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Paper short abstract

This talk examines artistic narratives of quantum technologies as resources for imagining responsible futures. Drawing on hermeneutic technology assessment, it explores how artists and artistically engaged scientists articulate alternative quantum imaginaries beyond dominant visions.

Paper long abstract

Quantum technologies (QT) are still in an early stage of development, yet they are already accompanied by far-reaching promises concerning computing, communication, sensing, and broader societal transformation. This creates a well-known challenge for STS and technology assessment: while expectations around quantum technologies are highly visible, their concrete applications and social effects remain uncertain. In light of this tension, and against the background of the Collingridge dilemma, this presentation draws on hermeneutic technology assessment to examine how visions, narratives, and imaginaries can serve as productive entry points for engaging emerging technoscientific futures.

The contribution focuses on cultural contexts that have so far received relatively limited attention in STS debates on quantum technologies. It presents insights from practical work with artists who engage with QT, as well as with scientists working with who also use artistic practices. These actors inhabit a particularly generative space in which alternative meanings, expectations, and futures of quantum technologies are articulated, negotiated, and made sensible beyond dominant policy, industrial, or media discourses.

By analyzing these narratives and visions, the presentation explores how different futures of QT are imagined in present contexts, including personal, artistic, and societal futures. Particular attention is paid not only to questions of plausibility, but also to questions of preferability and desirability. In this way, the talk asks how culturally situated imaginaries may contribute to more responsible and socially robust trajectories of quantum technologies, and how they can enrich STS discussions of governance, anticipation, and the shaping of resilient futures.