Communicating the Quantum World: A News Framing Analysis of Recent Developments in Quantum Technologies

The second quantum revolution has promised to fundamentally alter the world’s computing infrastructure. Consequently, it is expected that quantum computing will reshape nearly every social, economic, political, and personal activity. However, public and expert awareness and knowledge of quantum computing is shockingly low. Therefore, the present paper employed news framing as a qualitative method to investigate the current popular discourse surrounding developments in quantum technologies. Results indicated two primary themes regarding the understanding and speed of development intertwined into the coverage of quantum technology. Broad implications are drawn for both the ways in which we communicate quantum technology and future technologies in general.