A technology race is a competitive dynamic between rival teams to first develop a powerful technology, such as weapons of mass destruction, advanced artificial intelligence, or spaceflight capability.
Terminology
The expression arms race is often used to describe technology races, though the expression is also used to describe a specific type of technology race involving military technology. A technology race involving the development of AI is known as an AI race.
Further reading
Belfield, Haydn & Christian Ruhl (2022) Why policy makers should beware claims of new “arms races”, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 14.
Related entries
AI race | great power conflict | weapons of mass destruction