The quantum computer is regarded as a key technology for the twenty-first century. Presently both large companies in the technological sector and lavishly financed research programs of various nation-states are driving development of these machines. Quantum computers are based on the idea of making insights from quantum physics utilizable for the processing of information. They are at center of the hope to develop completely new technologies-so-called quantum technologies-through informatics’ use of quantum effects. A “quantum fever” 1 has broken out and more than a few observers see the “next revolution” 2 looming. Such discourses are well known to media studies by reason of its reflections on change and upheaval in the history of media 3. A semantics of revolution, which holds out the prospect of radical changes for very different spheres of society, is often combined with a conceptual dependence on preexisting information technologies 4. But in understanding contemporary developments it is crucial to note that even if innovation expectations are presently focused on quantum computers, they are certainly not limited to these machines. In the professional discourse there is already discussion of technologies such as a “quantum Internet” 5 , innovative “quantum sensing” 6 and “quantum cryptography” 7 procedures. Conspicuous in these debates is that research on the link between quantum physics and information theory is fundamentally concerned with questions pertaining to the mediality of the processes described.
by Jens Schröter, Christoph Ernst & Martin Warnke
read here: https://www.academia.edu/45704332/The_Quantum_Computer_A_Future_Subject_of_Media_Studies