[Podcast] Diving into Digital #1: Tech and diplomacy in Silicon Valley

This is the first episode of our new podcast series Diving into Digital: Diplo’s Podcast on Digital Foreign Policy. For the inaugural episode, we were joined by Austrian Tech Ambassador Martin Rauchbauer and Dr Clara Blume, deputy director of Open Austria and director of its Art and Tech Lab. 

Both participants are based in Silicon Valley, so naturally we talked about diplomats reaching out to the tech sector and how to create connections and build on commonalities in order to have crucial conversations about the present and the future of digital technology. As diplomats have a natural talent to act as bridge-builders, we also discussed particular challenges and new skills for diplomats.

Given the scope of Open Austria’s work, we also looked at the role of art in bringing various actors together and investigating the role of technology in society. In particular, we discussed a recent project on artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of ‘digital humanism’. Lastly, we discussed the nascent idea of ‘cultural tech diplomacy’ and how to put it into practice.

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Join the conversation by leaving us a comment below. We look forward to your questions and comments. We also invite you to give your suggestions on who we should interview for our next Diving into Digital episodes.