Quantum Futures
Challenge
How might we combine quantum processing technologies with game theoretical models to address free riding countries in international environmental agreements?
Outcome
A quantum strategy for global public good distribution that incentivizes commitment and conservation.
Role
Research, UX Design, Content Design
The Quantum Futures Hackathon is hosted by the CERN Institute in Geneve, Switzerland. I was part of a small group selected to participate in the inaugural 2019 iteration.
I worked with a cross-disciplinary team of quantum physicists, AI computer scientists, economists, and designers to design creative solutions to real-world problems through the application of quantum technology.
We used the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals as a framework and focused on the equal preservation of globally public goods (GPG). GPGs are goods that cannot be replaced with any other good and that no one can be theoretically excluded from, such as clean air. We wondered if we could imagine the international environment as a GPG. If a nation is able to enjoy the benefit of a GPG without paying into it we end up with a free-rider problem, which in economics is a type of market failure that occurs when those who benefit from resources, public goods, or communal services do not pay for them.
We developed a quantum strategy for global public good distribution and used different deep learning algorithms to test economic incentives that, in theory, should encourage nation states to contribute to GPG preservation at a level commensurate to their economic fitness (GDP).
We created a working model that recommended financial commitment levels for select countries based on real data.
