Beyond the Bad Actor Narrative: Reconsidering Ethical Imagination in Quantum Computing

Abstract The development of emerging technologies is often accompanied by socially constructed narratives that shape the perceptions of the technology but also the ethical responsibility. This paper is investigating one particular narrative, prevailing, among others, in the field of quantum computing: The bad actor narrative. This narrative attributes potential harms caused by the technology to malicious adversaries or users with hostile intentions using the technology in unintended ways, rather than to the design, deployment, or intended uses of the developers itself. The paper critically examines the ethical implications of the bad actor narrative, arguing that it produces three major problems: it narrows ethical reflection to concerns about misuse, shifts responsibility along the innovation chain, and overshadows broader debates thus focussing attention on one particular problem. Drawing on insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS), technology assessment, responsible innovation and the sociology of expectations, this paper proposes a way to approach this narrative and creating a shared responsibility that recognizes ethical agency at every stage of technological development. By deliberately embedding values into design processes and reclaiming the ethical imagination, developers and researchers can move beyond reactive threat models and actively shape more inclusive, just, and sustainable narratives of technological futures. Rather than viewing responsibility as a burden, this paper argues that it should be embraced as a source of empowerment, i.e. a critical condition for realizing the transformative potential of quantum technologies in alignment with the common good.