Thoughts on Security and Business Ethics: Facilitating Cryptoworks 21

Schmooz recently had the opportunity to create and facilitate a workshop on entrepreneurship and intellectual property for the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing called Cryptoworks 21 (https://cryptoworks21.ca/about/). What an exciting opportunity to share our knowledge about small business life, intellectual property protection and what it means to commercialize an idea, system or product. The students who participated came from the universities in Ontario, Calgary and Montreal. They were all completing their Masters, Doctorates and Post Doctorates on Quantum Computing, Physics, etc. For many of these students, this was the first time they had sat down with their idea and contextualized it within the framework of the business world. What came out of the workshop was a new excitement about how individual and shared ideas could have value in the marketplace.

A major take away from the day were the questions about business and ethics. In a world where the lines of security and privacy have become more and more blurry, these students were concerned about what it means to be a business person. "What is our responsibility when we make a product?" "Just because we can prove that we can make something using quantum computing, should we?" What is so challenging is that people's value systems and moral character are not always the same. While there are laws to protect and govern people's actions (and inventions and processes), people do find ways to manipulate language, relationships and agreements. For instance, in its simplest form: some people don't question if they should or should not eat meat, while others are passionate vegetarians. Ethics can become blurry, especially when money and fame come into the picture.

When asked about how Schmooz deals with ethics, it was very important to think before answering. Schmooz acknowledges and welcomes all points of view; while at the end of the day, the information or content we choose to share is our own, we strive to demonstrate our openness to and for people's opinions. Our company culture is built on the idea that honesty and integrity are as important or more important than how much money we make. It seems impossible to create content and information that won't offend or dissuade some people, just as it is impossible to be perfect. We must try to remember the value that people and ideas bring, even if we do not agree with those people or ideas. For the world would be a dull place if everyone thought the same way...

These are big questions, and we will certainly continue to think about how to best approach this busy world of ours. Thank you to the Institute for Quantum Computing and the students at Cryptoworks 21 for challenging us to be a better business, and for reminding us to listen carefully and respond carefully.