Abstract:

There is a growing sense that digital technologies require greater international cooperation and even global regulation. At the same time, rising tension, especially between the US, Europe and China, is making such cooperation increasingly difficult. Adding to the complication, these technologies are developed and largely owned by private companies surpassing most states in terms of resources and know-how. While these companies often appear unequipped to discuss their own geopolitical role, their ideas matter for international security, the global economy, democracy and human rights. This talk theorizes and explores the emerging global tech order: the order constructed by the imaginaries, global authority configurations, and rule-making efforts that govern and legitimize digital technology and relationships between states and major technology companies. Specifically, the presentation points to the importance of different and sometimes contradictory geopolitical tech imaginaries – geopolitical visions of the world supported by digital technologies. How do these imaginaries get cultivated within and between tech companies and states, and how do they shape public discourse, national government positions and the making of European and global tech regulation?

Short Bio:

Rebecca Adler-Nissen is Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen and Director at the National Center for AI in Society (CAISA). Her research focuses on global and European technology policy and the intersection of artificial intelligence, international cooperation and geopolitics. She is PI of the ERC AdG TECHORDER.

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