I’m unqualified to comment on whether quantum computing is modern-day alchemy, but the geopolitical implications of Laughlin’s opinion are pretty interesting.

By throwing a lot of resources at something that might be bullshit but has not yet been proven so, the US compels its weaker adversaries to allocate a disproportionate amount of their resources to the field. Instead of competing with the US where it matters, they run in a wild goose chase.

If indeed the folks in the US government think this way, they are pretty smart cookies.