#6 Chrono-narcissism, philosophy & diplomacy in a high-tech world with Jovan Kurbalija

Last Week on Earth with GARI

What you’ll hear in this episode with Prof. Jovan Kurbalija, Founding President of Diplo Foundation, ambassador of the internet, pioneer in cyber diplomacy and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform, secretariat member of the UN high-level panel on digital cooperation:

• As a person promoting technology for the past three decades, my question is what are we going to pass on?
• My concern is that generations (including mine) focus too much on project management logic of human society (outcomes, outputs, impact). And it's very popular in the European Union. I’m afraid that a lot of framing of current thinking is rather cognitive procrastination, trying to fit very complex reality into this project management framework.
• We have to regain artistic thinking (Havel, Hasek, Confucius…). The Enlightenment era was misused by people who were supposed to promote it and develop it further, especially through technology. The pandemic has accelerated the need for these kinds of reflections.
• On Obama’s two visits to silicon valley, the first enthusiastic, the second sceptical and cautionary of the growing power of silicon valley. Then Trump’s leaking of the defence budget and immunity of tech companies that host social media.
• What are you working on at Diplo?: speech generator for diplomats, the future of meetings on open-source platforms
• What are the limits of AI? Where is philosophy? The Hobbs, Roussos, Kants of today? We’re becoming a bit chrono-narcissistic - we think everything is happening now.
• UN should understand technology but the UN shouldn’t be high tech. Big tech companies shouldn’t be governmental judicial organisation as google is becoming with the right to be forgotten or Facebook with this new court.
• UN as a digital home for humanity?

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