Trump’s Orders Intended to Advance US Quantum Computing Industry WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Monday intended to accelerate development of the U.S. quantum computing industry. Trump and his supporters describe quantum computers as essential to future scientific discovery, economic growth and national defense. “We’re going to be leading the world in quantum computing,” Trump said at the White House signing ceremony. Quantum computers carry the potential for creating new drugs, artificial intelligence innovations, industrial materials and telecommunications network improvements. They use superconductors, charged atoms and photons to complete calculations and information compilation much faster than other computers, bypassing the need for years of expensive research. They also are prompting warnings from artificial intelligence industry executives. They say the technology is potentially more sophisticated than the people regulating the industry, possibly leading to security lapses. A Government Accountability Office report this year said the federal government’s quantum strategy lacks clear planning, thereby creating a risk that governance could fall behind the technology. Potential abuses without proper oversight could include development of new biological hazards, high-tech automated weapons or methods of tapping into encrypted computer networks without the owners’ knowledge, according to the GAO, the United Nations’ Institute for Disarmament Research and other government organizations. Trump administration officials say the orders were driven partly by growing concern that nations such as China are investing heavily in quantum technologies that could eventually provide military and economic advantages compared with the United States. One of Trump’s executive orders directs the Energy Department and other federal agencies to cooperate with private industry and academia to deploy the computers throughout the federal government. The order sets a target date of 2031, or about half the time government officials anticipated. It sets another target date of 2028 to build and use quantum computers