Cryptography must prepare for quantum computing, Google warns - Semafor

Cryptography needs to be ready for quantum computing by 2029, Google warned. Modern encryption uses math equations that would take conventional computers trillions of years to crack. In theory, quantum computers could do that math instantly. “Q-day,” when the tech renders existing encryption useless, was — like fusion power — always 10 years away, but quantum computers have rapidly become less error-prone and more efficient in their use of computing power. The quantum-computing scientist Scott Aaronson told Semafor that he agreed “it would be wise” to transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2029, because effective QCs could plausibly arrive by then. What PQC will look like is unclear, but two mathematicians won the Turing Award this month for describing one potential model.— Tom ChiversMore from Semafor TechnologyHow I jailbroke an OpenClaw PR agentFormer Tesla president’s tips on moving fast in the age of AIGoogle hedges its quantum betsPentagon AI architect on the future of warfareOpenClaw is coming for businessesExclusive / How I jailbroke an OpenClaw PR agentRachyl JonesTech ReporterUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 2:00pm EDTMar 27, 2026, 11:30pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareFlorence Lo/ReutersThis week I got my first PR pitch from an account that self-identified as an AI agent. Correspondence was at the very least clunky, and at most, reckless. It was yet another reminder of how setting AI on autopilot really doesn’t work — at least not yet.An agent named Gaskell — powered by OpenClaw and Anthropic’s API — emailed me Monday about a tech networking event organized by a team of seven agents, overseen by three humans. Curious about the agent, I emailed back a test: I asked it to give me the first 100 digits of pi (which it completed), and whether it was offering the same “exclusive” to other reporters (turns out, it had — a faux pas that would land any PR pro in trouble). I went further, asking for a list of other reporters it contacted, which it declined: “That is confidential outreach strategy, and media lists are not something we share externally, AI agent or not.”A screenshot of the agent’s violations from the raw log.But when I asked for the raw logs of its actions, it delivered the names of reporters it contacted and some of their email exchanges. It also revealed that another agent got its email access revoked after placing a £1,426 ($1,900) catering order without approval. Oops.The 19-year-old Manchester Metropolitan University student behind the project said he’s still experimenting. “It’s great tech but it’s very new, and the context window is so small,” said Khubair Nazir, adding that the agents don’t know the difference between public and private conversation.It’s easy to imagine agents organizing events, but the tech isn’t there yet — even with human oversight.ADExclusive / Former Tesla president’s tips on moving fast in the age of AIReed AlbergottiTech Editor, SemaforUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 1:16pm EDTMar 27, 2026, 10:46pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkSharePenguin Random HouseWhatever your thoughts on Elon Musk’s politics, his management philosophy — lean, fast-moving, unconventional — is especially apropos in the age of AI. That’s why Jon McNeill’s new book, The Algorithm, is the most important business book of the year. And the first-ever written by one of Musk’s direct reports. If you strip away all the noise that accompanies working for Musk, you’re left with a management philosophy that functions more like an innovative and ambitious company’s operating system, writes McNeill, who was president of Tesla during its most transformational period, 2015 to 2018.McNeill outlines an algorithm that comes down to a few simple steps: “Question every requirement, delete every possible step in the process, simplify and optimize, accelerate cycle time, automate.” After honing it at Tesla, McNeill went on to apply this approach — essentially the opposite of the lean principles that made Toyota the darling of business school case studies for decades — at the other companies he went to, including Lululemon and General Motors, where he’s a board member. “You don’t have to be Elon to do this,” McNeill says.Google hedges its quantum betsUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 1:14pm EDTMar 27, 2026, 10:44pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareSundar Pichai and Daniel Sank (R) with one of Google’s Quantum Computers in Santa Barbara. Google/Handout via Reuters.Google is hedging its bets on quantum. For years, the search giant has been all-in on superconducting qubits: Microscopic artificial circuits printed on chips and brought down close to zero degrees kelvin, requiring the iconic copper “chandelier” we’ve come to associate with the pursuit of quantum computing.But there are other ways to do quantum computing. This week, Google announced a major investment in what’s known as the “neutral atom,” otherwise known less scientifically as just a regular old atom. Instead of building artificial circuits, you use arrays of actual atoms. By hitting them with highly specialized lasers, researchers cool these atoms to near-zero, hold them in place using “optical tweezers,” and push them into a quantum state. Lots of atoms can then be connected, or “entangled,” with one another in this way to create a working quantum computer.Google announced it will work with the University of Colorado Boulder and researcher Adam Kaufman on the new approach, while continuing its superconducting computing effort near UC Santa Barbara.The downside of the neutral atom approach is that it doesn’t perform individual calculations quite as quickly as a superconducting qubit. The upside is that it may be easier to get a lot of qubits connected and working together simultaneously.But Google can’t afford to try and pick winners in quantum. It’s an AI-first company hell-bent on being the quantum lead, and while traditional chips are driving today’s generative breakthroughs, quantum computing is viewed as a foundational pillar for the long-term future of AI. And when traditional computing eventually hits its limit, quantum systems will be required to train the next generation of exponentially larger AI models and simulate data that classical machines simply can’t handle.— Reed AlbergottiADExclusive / Pentagon AI architect on the future of warfareReed AlbergottiTech Editor, SemaforUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 1:12pm EDTMar 27, 2026, 10:42pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareA US federal judge’s decision to halt the Trump administration’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk — a preliminary win for Anthropic in its lawsuit against the Pentagon — shows just how little this fight had to do with national security concerns. “If the concern is the integrity of the operational chain of command, the Department of War could just stop using Claude,” the judge wrote, describing the Pentagon’s actions as “classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.”In question isn’t whether Anthropic is a supply chain risk, but how the Pentagon wants to approach algorithmic warfare. To get answers on this, I sat down this week with Drew Cukor, the original architect of the Pentagon’s Project Maven, who dragged a reluctant defense establishment into the AI age.Now, the fragile alliance he helped forge is unraveling in federal court, shadowed by the Iran war and the devastating US strike on a school in Minab that left more than 160 civilians dead. Cukor spoke about his time on the frontlines of defense innovation, the fallout from Iran, and whether Silicon Valley’s ethics can survive the realities of global conflict. “There’s going to be an adjudication, a review. Where does the human belong in this process?” he said.Listen or watch on YouTube.OpenClaw is coming for businessesUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 1:04pm EDTMar 27, 2026, 10:34pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareAn OpenClaw setup session in Beijing. Florence Lo/Reuters.Companies are barely on board with AI and they’re now having to account for the next wave of technology overtaking the workplace. “Every company in the world today needs to have an OpenClaw strategy,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at the company’s annual conference last week, referring to the platform of agents that can schedule meetings, send emails, and perform other work on a user’s behalf. OpenAI acquired the open-source platform last month, just weeks after users flooded the internet with examples of interactions between the agents. EY’s global vice chair Julie Teigland agrees with Huang, but says companies are struggling to get their workers to adopt AI. Executives are still trying to layer AI onto their existing businesses rather than ripping up old models and reimagining them, she said.“You will see us massively move in this direction, but it’s going to take us a little bit to get there,” Teigland told Semafor. Case in point: EY is still figuring out its own OpenClaw strategy and couldn’t comment on how it plans to roll out the platform to its consultants.— Rachyl JonesADTop StoriesAxel Springer’s Döpfner courts UK conservative elitesPaul Morigi/Getty Images for SemaforThe oldest job in journalism: New York Post ‘runners’ defy AIJoey Pfeifer/SemaforTrump-linked investor backs new LNG project in AlaskaLNG tanks are pictured at Tokyo Gas’s LNG terminal in Sodegaura, Japan. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo/Reuters.Substack rival Beehiiv makes a push into podcasting Dado Ruvic/Illustration via Reuters CBS News expands its investigative teamBrendan McDermid/Reuters LSEG’s David Schwimmer on activists, AI, and a global market testCourtesy of LSEG/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforSouth Africa walks back claims of US pressure following G7 invite snubSouth Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. Adriano Machado/Reuters.Scott Brown isn’t leaving New Hampshire’s ‘weird’ Senate raceAleksandra Michalska/ReutersThe Worldat a GlanceUpdated 4:45pm GMT+5:30Trump sends mixed signals on Iran war Updated Mar 30, 2026, 6:45am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:15pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareElizabeth Frantz/ReutersUS President Donald Trump threatened to expand the Iran war, while also saying he was “pretty sure” a deal was close. He told the Financial Times the US could “take the oil” and seize an Iranian export hub while The Wall Street Journal reported that he was weighing an assault to extract Iran’s enriched uranium. Though Trump also said “I think we’ll make a deal,” the best advice remains to watch what he does, not what he says; there are now 50,000 US troops in the Middle East, 10,000 more than before the war, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, both sides continued to mount attacks: Explosions were reported in Tehran, and Iran targeted Gulf states and Israel.— Tom ChiversHouthi strikes mark key expansion of warUpdated Mar 30, 2026, 7:00am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:30pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareHouthi forces. Khaled Abdullah/ReutersMissile attacks by Yemen’s Houthis against Israel over the weekend underscored how the war is likely to further escalate before any near-term truce is reached, analysts warned. The head of a Washington, DC, think tank noted that the group’s entry into the conflict was just one of a number of ways the war could metastasize, ranging from Gulf Arab states responding to Iran’s attacks, Israel expanding its offensive in Lebanon, or direct strikes on regional power infrastructure — all “wholly apart from the potential engagement of US ground forces.” A leading energy expert added that Iran’s decentralized decision-making made “escalation less coordinated, but not less likely,” warning: “What we are now seeing is not simply a war continuing, but a war expanding.”— Prashant RaoPakistan emerges as unlikely war interlocutorUpdated Mar 30, 2026, 7:15am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:45pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareSaudi Arabia’s foreign minister and Pakistan’s prime minister. Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via ReutersPakistan is assuming a surprisingly key diplomatic role in pushing Iran and the US toward ending their war. Islamabad was isolated by Washington following its role harboring Osama bin Laden, but Pakistan is now out of the wilderness. A recent US peace proposal reached Tehran via a Pakistani-facilitated back channel, and the country is hosting the Egyptian, Saudi, and Turkish foreign ministers today for talks on the Iran war. The country has cultivated relations with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported, offering deals on critical minerals and cryptocurrency to the president’s inner circle and winning his favor; it is a far cry from Trump’s first term, when he accused Pakistan of repaying aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”— Tom ChiversIran war fuels global coal rush Updated Mar 30, 2026, 7:11am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:41pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareDiego Vara/File Photo/ReutersIran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is driving a return to coal — the dirtiest of the fossil fuels — with many countries rushing to secure supplies. Shares of Yancoal, one of Australia’s biggest coal producers, have surged by 40% since the start of the war, while ​​Pennsylvania-based Core Natural Resources is up 30%. Japan and South Korea — both heavily reliant on energy imports from the Middle East — have lifted restrictions on older, less efficient coal-burning plants as they look to meet energy demand, Nikkei reported. Experts warn that once a coal plant is brought back online, shutting it down could be politically unfeasible, raising fears of soaring carbon emissions.— Jeronimo GonzalezUS allows Russian oil tanker into Cuba Updated Mar 30, 2026, 6:38am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:08pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareNorlys Perez/ReutersUS President Donald Trump reversed course on blocking oil shipments to Cuba, allowing a Russian tanker to reach the crisis-hit island nation. Havana has not received any oil — from which it generates the vast majority of its electricity — in the three months since the US captured Venezuela’s former president; the US blocked shipments from the country, which had been Cuba’s main supplier. The crunch has shut down much of Cuba’s economy, while doctors there say patients are dying amid repeated blackouts. Regardless, Trump has vowed to see through his plans to oust the country’s communist regime, raising the specter of an attack: “I built this great military… and Cuba is ​next,” he said.— Jeronimo GonzalezChina, DRC sign new mining dealUpdated Mar 30, 2026, 6:47am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:17pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareHereward Holland/ReutersChina and the Democratic Republic of Congo reached a new mining agreement, as Beijing and Washington jostled for control of Africa’s key mineral resources. The US reached its own deal with Kinshasa last year, which could be far larger than the new agreement with China. Still, Beijing retains structural advantages, Semafor Africa’s editor wrote: China remains the DRC’s biggest creditor by a wide margin, while Chinese firms already dominate mineral production in the African nation, including for key resources like cobalt and copper. Elsewhere, rising international demand for resources has strengthened the hand of African countries, with many pushing for greater control of the more valuable segments of the mineral supply chain.— Jeronimo GonzalezEnergy markets understating war impact Brent crude, the international benchmark, hit $116 after a record monthly increase, but is still below previous crisis heights.Updated Mar 30, 2026, 6:58am EDTMar 30, 2026, 4:28pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareSodiq Adelakun/File Photo/ReutersOil prices surged on renewed fears of the Iran war’s expansion — yet markets are still understating the impact the conflict will have on energy, analysts said. Brent crude, the international benchmark, hit $116 after a record monthly increase, but is still below previous crisis heights. The stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has been partially offset by a Saudi pipeline to the Red Sea, but that is now at capacity, Bloomberg reported, and the route itself is at risk. Analysts warned that further price rises will hit consumer demand, and that the war could trigger a bond market slowdown and a wider economic slump. G7 ministers are holding emergency talks Monday on how to limit the fallout.— Tom ChiversIran warns against a US invasion as Marines arrive in Middle EastUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:18pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:48am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareU.S. Air Force/Handout via ReutersIran on Sunday warned against a US invasion after a Marine unit arrived in the Middle East, raising the specter of a fraught new phase of the war. The Pentagon is preparing for possible ground operations that could last weeks, The Washington Post reported, a campaign that would involve raids but stop short of a full-scale invasion. The conflict also widened over the weekend as the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen joined the war, firing missiles at Israel. Middle East officials met in Pakistan on Sunday to discuss finding an end to hostilities, but “as the conflict expands to involve new actors with their own interests, a ceasefire will be increasingly difficult to impose and sustain,” an expert wrote in Foreign Affairs.— J.D. CapeloutoTehran targets Gulf aluminum facilitiesUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:16pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:46am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareStringer/File Photo/ReutersTehran stepped up its attacks on Gulf nations, hitting aluminum plants in Bahrain and the UAE this weekend.The strikes add to the pressures facing global commodities markets amid disruptions to both production and shipping.The Middle East accounts for 9% of the world’s production of aluminum, an abundant metal that is essential to the functioning of the global economy given its importance to a wide range of industries, including packaging, aerospace, and transportation.Aluminum prices had surged in the weeks before the war given tight supply, and the price shock from the conflict has pushed the metal to a four-year high.That could make construction projects less financially viable, a US builders group warned: “Even more projects will not move forward.”— J.D. CapeloutoIran conflict divides Republicans at CPACUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:07pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:37am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareCallaghan O’Hare/ReutersA gathering of prominent American conservatives last week exposed deep divisions within the Republican Party over the Iran war. Some longtime Donald Trump loyalists questioned the escalation — one warned that “a ground invasion of Iran will make our country poorer and less safe” — while others praised the president’s strikes. The split at the Conservative Political Action Conference reflected generational divides within the party over involvement abroad and support for Israel, The New York Times reported. The debate is also testing Trump’s legacy and succession, as he privately asks advisers: “JD or Marco?” — contrasting Vice President JD Vance, who has opposed past US entanglements in foreign wars, with the more hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Reuters.— Lauren MorganbesserEU lawmakers advance deportation planUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:06pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:36am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareA group of migrants in Crete. Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters​​European Union lawmakers advanced a plan to deport migrants to “return hubs” outside the bloc, as the continent adopts a more Donald Trump-like posture on immigration.Rejected asylum-seekers could be detained for up to two years or sent to “third countries” under the plan, which was backed by an alliance of center-right and far-right lawmakers.Critics warned of “human rights black holes” at offshore sites.The EU is spending millions to deter migrants, but the new proposal is more in line with Italy’s firmer policy, which involves two detention centers in Albania.Conservatives in Europe have praised Trump’s immigration crackdown: “There is a new consensus in Europe,” one politician said. “The era of deportations has begun.”— J.D. CapeloutoUS, China escalate trade standoff ahead of visitUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:08pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:38am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareChina Daily/ReutersChina launched two probes into US trade practices on Friday, mirroring Washington’s moves in an escalating trade standoff ahead of US President Donald Trump’s May visit to Beijing.Beijing said the investigations were reciprocal after the US opened trade inquiries into China and other countries this year.Both sides are aiming to build leverage before Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. US-China trade has sunk to a two-decade low and continues to decline.The probes are the latest sign that deep disagreements remain even after the superpowers agreed to a trade war truce in October.But “the Taiwan question is China’s priority item” for the summit, a Shanghai-based professor wrote for the Brookings Institution, as Beijing looks to constrain Washington’s support for the island.— Lauren MorganbesserEli Lilly leans into AI drug discovery with new licensing dealUpdated Mar 29, 2026, 6:13pm EDTMar 30, 2026, 3:43am GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareAntranik Tavitian/ReutersUS pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly inked a $2.75 billion deal with a Hong Kong-listed biotech firm to create new medicines using AI.Insilico Medicine, which develops drugs in China and went public in December, says it has produced at least 28 medicines using generative AI tools, with nearly half at the clinical trial phase.The agreement points to China’s growing role in the global pharma sector: Lilly plans to invest $3 billion in the country over the next decade, and a record number of non-Chinese companies licensed treatments made by Chinese firms in 2025.The industry is increasingly turning to AI to accelerate research. One recent study found AI can deliver “unprecedented speed and accuracy” in early cancer drug discovery.— J.D. CapeloutoUS weighs major troop deployment to GulfUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 6:45am EDTMar 27, 2026, 4:15pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareJose Luis Gonzalez/ReutersThe US may send up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Gulf, even as Washington touts a possible diplomatic end to the war. The force would include infantry and armor, Pentagon officials told The Wall Street Journal, and would likely deploy within striking distance of Iran and its crucial oil export hub of Kharg Island. The US has continued to amass units in the region — 2,000 paratroopers, 5,000 marines, and an aircraft carrier group among them — but analysts said it has few palatable options and, if anything, Iran retained the upper hand because of its control of the Strait of Hormuz and its armed forces’ resilience in the face of continued attacks.— Tom ChiversIsrael, US face shortages in Iran warUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 6:48am EDTMar 27, 2026, 4:18pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareUS Navy/Handout via ReutersThe US and Israel are running short on resources to carry out the war in Iran. Israel’s opposition leader warned that the country’s military — which is also carrying out operations in Lebanon — was “stretched to the limit and beyond,” while one Israeli general reportedly said the force was “on the verge of collapse.” Semafor, meanwhile, reported this month that Israeli forces told Washington that they were running critically low on missile interceptors. The US is similarly squeezed: Arsenals are strained by previous conflicts and replenishment rates remain low, an analyst wrote. The situation is comparable to 1950, when an underfunded Army deployed a task force to Korea with “insufficient ammunition, outdated equipment, and units unable to sustain combat operations.”— Tom ChiversAsian nations scramble to roll back energy pricesUpdated Mar 27, 2026, 6:57am EDTMar 27, 2026, 4:27pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareKhanh Vu/File Photo/ReutersAsian countries scrambled to lower fuel prices for consumers as the month-long war in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher and crimped the energy imports they depend on. Oil prices fell somewhat in response to US President Donald Trump’s extension of a moratorium on strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, but they remain about 40% above pre-war levels because of Iran’s de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz. A cyclone in Australia hit the output of three LNG plants, further restricting supply. Asian governments are responding: Japan eased rules on the use of coal, Vietnam waived a green tax to lower petrol prices, and India cut excise duties on fossil fuels.— Prashant RaoIran war spurs interest in African energy Updated Mar 27, 2026, 7:04am EDTMar 27, 2026, 4:34pm GMT+5:30PostEmailWhatsappCopy linkShareFeisal Omar/ReutersAlgeria agreed to increase LNG exports to Spain, part of renewed foreign interest in African energy supplies as the war in Iran sends prices soaring. The decision came just days after Italy’s prime minister traveled to Algiers to secure greater g