A discussion with the Center for New American Security (CNAS) on their recently released report, "Common Code: An Alliance Framework for Democratic Technology Policy," why the world's liberal democracies must cooperate on technology, and the role for small states such as New Zealand.

The 21st century will be defined by great power competition with technology at the heart of this contest. Those nations that lead the adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and next-generation telecommunications will get to set the rules and shape their use.

It is essential that the world's liberal-democratic nations are at the forefront providing technological leadership to safeguard democratic institutions, norms, and values, and contribute to global peace and prosperity. A unified approach by like-minded nations is needed to counteract growing investments in and deployments of emerging technologies by authoritarian, revisionist powers.

The world's liberal democracies are at a critical juncture where fresh thinking and approaches are necessary to ensure the future of technology is a beneficial one. This report - Common Code: An Alliance Framework for Democratic Technology Policy - is part of the CNAS Technology Alliance project, which aims to regain the initiative in the global technology competition through strengthening cooperation between like-minded countries, protecting and preserving key areas of competitive technological advantage, and promoting collective norms and values around the use of emerging technologies.

References:

Common Code report: https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/common-code

CNAS Technology Alliance Project: https://www.cnas.org/research/technology-and-national-security/technology-alliance