Following the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the legal field has slowly adapted to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). From AI-powered legal research to AI contract analysis, the use of AI software is slowly becoming commonplace across many legal practices. But as AI settles into place in the legal field, a revolutionary—and far more disruptive—technology is already on the horizon: quantum computing.
Quantum computing is not a term often—if ever—used in the legal field. But in the coming years, quantum computing will be the most revolutionary technology in human history. In fact, this new technology is already one of the United States’ most important national security concerns, and private and public investment in quantum computing has topped $42 billion globally. In December 2022, the U.S. Congress passed a bill requiring that all executive agencies migrate their information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography to withstand attacks by quantum computers.
