Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce that Australia would spend $111 million to develop quantum technology, as Canberra chooses nine areas of science that it considers essential to national interests.
Quantum technology, based on fundamental physics principles, is still in its early stages, but it’s become a favorite of investors hoping to transform industries ranging from healthcare and banking to machine learning and weather prediction.
In recent years, Australia has invested billions of dollars in modernizing its economy and reducing its reliance on China by boosting manufacturing in areas such as resources and vital minerals and providing resources for the development of low-emission technologies. The first of the nine sectors is quantum technology. The majority of the A$100 million earmarked commercializing Australia’s quantum research and creating ties with global markets and supply networks.
“Quantum technology and science have the potential to revolutionise a wide range of businesses,” Morrison is expected to remark in excerpts from a speech seen by Reuters. He will use communication, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and mines as examples. Other vital technology areas identified by Australia include sophisticated cyber security, communications, mineral extraction, driverless cars, and innovative antibiotics.
He will, however, caution about the ethical consequences of such discoveries. According to the excerpts, he will remark, “We need to ask ourselves what should be done with technology — not just what can be done.”
