GLOBAL AND LOCAL FORCES SHAPING QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM THE RESEARCHER PERSPECTIVE

Date

2024-12-18

Author

Gerçek, Ayşe Ayda

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The second quantum revolution has created an opportunity to produce technologies that promise significant benefits across various sectors. It has opened a transformative chapter in technological development, offering rich opportunities while posing complex challenges. This study explores how local and global dynamics shape the development trajectory of quantum technologies (QT), highlighting their influence on the research ecosystem. By analyzing the experiences of researchers, it examines how these dynamics impact work practices, collaborations, and technological outcomes. Factors such as funding structures, policy strategies, and global competitiveness are assessed, revealing how researchers’ working conditions and perspectives both shape and are shaped by these forces. This qualitative study employs online interviews conducted via conference platforms to generate data. Ten experts from various backgrounds and working in different countries, all specializing in quantum technology constitute the sample. The data generated is evaluated and analyzed within the Social Shaping of Technology (SST) framework, which suggests the powerful existence of fluidity and regime elements in an emerging technology. In the case of quantum technologies, the unpredictability of the technology itself, the dynamic roles and relationships among actors within the QT development ecosystem, and the structural factors tied to both QT-specific and broader stability collectively shape the development trajectory in a complementary manner. Based on the analysis of researchers' experiences and perceptions, this study aims to propose policy models that guide QT development toward maximizing its potential while fostering ideal working conditions and collaborative environments that align with researchers' expectations and needs.

Subject Keywords

Quantum technologies (QT), social shaping of technology, policy development, research ecosystem, global-local dynamics

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112927

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis