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To achieve a more secure future for Australia, the federal government has updated the List of Critical Technologies, which entails the most important areas of technology for the nation’s future.
Published in the Critical Technologies Statement today (22 May), the federal government said that critical technologies are “technologies that can impact Australia’s national interest, including our ‘economic prosperity’, ‘national security’, and ‘social cohesion”.
There are seven key areas of technology that the new list focuses on:
“Critical technologies are strategically important, as they provide opportunities and significant benefits to grow our economy, provide well-paying jobs and improve the lives of Australians,” said the statement.
“Critical technologies are also currently the focus of international geostrategic competition and can pose a threat to our security and broader national interest.
“Some clusters of critical technologies — for example, in artificial intelligence and sensing — are driving broader data and digital transformation across the economy and society, breaking down traditional distinctions of the industrial sector-based economy.”
Alongside the local benefits, a key goal of investment in these technological sectors is the bolstering of international relations.
Australia is looking to invest in these technologies early and assist in the development of frameworks and rules relating to their conduct with the United Nations and its allies and regional partners.
“Accordingly, it is important we take a proactive approach to mitigating key risks so our institutions can continue to benefit from international collaboration, and Australians can realise the benefits of our technological innovations,” the statement said.
At this stage, the government has already taken a number of steps to advance the critical technologies listed, through initiatives such as the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, which will see $4 billion invested into projects that will bolster Australia’s national research infrastructure from 2018 to 2019.
Future investments are also planned, such as the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, which will inject another $1 billion into critical technologies “such as AI, robotics and quantum technologies”.
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