A positive sum vision for the global tech race

In a climate where access to advanced technologies was dependent on geopolitics and global supply chains, nations of different shapes and sizes face their own challenges and have to devise strategies to tackle them. 

For the landlocked state of Rwanda, the fragmentation of value chains often leads to a limited bargaining power resulting in costly and restricted access to advanced technologies, according to Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire.  

On his part, a prominent leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and former Minister of State, Rajeev Chandrasekhar questioned the very premise of a global tech race. 
 
Speaking at a panel discussion on the global tech race during the recent ATxSummit in Singapore moderated by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s Assistant Chief Executive (International), Ang Wee Keong, Chandrasekhar highlighted some conflicting maxims: while countries wish to maximise their share of the market, nobody wants to be left out of the economic opportunity generated from tech.  

“Every tech super cycle starts with this instinctive response that we will build, we will keep, and then we will create consumers of our tech... the inherent instinct to say there will be a zero-sum game and there will be winners and losers. 

“I think the inherent common sense of multilateralism and global cooperation will win in the end. It's not clear if it will win in two or five years, but I'm absolutely confident that it will not be a zero-sum game. It will be a model where like-minded countries and open societies will come together to shape the future of tech, rather than having the haves and the have nots,” said Chandrasekhar. 

Apart from Ingabire and Chandrashekhar, other members of the panel included Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Nezar Patria, and Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Department of State, US, Ambassador Stephan Lang.

The panel explored the impact of global relations and technology as it increasingly becomes a new flashpoint. 

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Policies, interests, and competition in positive sum 

Ambassador Lang highlighted that while the adoption and innovation of new technologies was a positive scenario that everyone could benefit from, there were elements of competition to keep in mind. 
 
“We believe that if the United States and our allies and likeminded partners are not setting the global standards and technology, then others will for us, and that's something that we have to be very conscious of and one that we need to avoid,” said the Ambassador. 

This stems from the critical role that technology plays in the US’ national security, economic prosperity, and global influence he added. 

Ambassador Lang explained that while protecting its global information communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure was a priority for economic and national security, the US’ approach also sought to promote “industry led solutions and to facilitate government policies that encourage innovation rather than stifle it”. 

“We are committed to working with our partners around the world toward achieving that vision for a global regulatory environment that fosters innovation and technology,” he added. 

Minister Ingabire reaffirmed tech as a key driver of growth, not just for Rwanda, but across the African continent, explaining that the silverlining from the Covid-19 pandemic was a rapid adoption of digital technologies. 

“Today, we see a growing interest across different countries on the continent towards building digital policies and strategies and laying out what their priorities are going to be,” she said. 

The Minister shared recent milestones like the African Union (AU) Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and establishment of the African AI council that demonstrated a need to build internal capabilities in emerging technologies. 

Moreover, she said that policymaking considered equitable access and inclusion where many other countries in Africa were evolving at the same time.   

Regional collaboration for resilence and capacity 

Indonesia’s Vice Minister Patria said that innovation and security should not be seen as tradeoffs but as mutually reinforcing pillars. 

He was speaking in the context of Indonesia and its work within ASEAN in areas like the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) which aimed at harmonising digital opportunities for the region across sectors from e-commerce to data, to unlock a shared digital economy worth over US$2 trillion (S$2.6 trillion) by 2030. 

Patria expounded on digital gaps across countries and regions where ASEAN’s cooperation allowed members like Indonesia to adopt strategic approaches into its local economy.  
 
For instance, the Minister shared that his country was training over 100,000 young Indonesians in areas of machine learning, cloud computing, cybersecurity and ethical AI. 

The strategy of human cooperation was like a default operating system with no exception to digital and geopolitical matters, said Vice Minister Patria. 

Ambassador Lang expanded on the importance of multilateral frameworks, highlighting the developments like the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Certification announced during the summit that allow certified organisations to transfer data seamlessly across countries within the Global CBPR system.   

“I think this is crucial to supporting digital trade, international consumer transactions and other critical business needs, while also making sure that we are protecting privacy and respecting rights,” he said. 

Tech for global good 

Despite the recent shocks to the global economy with the ripple effects of the recent US tariffs, the panellists were all in agreement that the steps forward to avoid a zero-sum outcome was the proactive shaping of standards to help one another best use technology. 

IMDA’s Ang asked the panellists about the steps required to ensure that technology would remain a force of global good in the year 2035. 

India’s Chandrasekhar proffered his passion in this field hoping that this outcome would come quicker than in 10 years. 
 
“Tech is an incredible opportunity to change. India is a living, breathing example of what we've done using tech in the last 10 years, transforming governance, democracy, creating economic opportunity and growth.  

"I really hope that the positive sum vision that comes out of this conference is something that every country and people have a realistic opportunity to enjoy, he said.