System Update: an Australian-led New Deal for Tech
In the Tech Wars issue of Australian Foreign Affairs, TPDi Co-Founders, Johanna Weaver and Zoe Jay Hawkins, call for Australian leadership to help shape the evolving global order and the technologies that underpin it.
In the Tech Wars issue of Australian Foreign Affairs, TPDi Co-Founders, Johanna Weaver and Zoe Jay Hawkins, call for Australian leadership to help shape the evolving global order and the technologies that underpin it.
Whether visible or not, technology is at the epicentre of almost every geopolitical contest. This essay spotlights just four examples:
🏛️ 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆: DOGE and Musk’s actions with respect to the US Government digital systems amount to the subversion of the machinery of an independent public service, a cornerstone of modern democratic governance.
🌏 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆: tech companies 𝘢𝘯𝘥 governments have facilitated the erosion of the Westphalian principal of state sovereignty, what next?
📈 I𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: the perceived US-China AI battle represents an opportunity for Australia to position itself as a trusted, reliable provider of responsible AI for the public good.
💰 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆: disruption of the global financial systems and the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is another opportunity Australia is uniquely placed to seize.
The tech trends are playing out across every domain of foreign and defence policy. At the same time, US global leadership is disintegrating, loudly and in plain sight.
In the current geo-strategic climate, if one country pursues tech regulation alone, it risks pushback from certain tech companies and economic coercion from China 𝘰𝘳 the United States. However, this doesn’t mean countries don’t have power to act.
𝗧𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗧𝗣𝗗𝗶’𝘀 𝗖𝗼-𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙏𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙄𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 (𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗜):
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘛𝘙𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴.”
Curious how ITRI would work? Read the full essay to learn more about ITRI, as well as other opportunities for Australian leadership – including in global AI safety.