famous Swedish study published in 1981 found that 88% of US drivers think they have better than average driving skills.

This is an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge tend to overestimate their abilities. Although the key term here is limited knowledge, it is also shown that people tend to acknowledge their weaknesses and improve themselves with performance feedback, especially when compared to others.

One experiment showed that people worked harder when told they would learn their ranking compared to another group where no feedback was given. We can imagine such tactics working on the macro scale. Accordingly, a global quantum-readiness index can be considered a form of feedback that would help nations assess their performance and track its trajectory.

Moreover, such relative rankings would create the social pressure needed to incentivize governments in order to enhance their quantum readiness. Although, such indices should be designed carefully not to discourage nations at the bottom of the list. For example, by subdividing the lists by regions and diversifying the metrics, such as having a dimension for quantum sensing, governments would be pressed to give it more attention, even if otherwise they are ranked at the top of the overall list.

Quantum computing is a new problem that requires our latest solutions. It is crucial not to let the old threats make us lose sight of the new ones. Behavioural approaches are very effective and inexpensive in that regard.

Cybersecurity

Next-generation technologies such as AI, ubiquitous connectivity and quantum computing have the potential to generate new risks for the world, and at this stage, their full impact is not well understood.

There is an urgent need for collective action, policy intervention and improved accountability for government and business in order to avert a potential cyber pandemic.

https://www.weforum.org/videos/a-cyber-attack-with-covid-like-characteristics

The Forums Centre for Cybersecurity launched the Future Series: Cybercrime 2025 initiative to identify what approaches are required to manage cyber risks in the face of the major technology trends taking place in the near future.

Find out more on how the Forum is leading over 150 global experts from business, government and research institutions, and how to get involved, in our impact story.

That being said, this is not an argument to use behavioural approaches in place of technical or procedural approaches when considering governance for quantum computing, but instead to include them in the mix of possible solutions and considered when designing new quantum computing-related policies.

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Quantum computing will change the cyber landscape, heres why we need proper governance - The European Sting

Sanctuary is focused on creating the world's first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots.

The strategic industry investors reflect applications for human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots across a wide range of industry verticals and tasks. Using breakthrough technology in artificial intelligence (AI), cognition, and robotics, Sanctuary will improve the quality of the work experience, assist humans with difficult or dangerous tasks, create new jobs, bring new opportunities to those who might be less capable of physical work, and reduce the impact of labour shortages around the world.

Many companies are developing special-purpose robots and AI to address singular tasks or activities. In contrast, the Sanctuary team is taking a much more general-purpose approach to both hardware and software, drawing from fields including AI, cognition, computer vision, machine learning, theoretical physics, and quantum computing. Sanctuary general-purpose robots are similar to a person in size and shape because the world is designed for people. The robot's cognitive architecture is also designed to mimic the different subsystems in a person's brain. This approach defines the scope of the work to something that can be broken down into manageable and achievable pieces.

Sanctuary also announced today that the first female private space explorer, Anousheh Ansari, and former astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield, joined the Sanctuary Advisory Board. In the not-too-distant future, Sanctuary technology will help people explore, settle, and prosper in outer space. But first, Sanctuary robots will train alongside people here on Earth, helping them work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

"With unfilled vacancies, workplace safety considerations, increasing employee turnover, worldwide aging populations, and declining workplace participation, one thing is clear: many labour-related challenges are outside the scope of current specialized AI and robotics technology," said Geordie Rose, Co-Founder and CEO of Sanctuary. "We are addressing a systemic problem across the global economy. I am excited about the group of industry partners and investors we assembled. With interest from customers representing a dozen different industry verticals, we are working hard to make work safer, more accessible, and ultimately more productive."

"At Verizon Ventures, we believe that breakthrough ideas need extraordinary support and execution," said Michelle McCarthy, Managing Director, Verizon Ventures. "Sanctuary's novel approach and progress set them apart, as they look to build transformative innovations of tomorrow with the potential to reshape the future of work."

"Our investment in Sanctuary is in complete alignment with our mission at Evok Innovations to protect the environment and strengthen the economy," said Marty Reed, Partner, Evok Innovations. "We believe that Sanctuary has the fastest, lowest-cost, and most commercially viable path to building human-like intelligence in machines. It's been exciting to participate in this funding round, and I look forward to what's in store for the future."

"Globally-leading networks like Bell's pure fibre broadband and Bell 5G enable emerging technologies like Sanctuary's to flourish," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. "Bell is proud to help support the work Sanctuary is doing and the opportunities it will bring for Canadian industry in the years to come."

Interested parties can learn more at the official Sanctuary website: http://www.sanctuary.ai.

About SanctuaryFounded in 2018 by Geordie Rose, Suzanne Gildert, Olivia Norton, and Ajay Agrawal, Sanctuary is a Vancouver, Canada-based company. Sanctuary is on a mission to create the world's first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots that will help us work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably. And in the not-too-distant future, help us explore, settle, and prosper in outer space.

Members of the Sanctuary team foundedD-Wave(a pioneer in the quantum computing industry),Kindred(first use of reinforcement learning in a production robot), and theCreative Destruction Lab(pioneered a revolutionary method for the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind). The team has experience launching market-defining innovations rooted in previously unsolved and deep scientific problems.

SOURCE Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation

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Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Closes C$75.5 Million (US$58.5 Million) Series A Funding, Accelerating its Mission to Create the World's First Human-Like...

A juror in Ghislaine Maxwells criminal trial who apparently did not disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selection will invoke his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination at an 8 March hearing.

This juror, who is named Scotty David, was on 24 February ordered to appear in court for questioning about his answers on a screening questionnaire for then-prospective jurors.

Davids completed questionnaire, which was made public last week, shows that he marked the no box in response to the question that asked: Have you or a friend ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?

The fact that David apparently marked no has spurred extensive controversy as he has claimed in post-trial interviews that he was victimized in his youth.

The British former socialite Maxwell was convicted on 29 December on sex trafficking and other related charges for facilitating financier Jeffrey Epsteins sexual abuse of minor girls, some just 14 years old.

Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose associates once included rich and powerful figures such as Prince Andrew, was apprehended in July 2019 for sex trafficking of minor teens. Epstein killed himself about one month later while jailed in Manhattan awaiting trial.

The controversy surrounding David took off after Maxwells trial.

David claimed in media interviews that he endured sexual abused in childhood. David said that he told other jurors about this abuse enabling them to understand facts from a victims perspective. When those reports emerged, prosecutors asked judge Alison Nathan to conduct an inquiry into his comments. Maxwells legal team made that request shortly thereafter.

Nathan agreed to do so, writing in her recent decision: Following trial, Juror 50 made several direct, unambiguous statements to multiple media outlets about his own experience that do not pertain to jury deliberations and that cast doubt on the accuracy of his responses during jury selection.

She said: Juror 50s post-trial statements are clear, strong, substantial and incontrovertible evidence that a specific, non-speculative impropriety namely, a false statement during jury selection has occurred.

In a letter to Nathan filed Wednesday morning, Davids lawyer, Todd Spodek, said: I write to inform the court that Juror 50 will invoke his fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination at the hearing.

Prosecutors responded shortly thereafter, saying in a letter that they would try to compel Davids testimony.

The government writes to notify the court that it is in the process of seeking internal approval to seek an order compelling Juror 50s testimony at the hearing, they said. The government will, subject to internal approval, submit a proposed order to the court in advance of the hearing.

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Ghislaine Maxwell trial juror to plead fifth amendment at hearing - The Guardian

Myles Cosgrove also won't testify in Hankison trial citing 5th Amendment rights

Updated: 3:20 PM EST Feb 28, 2022

It looks like neither ex-LMPD officer who fired shots along with Brett Hankison the night Breonna Taylor died will testify at his trial.The trial for Hankison, who was indicted on wanton endangerment charges, began last week.The night Taylor was killed by gunfire in March 2020, three officers pulled their triggers -- Hankison, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.Both were set to take the stand, but Mattingly invoked his Fifth Amendment right before the trial began, and now, Cosgrove is doing the same.In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids double jeopardy and protects against self-incrimination.On Monday, both attorneys agreed and a judge ruled that he "does have a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege that then makes him an unavailable witness for the purposes of our trial."The trial resumes on Tuesday.Trial coverage:Day 1 - Breonna Taylor's neighbor recounts bullets whizzing through his apartmentDay 2 -Jurors hear his interview from days after Breonna Taylor raidDay 3 - Jurors taken to Breonna Taylor's apartment

It looks like neither ex-LMPD officer who fired shots along with Brett Hankison the night Breonna Taylor died will testify at his trial.

The trial for Hankison, who was indicted on wanton endangerment charges, began last week.

The night Taylor was killed by gunfire in March 2020, three officers pulled their triggers -- Hankison, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.

Both were set to take the stand, but Mattingly invoked his Fifth Amendment right before the trial began, and now, Cosgrove is doing the same.

In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids double jeopardy and protects against self-incrimination.

On Monday, both attorneys agreed and a judge ruled that he "does have a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege that then makes him an unavailable witness for the purposes of our trial."

The trial resumes on Tuesday.

Trial coverage:

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Myles Cosgrove also won't testify in Hankison trial citing 5th Amendment rights - WLKY Louisville

The Tech Executive-1 in John Durhams indictment of a Democratic cybersecurity lawyer testified in a lawsuit that he had invoked his Fifth Amendment rights when asked to testify by the special counsel.

Rodney Joffe, former senior vice president at Neustar, coordinated in 2016 with Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was indicted last year for allegedly concealing his clients, including Hillary Clinton's campaign and Joffe, from the FBI in September 2016 when he pushed debunked claims of a secret back channel between the Trump Organization and Russia's Alfa Bank.

Alfa Bank filed a John Doe lawsuit and deposed Joffe in February. A common refrain from Joffe was: As a result of the ongoing investigation of the Office of the Special Counsel, on the advice of my counsel, Im going to decline to answer the question on the basis of my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

They did serve me with a grand jury subpoena, and I did invoke my Fifth Amendment rights, Joffe said, saying that the subpoena was for testimony and documents and that the subpoenas came after a request for an interview.

Joffe said Sussmann became an attorney for Neustar around 2010, and it continued until September when the indictment occurred. He pleaded the Fifth on whether Sussmann ever represented him personally. Joffe said he retired in mid-September.

Sussmann pleaded not guilty, with Durham revealing last month he has evidence Joffe exploited DNS internet traffic at Trump Tower, Donald Trumps Central Park West apartment building, and the Executive Office of the President.

CLINTON CONDEMNS 'CONSPIRACY THEORIES' RELATED TO DURHAM INVESTIGATION

Durham said in October that Joffe exploited his own companys access to the sensitive internet data of a high-ranking executive branch office of the U.S. government, both before and after the Presidential election." Joffe pleaded the Fifth when asked to identify the executive office. Joffes attorney said "that should not be interpreted as an admission that the ... allegations, which are just allegations in the indictment, are accurate.

Joffe said he had never heard of the Alfa Bank allegations prior to the summer of 2016.

When asked if it was possible to cause pings from a DNS perspective to make it look like a communication, he said, I have no idea. He denied manipulating the DNS data in the Alfa Bank allegations or creating false pings.

Durhams indictment of Sussmann alleged Joffe tasked researchers with mining internet data to establish a narrative tying then-candidate Trump to Russia. Durham said Joffe indicated he was doing this to please Clinton campaign VIPs."

Joffe said he was not paid by Clinton's campaign. He declined to say whether Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias or Fusion GPS were present when he discussed the Alfa Bank allegations with Sussmann in July 2016 and said he had never heard of Fusion before 2016.

Durham said that, shortly after Clintons loss, Joffe wrote in an email: "I was tentatively offered the top [cybersecurity] job by the Democrats when it looked like they'd win. I definitely would not take the job under Trump."

Joffe testified, Ive never been interested in politics. Ive never been involved in politics. ... I havent donated to any parties or given any kind of benefit to any parties, but I certainly over the last few years have had an interest in the politics of the country I live in. Joffe pleaded the Fifth on his thoughts about Trump.

He appears to have referred to himself as Max in a 2018 article pushing the Alfa Bank claims. Max described himself as a John McCain Republican. Joffe declined to say whether that was him.

Joffe claimed he did not anticipate holding any job in the Clinton administration and was not offered the top cybersecurity job if Democrats won. Joffe said he had no possible interest in joining Clinton's administration.

He denied knowing British ex-spy Christopher Steele and said he "had no firsthand knowledge" when asked if he knew Sussmann met with Steele about Alfa Bank claims.

Joffe also declined to answer which businesses he owns, and whether he knew the identity of a person dubbed "Originator-1," who Durham says collaborated with Joffe on the Alfa Bank claims. It is April Lorenzen of Zetalytics.

Joffe said Neustar has provided DNS data outside the company in the past, including "a set of DNS data that has no terms and conditions around it, and that data is provided to a number of parties including security researchers. He declined to say whether he believed DNS data is nonconfidential.

Joffe also said, I take the Fifth, when asked if he knows Daniel Jones, lead author of the Senate Intelligence Committees report on the CIAs interrogation program who founded the Democracy Integrity Project in January 2017. Tax records show he funded Steele, Fusion, and others.

Court records show Jones was asked by the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2017 to look into Alfa Bank allegations, and his 2018 report concluded that "there was a special relationship between the Trump Organization server and servers associated with Alfa Bank.

Cybersecurity expert Robert Graham wrote that "the allegation that this proves a secret connect between Alfa Bank and a Trump server is clearly false.

Joffe said Kirk McConnell is the only person with the Senate committee he could recall.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The special counsel has said Sussmann claimed to another agency, believed to be the CIA, in February 2017 that data he had access to demonstrated that Trump and/or his associates were using supposedly rare Russian-made wireless phones in the vicinity of the White House. Durham found "no support for these allegations." Joffe declined to answer whether Neustar provided the Russian phone data to university researchers.

Joffe testified he had gone through chemotherapy and used the drug Prednisone, claiming: I still have, you know, some effect with memory so, you know, my memory during the period when I was ill, which was from 2012 through 2017.

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'Tech Exec-1' says he pleaded the Fifth to John Durham's grand jury - Washington Examiner