Quantum computing could shatter privacy, allowing governments and corporations to manipulate our every move. The real question is: how much of our free will will survive?
You might have heard of quantum computing. Or at least know that Google and Microsoft are racing to develop their own chips for it.
Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics to process information at speeds hundreds of millions of times faster than classical computers.
Instead of regular bits, it uses qubits to solve complex problems – but it can also be used to predict human behavior, measuring and judging you in ways you don’t even realize.
Encryption is our last real defense against prying eyes – think messaging apps like WhatsApp (despite its Meta baggage) and Signal for private chats. But what happens when a quantum algorithm can rip right through those protections?
Well, first, nothing would be truly private anymore. And once that barrier is down, the subliminal manipulations you could be subjected to are limitless. When corporations and governments know you better than you know yourself, the implications get dark.
Cybernews consulted an expert to break down what this all means – Hanna Bozakov, head of marketing and press officer at Tuta Mail, the world's only end-to-end encrypted email service.
We asked her how long it might be until a quantum computer can crack encryption:
The threat is very real, but right now, no one can say when quantum computing will become a reality – or when it can be used by government institutions or large corporations. It could be tomorrow, next month, or in ten years. Since improvements in tech don’t happen continuously, but overnight, no one can really say.
It feels a bit like how AI was before it went mainstream – an inevitable shift, but no one knows exactly when the unknown will arrive.
It’s like a digital doomsday: when your crypto becomes worthless, when your private chats are owned and harvested, and when your future buying decisions are already known before you even make them.
The quantum algorithm
Imagine you’re undecided about an election.
All your past transactions, searches, and online interactions would subtly shape your content feed. Every nudge – every ad, every article suggestion – would steer you toward a choice you weren’t even aware of making.
“The question is: who controls the AI models? Who controls the recommendation algorithms? Who decides what tweets, Facebook posts, or even ads are shown to whom?” Bozakov pondered.
Does the privacy available to us today protect our free will? Or are we already past the point where technology can predict and manipulate our choices with frightening accuracy?
The illusion of choice
Right now, you might feel like you have autonomy – scrolling through Netflix, diving down different rabbit holes, discovering new interests on your own terms. But that’s already an illusion. Bozakov offered:
As the recommendation algorithms prefer posts that exaggerate, people believe that actual problems (for instance, immigration) are much, much worse than they are in reality.
With geopolitics currently throwing up all sorts of chaos, just imagine the power of quantum-driven propaganda. Woke vs. anti-woke. AI stealing all our jobs. A new Cold War. What happens when these narratives are engineered, not organic?
Technological arms race
You’d like to think big tech has our back. That somehow, governments and corporations would handle this responsibly. But quantum computing feels like a meteorite of the unknown – hurtling toward us, and no one knows exactly when it will hit.
“Many governments seem to have understood the threat and are taking the first steps to prepare for the quantum revolution, but most people and businesses are dangerously unprepared” cleared up Bozakov.
And if businesses are unprepared, so is critical infrastructure. That means energy grids, healthcare systems, government networks – all sitting there like rabbits frozen in the headlights of a technological arms race.
Geopolitically, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Which power is the most prepared? The US? Europe? China? And what happens when the first country achieves quantum supremacy?
Geopolitics is massively unpredictable so perhaps we should put the onus this time on the end-user.
“Quantum-resistant encryption is not as complex as quantum computing. One has to understand the threat and start acting on it by updating the encryption algorithms used. This is tedious and costs money, so many are still hesitant,” said Bozakov.
And beneath all of this? The future of surveillance is waiting.
Where once we had the Cold War, quantum could usher in an era of breakneck political spying. And once privacy is gone, so is free will.
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