Reset for Technology Diplomacy

The idea of “Technology Impact Assessment (TIA) of critical technologies” might usefully become more prominent in the foreign policy and science diplomacy of Australia and India.

OECD researchers in 2023 called out the value of a multinational hub for Technology Assessment (TA); and UN agencies in 2024 and 2025 made similar calls. In June 2025, the Sixth European Technology Assessment Conference (ETAC6) helped set the stage for this: it was dedicated to the theme of “Technology Assessment Goes Global” and was the first global convening of Technology Assessment (TA) practitioners and scholars.

Our proposition is to shift the locus of advanced TIA from Europe and the US, where it has been firmly established through four decades, to a gradually expanding number of geographies outside the club of advanced economies. Now that this globalisation of TIA has been launched, Australia and India have a unique opportunity to work collaboratively to shape this process while registering gains for their own national and bilateral interests in peace and stability.

Austin G, Bappanad K, Henry A, Michael K, Materano L, Reddy B, Walker-Munro B, Withers G (2025) ‘Technology Impact Assessment for Peace and Stability: Diplomatic Opportunities for Australia and India’, Social Cyber Institute, https://www.socialcyber.co/_files/ugd/15144d_837c1d10cc884181965f532d8fd33e64.pdf