"There is a strong promise of change, and the world's superpowers are already moving."

BarcelonaThe phone that wakes us up, the microwave that heats our milk, or the MRI that we undergo in the hospital. From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep, quantum physics accompanies and influences us. In fact, the impact of this discipline—often shrouded in mysticism—has also changed the way we understand the world and geopolitics. And the world of culture and the humanities is no stranger to this revolution, as the journal seeks to demonstrate. fourth edition of the City and Science Biennial, which will be held simultaneously in Barcelona and Madrid from November 18th to 23rd, co-organized by the Círculo de Bellas Artes. This year, there will be a special program to mark the Guadalajara International Book Fair, of which Barcelona is the guest city, from November 29th to December 7th.

"Quantum may seem overly complex to us, but it's all around us, and sometimes people aren't aware that it has enabled the current technological revolution," explained Alba Cervera, senior researcher in the quantum group at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - National Supercomputing Center, the quantum computing ecosystem in Southern Europe. She said this as one of the curators of the Biennial during the event's presentation, which was led by the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance, and Tourism and head of the Science area, Jordi Valls, and the director of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Valerio Rocco.

In total, 130 activities will be held, designed to reflect on and bring the quantum revolution closer to the public. These events will feature the voices of internationally renowned scientists such as Catalan Ignacio Cirac, Italian Carlo Rovelli, and Colombian Alexandra Olaya-Castro, as well as Australian-Canadian science communicator Chris Ferrie. The epicenter of the activities in the Catalan capital will be the future Ciutadella del Conocimiento, one of the neuralgic hubs of research and innovation that will concentrate universities and research centers in the city in the coming years. The Born Museum of History of Barcelona will host the bulk of the program, although there will also be activities at the Pompeu Fabra University Ciutadella Campus, the Greenhouse of the Museum of Natural Sciences, and the Convent of Sant Agustín.

"Interesting and challenging" ideas

In an event hosted by Cristina Sáez, a science and health journalist from the ARA, physicist and writer Toni Pou, also curator of the Biennial, outlined the four pillars of the edition's program. First, the revolution of ideas, which will delve into intrinsic concepts of quantum physics—what does it mean to observe? What is a physical state? What is uncertainty?—which have a major scientific impact, but also cultural impact, such as cinema or literature. Second, the fact that quantum information is power, meaning that any physical system contains information, and when it interacts with another, an exchange occurs, ranging from safer, faster, or more powerful results.

Pou also highlighted the importance of recognizing the role of humankind as observers, destroyers, and learners, who in their eagerness to create technology have had to "degrade" the planet. To observe on a microscopic scale, he said, it is necessary to alter, which inevitably modifies a state, both of a specific material and of the social, economic, and geopolitical organization of the world. "AI and quantum physics hold a strong promise of change, and the world's superpowers are already moving. We scientists must be mindful of what we do and what repercussions it may have," Cervera added.

Finally, the fourth axis is based on the limits of knowledge, in which the current frontiers will be reflected: "What will happen if we merge the power of quantum computers and artificial intelligence? What if we understand biological processes about consciousness or photosynthesis? All of this is still unknown territory," Pou argued. "They challenge creators a lot, and humans are very narrative beings: we understand things through stories." "How do we talk about quantum physics? What is it and what is it not? That's what concerned us, because in recent years it has been presented as a mystical and mysterious issue, fascinating and strange," also posed Carlos Sabín, PhD in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Ramón y Cajal researcher and curator at the Madrid University.

Barcelona-Madrid Bridge

During the presentation, Valls emphasized the importance of disseminating science at a time when emerging sectors are challenging it. "Barcelona—and its metropolitan area—has top-tier scientific institutions, such as the Alba Synchrotron, the BSC, and the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), and the Biennial is a well-established event that reinforces its role as the scientific and cultural capital of southern Europe," he argued, placing special emphasis on the event. Rocco, for his part, emphasized that this project is strategic for the Círculo de Bellas Artes: "Because it strengthens connections with Barcelona and because it insists on exploring the links between art and science."

Tere Badia, director of the Hub of Art, Science and Technology (HacTe), has valued that the biennial is a space "of intersection" of disciplines, which allows to try to delve into questions still open or generate new ones through the arts: drawing, conferences for films, forums, concerts, plays... "The arts help us understand invisible, intangible, very human issues such as uncertainty and certainty. Connecting science with art is connecting with humanity," concluded Elisa Garrido, also responsible for the programming in Madrid.