What if we could prepare for the future of technology before it arrives at full speed?
This is one of the most urgent questions facing today’s leaders, scientists, policymakers and innovators. Artificial intelligence has shown how quickly a breakthrough technology can move from research labs into everyday life, business, education, security, politics and culture - often faster than institutions, regulations and societies are ready to respond. Quantum technologies may bring a similar shift. Their potential impact on computing, cybersecurity, medicine, finance, climate modelling, materials science and global security is enormous. The question is no longer only what quantum technology can do. The real question is how we prepare for it responsibly, collectively and in time.
This is exactly the challenge behind the Quantum Diplomacy Game, a serious card game developed by the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator - GESDA for the Open Quantum Institute, hosted at CERN in Geneva. During the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit 2026, participants will have the opportunity to experience this unique session and explore how emerging technologies can be governed through anticipation, negotiation and international cooperation.
The game introduces participants to the concept of anticipatory science diplomacy - a proactive approach to frontier technologies. Instead of reacting only after a technology has already created new risks, inequalities or geopolitical tensions, anticipatory science diplomacy asks leaders to look ahead, identify possible consequences early, and build governance frameworks before the most difficult decisions become urgent.
The Quantum Diplomacy Game turns this idea into an immersive learning experience. Participants step into the roles of CEOs, ministers, ambassadors, professors, civil society leaders and other key actors. They enter a fictional scenario built around a quantum breakthrough, followed by a quantum crisis. Each player brings different interests, priorities and pressures to the table. Through negotiation and dialogue, they experience how difficult it can be to align scientific opportunity with ethical responsibility, economic interests, national strategies, security concerns and global equity.
This is where the game becomes much more than a simulation. It shows that the future of quantum technology will not be shaped by science alone. It will also depend on trust, diplomacy, standards, access, intellectual property rules, international trade, peace and security, and the ability to include many stakeholders in one conversation.
The session is built around three core pillars of anticipatory science diplomacy.
The first is science anticipation: the ability to understand where frontier research may lead and what kinds of social, ethical, political and environmental consequences it may create. In the case of quantum technology, this means thinking beyond laboratory progress and asking how future quantum capabilities could affect cybersecurity, global competitiveness, medicine, climate modelling or access to advanced infrastructure.
The second is honest brokering: the capacity to facilitate difficult conversations between groups that do not always share the same language, priorities or interests. Scientists, governments, companies, international organisations and civil society may all look at quantum technology from different angles. Honest brokering helps translate scientific developments into real-world decisions while building trust between stakeholders.
The third is global and multilateral action. No single country can govern the future of quantum technology alone. Quantum breakthroughs may create global opportunities, but also global asymmetries. They may accelerate innovation, yet also deepen technological divides if access is limited to only a few countries, institutions or corporations. A multilateral approach is therefore essential if quantum technologies are to support global goals, responsible innovation and more equitable access.
For Summit participants, the Quantum Diplomacy Game will be a rare opportunity to learn by doing. It does not offer abstract lectures about governance. It places participants inside a dynamic situation where decisions must be negotiated, interests must be balanced and the consequences of technological acceleration become visible.
This is especially important at a Summit dedicated to women in STEM, Tech and IT. The future of quantum technologies needs more than technical expertise. It needs people who can connect science with policy, ethics, business, security and society. It needs women who are ready to enter fields where the rules are still being written. It needs leaders who understand that technological power must be accompanied by responsibility.
Quantum is still an emerging field, but the time to prepare for its impact is now. The Quantum Diplomacy Game shows why anticipation matters - and why the ability to imagine possible futures is not a luxury, but a strategic skill.
At the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit 2026, this session will invite participants to ask some of the most important questions of the coming decade: Who will benefit from quantum technologies? Who will have access to them? How should they be governed? What kinds of cooperation will be needed? And how can we make sure that the next technological revolution is not only powerful, but also responsible, inclusive and aligned with global needs?
Because the future of quantum will not be decided only in laboratories. It will also be negotiated - across borders, sectors, institutions and communities. And the leaders who learn how to anticipate that future today will be better prepared to shape the decisions that come next.
