GeoTech Center

US President Joseph Biden is set to embark on his first official overseas foreign affairs trip from June 10 to 16. In light of mounting geopolitical issues around technology, the GeoTech Center provides actionable recommendations for the President to reach global solutions.

On June 9, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and empowerME Initiative hosted a private, on-the-record roundtable. Read the key takeaways.

The current legal framework governing space, drafted in an era when it was dominated by just two great powers, does not yet reflect a new context in which the majority of space activities will be conducted by private actors. As more players enter the domain, they are likely to encounter a governance system that will have little efficacy for dealing with space’s new challenges. To ensure that space remains safe and sustainable, policy makers must examine and remediate gaps within the current governance framework.

Linking autonomy with artificial intelligence represents one of the most challenging topics for both civil and military affairs. Autonomous systems can operate independently of human activities, either through coded rules or through some combination of machine learning. However, not all autonomous systems include artificial intelligence. Those that include AI raise the thorniest of questions when it comes to operating in situations that could directly and physically impact human lives – such as driverless cars or use in weapon systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical supply chains, how hospitals operate, and shown how medicine may need to be provided better at distance. Such challenges represent both systems problems and commerce problems that require improvements in trust and the resilience of the medical system, specifically an improvement in the Economy of Trust. Medical resilience needs to be increased in response to a growing and accelerating deficit of trust in the world, to include deficit of trust in hospital systems and medical supply chains.

On Wednesday, May 26, leaders from industry and government gathered to recognize the official release of the Report of the Commission of Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data (the GeoTech Commission). This report provides an extensive set of recommendations for the United States and its like minded allies to thrive in a decade defined by data and technology collaboration and competition.

On Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EDT, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center hosted a panel of experts focused on the future of national AI strategy and the computational infrastructure needed to advance AI ambitions.

On Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EDT, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center hosted a panel of experts to explore “Exploring the future of data, human rights, speech, and privacy.” The panel included Alex Feerst, General Counsel at Neuralink; Chris Hazard, PhD, Co-founder and CTO at Diveplane; and Nathana Sharma, General Counsel at Labelbox.

On the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center hosted a panel of experts to explore “How We Can Achieve Both Healthy Communities and Economic Renewal”. The panel included Mona Nemer, chief science advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister; Philippe Gillet, chief scientific officer with SICPA; Luukas Ilves, head of strategy with Guardtime; Daniella Taveau, principal of Bold Text Strategies; and Declan Kirrane, the managing director of ISC Intelligence in Science.

On this episode of Fast Thinking, David Bray, director of the Geotech Center, and Trey Herr, director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, dive into the geopolitical, cyber-defense, and small business implications of the growing trend of ransomware attacks – and suggest effective policy solutions to minimize vulnerabilities and adapt to future threats.

Our experts break down the White House meeting between US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on North Korea, space, trade, and more.

What does China’s arrival on Mars mean for the great-power space race? What are the military implications? Our space experts phoned home with the answers.

“What is the Geopolitics of Tech? Why is this report and Commission important? What does the report recommend and how is this different from other Commissions? How does the Commission hope to socialize and scale its recommendations into tangible actions? What has the process of writing it looked like? What are the main recommendations? What are the implications for the next decade?” Trond Arne Undheim interviews GeoTech Director Dr. David Bray on the GeoTech Report and on the term “GeoTech Decade” this report aims to shape.

What are the implications of the SolarWinds hack? Dr. David Bray, Director of the GeoTech Center, and Dr. Divya Chander, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the GeoTech Center, joined the GovCon DIFFERENT podcast to discuss this topic.

David Bray, Director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, recently joined host Mark Sadovnick in conversation for the Leaders Who Care® video series. Through their discussions, the pair highlighted the critical role of positive change agents in addressing global issues.

The GeoTech Center’s Data Salon Series discusses data ethics among academics, policy makers, industry executives, and practitioners in the field. True to the mission of “good tech choices,” the data-driven analyses and informative virtual roundtables focus on championing positive paths forward.

Learn what the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center has done since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. View our video recaps. Read our analyses. Glean insights on how tech, data, and leadership can ensure the world gets through the pandemic and we build a better post-COVID-19 world together.

The Global Food System can be made more shock-resistant and scale to ensuring that everyone on the planet is fed. Data and technology can reduce disruptions to food production, distribution, and assurance activities locally and globally.