Quantum Computing & the Next Economic Order

Join us for the second in a series of intimate evening conversations exploring how science and technology are colliding with culture, ethics, economics and human enterprise.

Emergent Futures brings these collisions into the room. Artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biotechnology, robotics and advanced computing. Not as a briefing, but as a conversation about what these technologies are changing and what choices still remain ours to make.

For our second evening, Chris Cormack is joined by Professor Muhammad Usman to explore one of the most consequential technologies now emerging from the laboratory into the real world.

Quantum computing promises extraordinary new capabilities while challenging many of the foundations on which our digital economy depends. From cryptography and national security to finance, communications and scientific discovery, quantum technologies are beginning to reshape how we think about computation itself and the economic order built upon it.

Professor Usman has spent more than fifteen years researching and teaching quantum computing across academia and industry. He has held leading roles in major Australian quantum initiatives, including the National Quantum Computing Testbed and quantum-secured military systems. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Physics and the Australian Institute of Physics, and serves on the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Physics.

The evening begins as a one-to-one conversation before opening to discussion with the room.

The opening conversation may be recorded for a future podcast. Once discussion opens to the floor, the conversation continues off the record in the spirit of the Chatham House Rule.

Bring a question from your profession, industry or field. Or simply bring your curiosity.

Drink on arrival. Supper available. Members and guests welcome.

Date: Tuesday November 17th, 2026
Time: 6PM
Where: Kelvin Club

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