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AI + Quantum Ethics Standards

Quantum Standard: Research Limits, Responsible Disclosure, and Moratorium Capability

1. Purpose

Enable scientific progress while preventing irresponsible release of capabilities that plausibly create irreversible or catastrophic harm.

2. Applicability

  • Applies to Tier 0–3 quantum research when outputs may materially increase dual-use capability.
  • Strongest requirements apply to Tier 3-relevant work.

3. Ethical Mapping

  • A5 Proportionality & Moderation
  • A7 Stewardship
  • A4 Trustworthiness

4. Requirements (Normative)

Q-R-1 (Pre-Registration of High-Risk Research). When research plausibly increases capability for major cryptographic compromise, mass surveillance, or destabilizing security outcomes, researchers SHOULD pre-register:

  • intent and threat model
  • anticipated dual-use risks
  • planned mitigations and disclosure approach

Q-R-2 (Responsible Disclosure Path). For Tier 3-relevant findings, researchers MUST define a responsible disclosure path, including:

  • who is notified and when (e.g., infrastructure stewards, affected sectors)
  • what is disclosed publicly vs. withheld
  • criteria for staged disclosure

Q-R-3 (Moratorium Capability). Tier 3 governance MUST maintain the ability to pause or constrain release/deployment when trigger conditions are met, including:

  • credible evidence of catastrophic misuse potential
  • inability to implement effective access controls
  • misalignment between capability and societal readiness

Q-R-4 (Security of Research Artifacts). For Tier 3-relevant work, access to code, data, and hardware configurations MUST be controlled and monitored, with least-privilege principles.

5. Compliance Evidence

  • pre-registration records (where applicable)
  • disclosure plans and notification logs
  • governance pause/constraint policies and trigger criteria
  • access control policies and audit logs for research artifacts

6. Rationale (Non-normative)

Responsible disclosure and moratorium capability are governance tools: they preserve scientific legitimacy while reducing the odds of irreversible harms from uncontrolled diffusion.

7. Failure Modes & Abuse Cases

  • “publish first” incentives overriding safety
  • leaking high-risk artifacts via weak access controls
  • governance without real pause authority (“paper moratorium”)

8. Change Log

  • v0.1: Initial draft.