We stand at an extraordinary inflection point in human history. When GESDA was founded five years ago by the Swiss government with the support from the Canton and City of Geneva, and private sector partners, we anticipated change accelerated by science and technology — but even we could not have foreseen the breathtaking velocity of transformation that would follow.
The world has been reshaped by forces that seemed like science fiction just half a decade ago. Artificial intelligence has evolved from laboratory curiosity to civilisational catalyst. Brain-machine interfaces are turning thought into action, liberating those trapped by paralysis. The exploitation of space has accelerated beyond governmental monopolies into a new frontier of human possibility. Yet alongside these marvels, we have weathered unprecedented challenges: a global pandemic that redefined healthcare delivery and vaccine technology, conflicts that have tested international resolve, and economic turbulence that has strained the fabric of global cooperation.
These convergent dynamics — technological breakthroughs and societal transformations — demand more than reactive governance and status-quo. They require an anticipation of future science, followed by action.
That is why the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar® has never been more essential. This fifth edition represents something unique: the collective visions of the future of 2,500 scientists spanning 40 areas of research, mapping year after year the evolution of the scientific landscape across 5, 10, and 25-year horizons. This is not mere speculation — it is rigorous anticipation rooted in a solid methodology designed to equip decision-makers, legislators, diplomats, thought leaders and the broader public with the strategic intelligence needed to navigate an uncertain future accelerated by advances in science and technology.
Combining Anticipation and Action: Use the Future to Build the Present
GESDA combines anticipation and action. While others debate the implications of emerging science, we build the infrastructure for harnessing tomorrow's breakthroughs. The Open Quantum Institute, established in partnership with CERN, UBS, and over 20 nations, exemplifies this approach. Rather than waiting for quantum technologies to mature, we are actively shaping their development to serve humanity's greatest challenges, from climate modelling to drug discovery, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This year's GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar highlights nine transformative domains that will define the next quarter-century: artificial intelligence that transcends current limitations, cognitive enhancement that expands human potential, engineering of human biology that could halt or reverse ageing and grow transplantable organs, ecological science that could restore life on our planet, pathogen biology that prepares us for future pandemics, the geopolitics of science and technology that makes us understand the increased importance of science in international relations, our accelerating understanding of language and its evolution, mathematical breakthroughs that will unlock solutions we cannot yet imagine and, as a fresh and more transversal contribution, how these anticipated science and technology breakthroughs will challenge our fundamental assumptions about human existence and social conditions at a planetary level — a phenomenon that we summarise in the newly-coined term Planetarised Humanity.
Leadership in Transition
As GESDA enters its sixth year, we celebrate both continuity and renewal. Sandro Giuliani's pioneering leadership as CEO established GESDA as a unique force in anticipatory science diplomacy. Now, under the dynamic steering of Professor Marilyne Andersen as Director General — whose distinguished career at EPFL and exceptional leadership experience uniquely qualify her for this moment — GESDA is positioned to expand its influence and impact. We are pleased that Sandro Giuliani will continue to support us as Senior Advisor to the Board.
Our global footprint has expanded dramatically, promoting International Geneva around the world through events and activities. Nearly half a million visitors experienced and interacted with our Geneva Public Portal to Anticipation at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka — an immersive journey into possible futures shaped by scientific breakthroughs, developed in collaboration with Professor Sarah Kenderdine’s laboratory at EPFL.
Our anticipatory leadership programmes, which are supported by the Wellcome Trust, are cultivating a new generation of decision-makers equipped to anticipate and act on the challenges ahead. Building on the fourth Science Diplomacy Week in Geneva in May this year, GESDA adapted the programme to new audiences and contexts in Singapore, Manila and San José, with additional activities planned in Istanbul and Pretoria.
The NeuroFutures Imperative
Perhaps no initiative better exemplifies GESDA's unique approach to anticipatory science diplomacy than NeuroFutures, launched at this year's Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit. This global alliance of philanthropic foundations and partners represents a crucial intervention at a pivotal moment. Brain-computer interfaces are advancing at exponential speed, promising to restore function to those with paralysis, enhance human cognition, and fundamentally alter the boundary between mind and machine.
The decisions made in the next few years will determine whether these technologies amplify human flourishing or fuel new social inequalities. NeuroFutures embodies GESDA's core philosophy: rather than waiting to regulate technologies after they emerge, we are creating the frameworks for responsible development in real-time, ensuring that transformative capabilities serve all of humanity.
The Anticipation Urgency
The scientific breakthroughs detailed in this report are not distant possibilities — they are emerging realities. These developments will reshape geopolitics, economics, social structures, and the very meaning of human identity. The nations, institutions, and leaders who understand and anticipate these changes will thrive. Those who do not will be left behind.
We invite you to engage with the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar not as passive observers, but as active participants in shaping the future. The future is not something that happens to us — it is something we create through the choices we make today.
The science is clear. The opportunities are unprecedented. The time for action is now.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator
Patrick Aebischer, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator
Geneva - Switzerland - October 2025
