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Paper short abstract

Drawing on the French case, we suggest that the quest for quantum computing can be interpretated as a trap, that snares all together particules, scientists, public money and democratic concerns.

Paper long abstract

The frequent announcements of state investments in quantum computing frame this technology as an upcoming revolution, expected to affect various domains such as medicine, chemistry, defence, and fight against climate change. In France, these massive investments target a small number of researchers in physics and computer science, a few publicly funded start-ups, and the defence industry, without allowing for any public debate or participation in the decision-making process. This is the result of an early de-politicisation process, where eschatological promises and experts’ knowledge successfully enclosed the discussion in a quantum trap.

Delving into the trap, we find that performing the quantum future fits with a techno-nationalist orientation: an enactment of sovereignty, where France is to lead the technological race, at the risk of unmaking Europe. Drawing on a qualitative investigation of quantum politics in France, the case testifies to a revival of the closed-world horizon engineered during the Cold War and confined by powerful order-words.