On Wednesday (9 April), The NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO) released its Science & Technology Macro Trends Report 2025-2045.
The report identifies six key trends that will be important for NATO in the next 20 years: evolving competition areas; the race for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum superiority; biotechnology revolution; resource divide; fragmenting public trust; and technology integration and dependencies.
The report assesses that, as global strategic competition intensifies, advances in science and technology will transform how nations compete. It predicts that AI and quantum technologies will be at the centre of such competition and continue to revolutionise industries, including in the defence and security sectors. Advances in synthetic biology and related areas will raise issues about research security and health regulations.
NATO Chief Scientist and Chair of the NATO Science & Technology Board (STB), Dr Bryan Wells, stressed in the report that these trends will "empower NATO and Allies' decision-makers to consider the choices before them and how they can best prepare the Alliance today to face future challenges". "Continued knowledge-building and investment in science & technology will strengthen NATO's and Allies' ability to outperform the competitors of today and tomorrow and ensure that we remain robust, resilient, and ready to respond to any threat", he concluded.
