For most of 2020, the position as Denmark’s tech ambassador was vacant, after Casper Klynge announced his farewell in January last year in favor of a job at tech giant Microsoft.
It was not until August last year that Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen was hired to replace him in the position that Denmark was the first country in the world to create in 2017.
She took office on October 1 last year, based in Silicon Valley in the United States, where tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple and Facebook are headquartered.
Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod (S), who earlier on Wednesday presented Strategy for Denmark’s technological diplomacy 2021-2023, does not fear, however, that the many months without a tech ambassador will damage Denmark’s opportunities to shape the agenda.
– No, because what I wanted as Foreign Minister was to make a kind of new setup for techplomacy, as we call it, ie a tech ambassador and our representation both in Silicon Valley, Beijing and in Copenhagen.
– It is a political strategy that is about social responsibility, about democratic values, human rights and security and safety for Denmark. That is the strategy to be delivered on, he says.
Denmark’s purpose in having a tech ambassador has, among other things, been to ensure dialogue with tech giants so that they live up to their social responsibility and operate on fair terms.
This applies, among other things, in relation to getting the tech giants to help pay taxes to the communities where they earn their money.
There are significant expenses associated with having a seat in Silicon Valley. Last year, Berlingske calculated that the costs of the tech embassy and the employees’ housing are among the most expensive diplomatic representations that Denmark has.
And how do you actually measure whether it is just Denmark’s tech ambassador who makes a difference and delivers the desired changes?
– It is both in the short term to concretely protect against the challenges and threats that technology can create against Denmark. It is important that we have a strategy against it with timely care, says Jeppe Kofod.
– But it is also in the longer term, he points out and mentions that Denmark must seek to promote the values and the structure of society that we know here at home.
It is about getting companies to take their share of responsibility to ensure that, he says.
– In this way, we as Denmark can get a lot back by being frontrunners in this area. This is something that in the short run cannot be measured in kroner and øre, he says.
If the tech giants do not take responsibility, technological developments could result in serious consequences, the foreign minister points out.
– We can see in foreign and security policy that in Belarus the authorities used the technology to shut down peaceful demonstrations.
– In Myanmar, we see the military taking over power and stifling democracy by shutting down the Internet. We know how this has become a foreign policy game changer, says Jeppe Kofod.
Source: The Nordic Page