On Feb. 19 2025, Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1, a quantum chip powered by a new state of matter that the company claims will help create more powerful and less error prone quantum computers. With this discovery, Microsoft declared that quantum computers capable of solving “meaningful, industrial-scale problems” are merely years away. This stunning feat demonstrates that the second quantum revolution is rapidly advancing. Such progress will likely help scientists tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change or drug discovery, by simulating highly complex chemical compositions that even the most powerful supercomputers can’t understand. Such modeling would reduce the time and cost of research and could lead to the discovery of new materials, for example, that create more efficient batteries. Yet, such advancements may also pose serious risks to human rights defenders in the near term.
Human Rights and Democracy in the Quantum Age (Maya Recanati, Just Security)
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