October in retrospect: Sadness | Vibrancy | Creativity
October @ Diplo can be summarised with these three words: sadness, vibrancy, and creativity.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear colleague, Aldo Matteucci, who passed away on October 7th. Aldo was with Diplo for a long time as a lecturer and, above all, a critical thinker, earning him the special title of our ‘chief contrarian officer.’ His wisdom and sharp insights will be greatly missed, especially in these times when critical thinking is needed more than ever.
October was also a month of vibrancy for Diplo, filled with lively classrooms, critical and engaging discussions at our events, and new developments at the intersection of technology and art. Our classrooms buzzed with over XXX questions posed by XX students. DiploAI provided comprehensive analysis and reporting from 10 UN Security Council meetings, contributing to informed and meaningful discussions.
Creativity found a new dimension this October. We addressed a pressing dilemma: how to prepare citizens, communities, companies, and countries for the AI transformation. While there is a lot of ‘AI talk,’ real, practical changes that bring AI into our daily lives are still scarce. We tackled this ‘AI paradox’ through a detailed analysis of diplomatic competencies—the talents, knowledge, and skills—impacted by AI. We launched the AI Apprenticeship, a novel approach to learning AI by doing. Participants grasped core AI concepts such as neural networks and machine learning by creating AI chatbots relevant to their work.
We are on the brink of breakthroughs in our pedagogy, research, technology, and arts—all centered around our ‘cognitive proximity’ approach, which nurtures new interplays between human and artificial intelligence. In the coming months, the Diplo community will demonstrate how AI can elevate human creativity to new levels of insight. We hope our ‘in vivo’ experience with AI transformation will inspire universities, the UN, diplomatic services, businesses, and others.
Read more below and stay tuned!
DiploTeam
In memoriam
Aldo Matteucci
On 7 October, Aldo Matteucci, our esteemed colleague and dear friend, left us. Aldo was a truly remarkable person, a Swiss diplomat who effortlessly combined a wealth of experience with unparalleled critical thinking.
We were fortunate to have him as a mentor, a guide, and—most of all—as our ‘chief contrarian,’ a title he wore with quiet pride. His sharp, incisive insights illuminated the key dilemmas of our time, offering clarity in moments of complexity.
Aldo had a remarkable ability to see beyond the immediate, warning of the storm long before the 2008 financial crisis shook the world.
His foresight and wisdom were more than just intellectual; they were grounded in a profound sense of humanity and humility. It was this combination of critical thought and deep empathy that made Aldo not just a brilliant mind but a deeply cherished person.
His presence will be sorely missed, especially now, when the world so desperately needs thinkers like him to help guide us through the uncertainties ahead.
During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts are with his family. Aldo’s wisdom will live on through the AI avatar based on his writings, ensuring that his insights continue to inspire us.
During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts are with his family. Fortunately, Aldo’s wisdom will live on through the AI avatar based on Aldo’s writings, ensuring that his insights continue to inspire us.wisdom will stay with
Courses in October
Diplo’s classrooms were busy with vibrant discussions. As an numeric illustration, students made…
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annotations (comments and questions).
Each annotation is akin to asking questions or commenting in a traditional classroom. In October alone, students “raised their hands” and contributed nearly 171 times daily, fostering active engagement.
On 1st October, our AI Apprenticeship programme kicked off with 40 participants. They learn about AI by developing AI chatbot on issues of their interest. In October, they addressed basic functionality of AI, prompting, and other AI technologies.
Events in October
Over the past month, Diplo hosted several events and actively participated in events organised by others.
The Geneva Internet Platform (operated by Diplo) hosted traditional briefing for newly-appointed heads of missions in Geneva. The main focus is on UN Global Digital Compact and AI tools to be ued to following multilateral processes in Geneva.
Book launch focused on an interplay between tech companies and governments. Authors and panelists discussed evolution of tech diplomacy in the Bay Area since the last publication.
Diplo’s team hosted highly interactive session on the use of AI in training for directors of diplomatic training institutions and academies. After the plenary introduction, there were four table-group discussions on impact of AI on pedagogy, language training, diplomatic reporting, and geopolitics.
Diplo Executive Director Jovan Kurbalija held an interactive master briefing on AI at the public service broadcaster Radio-Television Montenegro. During the session, Kurbalija highlighted three critical functions of public service…
Sorina Teleanu, Diplo’s Director of Knowledge, delivered a lecture on AI between technology, economy, and humanity for a group of students at the School for International Training in Nyon, Switzerland.…
The event is part of a series of regular briefings the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) is delivering for diplomats at permanent missions and delegations in Geneva following digital policy issues. It…
Cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure (CI) and assets, often undetected by the victim, have become the ‘new normal’ in today’s heightened geopolitical climate. Additionally, decision-makers are concerned not only with malicious cyber activities, but also with faulty and insufficiently secure software development practices that can cause global disruptions due to interconnected supply chains…
A group of interns from GIZ, the main German development agency, visited Diplo and the Geneva Internet Platform on 22 October 2024. The visit featured discussions on Geneva’s digital ecosystem, and AI technology, policy and governance.
After three years of negotiations, initiated by Russia in 2017, the UN Member States at the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) adopted the draft of the first globally binding legal instrument…
The Global Digital Compact (GDC), adopted during the Summit of the Future, includes a commitment to strengthen and leverage multistakeholder cooperation to achieve the objectives set out in the GDC. Next to new mechanisms, existing multistakeholder such as the Internet Governance Forum
In collaboration with Switzerland during its presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and Diplo, ten UNSC meetings were selected for analysis by DiploGPT, Diplo’s AI solution. This pilot project aims to explore the potential of this technology, providing quick and easy access to the content of UNSC meetings.
Reflections and Analysis
October was a month of reflection and analysis, particularly focused on the challenges ahead in the realm of AI. Anita Lamprecht wrote a series of articles on ‘AI Apprenticeship,’ linking her learning journey to broader issues of AI governance and ethics.
In a blog triptych, Jovan Kurbalija argued that diplomacy has a bright future in the AI era, but must transform from ‘bureaucratic’ to genuine diplomacy empowered by AI. He further emphasized that this transformation requires innovative training to develop new talents, knowledge, and skills.
Diplo faculty also contributed a series of insightful articles on the United Nations, digital challenges, and many other topics, which you can explore further in this summary.
Texts on AI apprenticeships
by Anita Lamprecht
Texts on training in AI and diplomacy
by Jovan Kurbalija
Recap of blogs and analysis from Diplo community
The message reflects on the resilience of multilateral diplomacy and the United Nations, highlighting its historical inflection points, including the Cold War, decolonization, and the end of the Cold War.…
Inspired by the 2024 Biennale in Venice and the theme ‘Foreigners Everywhere,’ Jovan Kurablija reflects on the unique position of diplomats as quintessential foreigners in…
Many in diplomacy recognise AI’s importance but are unsure how to approach it. Andrej Škrinjarić, director of Education & Training at Diplo, explores what AI can and can’t do, how…
Jovan Kurbalija gathered hundreds of uses of terms of diplomacy from multilateral to bamboo diplomacy. This collection of linguistical popularity of diplomacy triggered his reflections on inflated terminology and deflated respect for diplomacy in modern society…
In addition to numerous crisis, UN will face new one of ensuring impartiality of the organisations’ AI platforms and systems…
According to Jovan Kurbalija, the reality is that we are mostly passengers. We understand very little about how AI functions, how it uses our data, or even how reliable its outputs are. Nonetheless, he argues that it does not have to be this way.
Markets excel at facilitating trade, but they fail to address the unintended consequences of consumerism like pollution. Aldo Matteucci provides ideas on how to approach these hidden costs.
..
Ilias Dimou revisits frequent discussion on AI and ethics from new angles …
El Salvador’s integration of Bitcoin positions it as a pioneer in the shift towards cryptocurrency-driven economies.
..
In just a few years, AI has made groundbreaking strides in medicine, aiding in the early and more accurate diagnosis of diseases like brain tumours and lung cancer. From enhancing diagnostic tools to collaborating with radiologists, AI-powered systems are transforming how we understand and treat complex conditions. Andrija Bulatović explores how AI is shaping the future of medicine and what we can expect in the years to come. is transforming medicine by enabling early disease detection, improving diagnostics, and personalising care.
This summer, the UN finalised a draft of its first UN convention against cybercrime, raising questions about how it will coexist with the long-standing Budapest Convention. Diplo research team provides comparative analysis of two cybercrime instruments…
High relevance and visibility worldwide
In October, Diplo’s work received informal recognition for its quality, leading to increased visibility across search engines and social media. As Google and other major platforms intensify efforts to filter out AI-generated content, quality human-written content has become more valuable than ever. Diplo’s unique approach—human-authored content supported by DiploAI—has helped us stand out amidst the flood of automated material.
Diplo’s increased visibility can be attributed to two key factors:
- An extensive portfolio of high-quality content, including timely blogs and analyses.
- Our distinct approach, where human authorship is supported by DiploAI, a system rooted in our organizational knowledge, writing style, and research methodology.
Concrete Impact
Diplo ranks as the second most visible organization in Google searches for Geneva-related topics in diplomacy, trade, development, health, and humanitarian fields. This ranking is based on data gathered from 50 cities worldwide, covering 500 relevant keywords. You can find more details in the Digital Footprint analysis, which ranks 84 Geneva actors, with the WHO holding the leading position, followed by Diplo.
The increased visibility has led to substantial growth in web traffic during October comparing to October last year:
Diplo website: 48.3% increase of traffic
DW website: 36.6 % increase of traffic
Similar positive trends have also been observed across YouTube and other social media platforms.Our online visilibity
Ahead of us
After a comprehensive AI transformation, Diplo is well-prepared to assist international actors and diplomats in addressing AI and other pressing issues of our time. In the coming months, our ‘cognitive proximity’ approach—fostering creative interactions between human and artificial intelligence—will have concrete applications in Diplo’s teaching, events, debates, and research.
We invite you not only to follow what we do, but also to observe how we conduct our activities with the help of AI. The practical use of AI can help us better understand the technology and enable a more informed discussion on its overall impact on our future.
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