The Quantum Sublime: Emerging Myth of the Quantum Computer in Films

Abstract
The quantum computer is emerging as a potentially transformative technology, yet its societal and cultural representations remain underexplored. This article investigates the figuration of the quantum computer in films, using a semiotic approach to analyze its visual and narrative portrayals. The findings reveal that cinematic representations of the technology exhibit a mythical structure. The study argues that the emergence of such a mythic structure is favored by the quantum nature of the technology and the phenomena underlying its functioning. These counterintuitive and conceptually elusive phenomena remain difficult to grasp and represent, as they have no equivalent in our experience of reality. Thus, they generate forms of fascination, bewilderment, and perplexity that can be described as “sublime” arising from a reality that feels inaccessible and incomplete. This resistance to conceptualization and representation creates a gap that tends to be filled by mythic narratives and pseudoscientific discourse surrounding quantum physics. Through cinema, these same dynamics reappear around the quantum computer itself. In films, the machine is depicted through a distinctive and recurring form and aesthetic, notably through the dilution refrigerator, which is transformed into a work of art. The capabilities attributed to the quantum computer in science-fiction stories are portrayed as immense, extraordinary, and bordering on the divine. This aesthetic and narrative construction reflects one of the essential functions of myth, to reorder the world into familiar narratives and frameworks, thereby alleviating the strangeness surrounding the quantum computer, a sophisticated and elusive system operating according to the principles of quantum mechanics. The interplay between a new and intriguing technology, counterintuitive quantum phenomena, and the aesthetic mediation of cinema thus appears to be a key factor in the formation of a contemporary technological myth.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
not applicable.
Notes
All translations from French sources are the author’s unless otherwise indicated.
References
Barthes, R. (1957). Mythologies. Seuil.
Saint Girons, B. (2025). Le sublime, de l’Antiquité à nos jours. Desjonquères.
Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and simulation. University of Michigan Press.
Blumenberg, H. (1985). Work on myth. MIT Press.
Burke, E. (2009). Recherches philosophiques sur l’origine de nos idées du sublime et du beau. Vrin.
Bruner, J. (1991). The narrative construction of reality. Critical inquiry, 18(1), 1–21.
Carey, J. W. (2008). Communication as culture: Essays on media and society. Routledge.
Collingridge, D. (1980). The social control of technology. Frances Pinter.
Cooper, P., Ernst, P., Kiewell, D., & Pinner, D. (2022, mai 19). Quantum computing just might save the planet. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-just-might-save-the-planet
de Jong, E. (2022). Own the unknown: An anticipatory approach to prepare society for the quantum age. Digital Society, 1(2), 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-022-00020-4
d’Espagnat, B. (1994). Le réel voilé: Analyse des concepts quantiques. Fayard.
Eco, U. (1978). Pour une reformulation du concept de signe iconique. Communications, 29(1), 141–191.
Eco, U. (1984). La structure absente: Introduction à la recherche sémiotique. Mercure de France.
Eliade, M. (1965). Le sacré et le profane. Gallimard.
Ernst, C., & Schröter, J. (2025). The quantum computer as a medium of the future: Imaginaries of quantum computing in Alex Garland’s Miniseries Devs. In: Making Media Futures (pp. 17–33). Routledge.
Everett, H. (1973). The theory of the universal wave function. The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, 3–140.
Ezratty, O. (2022). Mitigating the quantum hype. arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.01925.
Ezratty, O. (2023). Perspective on superconducting qubit quantum computing. The European Physical Journal A, 59(5), 94. https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-023-01006-7
Ezratty, O. (2024). Understanding quantum technologies. Le Lab Quantique.
Ferrie, C. (2023). Quantum bullsh* t: how to ruin your life with advice from quantum physics. Sourcebooks.
Feynman, R. P., Leighton, R. B., & Sands, M. (1965). The Feynman lectures on physics: Vol. III. Quantum mechanics. California Institute of Technology.
Fiedeler, U., Grunwald, A., & Coenen, C. (2005, May 14). Vision assessment in the field of nanotechnology: A first approach. Paper presented at the Conference Imaging NanoSpace – Bildwelten der Nanoforschung, Bielefeld, Germany.
Floridi, L. (2020). AI and Its New Winter: From Myths to Realities. Philosophy & Technology, 33(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-020-00396-6
Fries, M.-H. (2018). Nanotechnology and the gray goo scenario: Narratives of doom? ILCEA Revue de l’Institut des langues et cultures d’Europe Amérique Afrique Asie et Australie, 31. https://doi.org/10.4000/ilcea.4687
Grinbaum, A. (2017). Narratives of quantum theory in the age of quantum technologies. Ethics and Information Technology, 19(4), 295–306.
Godoy-Descazeaux, I., Avital, M., & Gleasure, R. (2023). Images of quantum computing: Taking stock and moving forward. ECIS 2023 Research Papers, 231.
Goswami, A. (2011). The quantum doctor: A quantum physicist explains the healing power of integrative medicine. Hampton Roads.
Hall, S. (Ed.). (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage.
Heisenberg, W. (1971). Physics and beyond: Encounters and conversations. Harper & Row.
Hilkamo, O., & Granqvist, N. (2022). Giving sense to de novo market categories: Analogies and metaphors in the early emergence of quantum computing. Advances in Cultural Entrepreneurship (pp. 57–79). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Jasanoff, S., & Kim, S. H. (Eds.). (2019). Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power. University of Chicago Press.
Kant, I. (2000). Critique of the Power of Judgment. Cambridge University Press.
Kokotajlo, D., Dean, R., Lifland, E., Scott, A., & Larsen, T. (2025). AI 2027. https://ai-2027.com/
Lévi-Strauss, C. (2008). Structural anthropology. Basic books.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (2013). Myth and meaning. Routledge.
Lyotard, J.-F. (1994). Lessons on the analytic of the sublime. Stanford University Press.
McKay, E. (2022). Keep the fight unfair: Military rhetoric in quantum technology. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.01415.
Meinsma, A. L., Kristensen, S. W., Reijnierse, W. G., Smeets, I., & Cramer, J. (2023). Is everything quantum ‘spooky and weird’? An exploration of popular communication about quantum science and technology in TEDx talks. Quantum Science and Technology, 8(3), 035004. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565/acc968
Meinsma, A. L., Rothe, T., Reijnierse, W. G., Smeets, I., & Cramer, J. (2025). Quantum in the media: A content analysis of dutch newspapers. Science Communication, 10755470251318300. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470251318300
Metz, C. (1991). Film language: A semiotics of the cinema. University of Chicago Press.
Moore, R. O. (2000). Savage theory: Cinema as modern magic. Duke University Press.
Mosco, V. (2005). The digital sublime: Myth, power, and cyberspace. MIT Press.
Noble, D. (1999). The religion of technology: The divinity of man and the spirit of invention. Penguin Publishing Group.
Nye, D. E. (1996). American technological sublime. MIT Press.
Obradović, N., & Vujović, M. (2017). A semiological analysis of films. In: Facta Universitatis Series: Visual Arts and Music. p. 39–48.
Pöhlmann, G. M., Ma, C., Suter, V., Meckel, M., & Steinacker, L. (2024). Setting the quantum agenda: How international media shapes the narratives of quantum technology. In: International Conference on Information Systems.
Roberson, T., Leach, J., & Raman, S. (2021). Talking about public good for the second quantum revolution: Analysing quantum technology narratives in the context of national strategies. Quantum Science and Technology, 6(2), 025001. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565/abc5ab
Smith, I. I. I., F. L (2020). Quantum technology hype and national security. Security dialogue, 51(5), 499–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010620904922
Souriau, E. (1951). La structure de l’univers filmique et le vocabulaire de la filmologie. Revue internationale de filmologie, 2(7–8), 231–240.
von Sven, S. (2024). Quantum energy: The secret of extraordinary change and healing. Page Publishing.
Venot, J. P., & Veldwisch, G. J. (2017). Sociotechnical Myths in Development. Introduction to a Special Issue. Anthropologie & développement, 46–47, 7–26.
Filmography
Brooker, C. (2023). (Director). Joan Is Awful (Season 6, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In Black Mirror. Netflix.
Bo Adar, B., Friese, J., & Directors (2022). 1899 [TV series]. Netflix.
Garland, A. (Director) (Ed.). (2020). Devs [TV series]. Hulu.
Harper, T. (Director) (Ed.). (2023). Heart of Stone. [Film]. Netflix.
Moore, C. (2015). (Director). The Old College Try (Season 2, Episode 11) [TV series episode]. In Scorpion. CBS.
Weitz, C. (Director) (Ed.). (2024). AfrAId [Film]. Columbia Pictures.
Acknowledgments
LN2 is a French-Canadian joint International Research Laboratory (IRL 3643) funded and co-operated by CNRS Université de Sherbrooke, INSA Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon (ECL) as well as Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA). It is also supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ). LN2 is principally operated at the Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Innovations Technologiques (3IT) at Sherbrooke.
Funding
No funding was received for conducting this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
The article complies with high research integrity standards; the article is original and has not been submitted elsewhere; ideas are presented fairly and honestly.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
De Vellis, A. The Quantum Sublime: Emerging Myth of the Quantum Computer in Films. Digit. Soc. 5, 44 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-026-00286-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-026-00286-y

Facts Only

* The study investigates the figuration of the quantum computer in films using a semiotic approach.
* Cinematic representations of the technology exhibit a mythical structure.
* This mythic structure is favored by the quantum nature and phenomena underlying the technology.
* Quantum phenomena are counterintuitive, elusive, and lack equivalent experience in reality.
* The inability to grasp these phenomena generates "sublime" feelings (fascination, bewilderment, perplexity) from an inaccessible reality.
* Mythic narratives and pseudoscientific discourse fill the gap created by resistance to conceptualization.
* Films depict the quantum computer through a distinctive aesthetic, notably the dilution refrigerator transformed into a work of art.
* Capabilities attributed to the quantum computer in science fiction are portrayed as immense, extraordinary, and divine.

Executive Summary

Cinematic representations of the quantum computer exhibit a mythical structure, rooted in the counterintuitive and elusive nature of quantum phenomena. The text suggests that the incomprehensibility of these quantum concepts generates an aesthetic of the "sublime," characterized by fascination, bewilderment, and perplexity arising from a reality that feels inaccessible. This gap between the scientific reality of quantum mechanics and human experience is filled by mythic narratives and pseudoscientific discourse to provide frameworks for understanding. In film, this dynamic manifests through the depiction of quantum technology, where the machine, often exemplified by components like dilution refrigerators, is transformed into an object imbued with extraordinary or divine capabilities. This aesthetic serves a mythological function: reordering the world into familiar narratives to alleviate the strangeness associated with complex systems. The interplay between new technology, counterintuitive physics, and cinematic aesthetics forms a contemporary technological myth.

Full Take

The narrative construction of the quantum computer functions as a mechanism for managing cognitive dissonance arising from the profound strangeness of quantum mechanics. The core insight is that when reality presents phenomena that resist easy conceptualization—like quantum uncertainty—the human tendency is to seek explanatory frameworks outside of direct empirical access, often finding these frameworks in myth. This process allows for the creation of "sublime" experiences, which paradoxically serve to stabilize the encounter with the ineffable by framing the inaccessible as grand or divine. The cinema acts as a critical mediator, taking this philosophical tension and translating it into visual and narrative aesthetics, transforming complex physics into compelling, mythic archetypes. This suggests that contemporary technological myths are not merely reflections of scientific hype but are actively constructed responses to the limits of human perception when confronted with deep physical reality. The underlying pattern involves using the aesthetic power of fiction to bridge the gap between 'what is known' and 'what is felt,' which carries significant implications for how society processes radical shifts in knowledge.
Bridge Questions: How does the specific visual language of film shape the nature of the "sublime" experienced in relation to quantum mechanics? What are the ethical consequences when technological awe is channeled through mythic frameworks rather than direct scientific understanding? If this myth functions as a coping mechanism for incomprehensibility, what cognitive sovereignty risks are incurred by accepting these narrative structures as equivalent to reality?

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

The text presents a complex, theoretically rich argument that blends film semiotics with the philosophy of the sublime to analyze the representation of quantum computing, exhibiting high academic coherence.

Signals Detected

Sentence length variance is noticeable; language flows with complex philosophical concepts rather than uniform rhythm.

The text successfully links disparate concepts (quantum mechanics, cinematic myth, the sublime) through a consistent theoretical framework without resorting to simple juxtaposition.

References are dense and specific (citing Barthes, Baudrillard, Lévi-Strauss, etc.) suggesting deep engagement with theoretical literature, rather than mere aggregation of facts.

The argument follows a coherent philosophical trajectory based on established critical theory (mythology, sublime) applied to a specific technological medium, which is characteristic of academic synthesis.

Human Indicators

Use of dense, high-level theoretical vocabulary integrated into the central argument.

The sophisticated weaving together of film theory (Metz, Moore) and philosophy of science (Kant, Lyotard) applied to quantum technology suggests a specific intellectual trajectory.

Citations draw heavily from foundational thinkers in semiotics and philosophy, indicating an author steeped in academic discourse.