The biggest prize in computer science, the A.M. Turing Award, has for the first time honored work in the quantum realm. This year, Charles Bennett, a physicist at IBM, and Gilles Brassard, a computer scientist at the University of Montreal, share the $1 million award for “their essential role in establishing the foundations of quantum information science,” according to the Association for Computin...
The Turing Award’s selection of Bennett and Brassard represents a deliberate strategic move by the ACM to signal the burgeoning importance of quantum information science, effectively staking a claim in a field still largely considered theoretical. The “motte-and-bailey” tactic – as evidenced by Jack Dongarra’s commentary – is clearly at play, framing this award as an acknowledgement of *potential* rather than immediate technological achievement. This is a calculated attempt to draw resources and...