Tech Futures Lab

The Tech Futures Lab’s mission is to help the United States better anticipate potential strategic technological surprises and help it strengthen resilience through improved planning and risk management.

The many technological advances under way—from artificial intelligence and bioengineering to quantum technologies, energy innovations, and space capabilities—are accelerating the pace of change and introducing a new era of outsized possibilities and uncharted risks. China’s increased technological competencies and the rapid diffusion of capabilities across borders are compounding uncertainty and increasing the chance of Sputnik-like strategic shocks that could leave the U.S. at a disadvantage. New technologies can produce strategic surprises in a variety of ways, including the pace of emergence, unintended applications, unlikely adopters and winners, the convergence of technologies, and unanticipated secondary/tertiary consequences. 

The Tech Futures Lab conducts state-of-the-art foresight exercises with researchers, innovators, investors, and government leaders to draw out new insights, identify vulnerabilities and opportunities, and develop strategies to mitigate risk while maximizing advantages. Its experiential learning opportunities include in-person scenario development and wargaming activities for participants from the private and public sectors. Working with experts at Stanford, the Lab also will publish speculative, alternative, and sometimes contrarian perspectives for how emerging technologies could transform our world in unplanned and unexpected ways. This effort is designed to complement the Stanford Emerging Technology Review.