Today’s technological revolution is at the center of our competition with geopolitical rivals — it poses a real test of our security — and it also powers historic possibilities for our economy, our democracy, our people, and our planet.
In other words, security, stability and prosperity are no longer just analogue issues.
The test before us is whether we can harness the forces of these turbulent times and lead them toward greater stability, greater prosperity, and greater opportunity.
President Biden is determined not only to pass this “skill test,” but to excel.
Our ability to design, develop and deploy technology determines our ability to shape the future of technology – and not surprisingly, operating from a position of strength puts us in a better position to set standards and drive norms around the world.
But our advantage doesn’t just come from domestic strength.
It comes from a sense of solidarity with the majority of the world who share our vision of a vibrant, open and secure technology future, and from an unparalleled network of allies and partners with whom we can work together with common purpose to pass the “technology test.”
We are committed to “digital solidarity” rather than “digital sovereignty”.
On May 6, the State Department released the U.S. International Cyberspace and Digital Strategy, which positions digital solidarity as our North Star. Solidarity will define our approach not just to digital technologies, but to all major foundational technologies.
So I want to share with you five ways we do this.
First, we use technology for the well-being of all humanity, not just our citizens and friends.
The United States believes that emerging and foundational technologies can and should be used to drive development and prosperity, advance respect for human rights, and solve shared global challenges.
Some of our strategic rivals are pursuing very different goals: They are using digital technologies and genomic data collection to surveil their citizens and suppress their human rights.
Nearly everywhere I go, I hear from government officials and citizens alike concerns about these dystopian uses of technology, but also an unwavering commitment to our positive vision and embrace of technology as a path to modernization and opportunity.
Our job is to use diplomacy to further expand this consensus and internationalize and institutionalize our vision of Technology for Good.
So our second piece of work is about governance: developing rules to ensure that the underlying technologies uphold our democratic values and prevent harm.
Domestically, we have published guidelines that will shape how we, and the world, think about safe, secure and trustworthy AI.
Through the President’s Executive Order on AI, we are strengthening standards for AI and protecting the privacy of Americans.
The private sector is a critical partner in this effort, which is why we have undertaken a series of voluntary efforts, including working with leading AI companies to commit to security testing of new products before release and developing tools to help users recognize AI-generated content.
We work with our partners to set cyber norms and ensure their adherence around the world.
Of course, to set the rules of the road, the United States must compete around the world in technologies that shape our digital and physical experiences and, therefore, our geopolitical realities. And that is the third pillar of our tech diplomacy.
The 5G experience has taught us that we cannot become complacent and allow strategic competitors to monopolize the technologies that form the foundation of the global economy and determine how and where information flows.
That’s why we are deploying our diplomatic weapons to ensure that innovative American companies and our partners can compete fairly for the opportunities that will maintain and expand a safe, open, and resilient technology world.
And in accordance with our principles of digital solidarity, we are committed to working not only with American companies, but with any country or company that is committed to the same vision.
Our ability to compete effectively abroad depends on building a resilient and trusted technology ecosystem: the fourth pillar of our diplomatic efforts.
Currently, the world’s high-tech manufacturing infrastructure is dangerously concentrated in a few small regions, and in the event of military conflict or natural disaster, these supply chains could be cut off.
To mitigate that risk, the United States is building technology partnerships that increase the resilience, diversity, and security of our critical technology supply chains, including critical minerals essential to the expansion of clean energy technologies.
Finally, we take a “small yard, high fences” approach to protecting our most sensitive technologies.
We cannot allow technologies we develop to be used against us or our friends, to fall into the hands of bad actors, or to enhance the military capabilities of our strategic competitors.
That is why we have issued carefully calibrated restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports. It is a national security imperative to ensure that these technologies do not aid or accelerate the military modernization of countries that would challenge the United States.
(Official State Department photo by Chuck Kennedy)
There is perhaps no better example of this than the work we’ve done together in Ukraine, where as Russia launched its war of aggression, the country’s infrastructure came under an onslaught of cyberattacks.
The United States, our international partners, and the technology community all understood the need to help Ukraine strengthen its digital transformation, so we helped strengthen Ukraine’s networks, move critical government data to the cloud, and make the national communications and other critical infrastructure more resilient.
This is digital solidarity in action, and it is exactly this type of collaboration that we want to expand and apply around the world.
Right now, even the most visionary among us don’t know exactly what the future of technology will hold, or how emerging technologies will be used.
Working together, we can seize this extraordinary moment to shape a future that reflects our highest values, advances our interests, and makes life a little safer, a little more secure, a little more prosperous, and a little more full of opportunity for all.
That’s what it means to pass a technical test, and that’s what we want to do together.
Note to readers
This DipNote is an excerpt from the latest edition of From the Secretary’s Desk, our flagship email featuring remarks and speeches from the Secretary of State on important current events. Sign up to receive this email.
