A Future European Union ‘Quantum Act’? Critical Lessons from the Global AI Governance Debate

ROSTAM J. NEUWIRTH

ABSTRACT: The year 2025 was officially designated by the United Nations as International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) to commemorate the 100 years since the initial formulation of quantum theories. In July 2025, the European Union (EU) released its ‘Quantum Europe Strategy: Quantum Europe in a Changing World’, which recognizes that ‘today we stand at an inflection point, as the global race to harness quantum technologies accelerates, moving beyond the labs and entering real-world applications’. The same strategy also includes the goal to present a proposal for an EU Quantum Act in 2026, similar to the draft AI Act first released in 2021. With many more countries preparing quantum strategies or laws and working on quantum technologies, the terminology of a ‘regulatory race’ is reminiscent of the language used in the current global artificial intelligence (AI) debate. Debates about AI have revealed several critical shortcomings that have hindered the development of consistent and adequate legal frameworks governing AI and related technologies at the national, regional and global levels. This article seeks to point out the major shortcomings underlying the present AI governance and regulatory debates and identify the lessons that can be learned for future regulatory debates on quantum technologies and a possible draft ‘EU Quantum Act’. In essence, it argues that it is necessary to first develop ‘quantum intelligence’ or ‘quantum literacy’ – understood as the conceptual and cognitive skills adequate to the challenges posed by quantum technologies – before adopting new laws.

KEYWORDS: EU Quantum Act, Quantum Revolutions, Quantum Technologies, Global AI Governance Debate, EU AI Act, Space-Time, Future of Law

Information
Macau Journal of Global Legal Studies, Volume 2 (2025)