Chloe Smith – 2023 Speech at the Global Forum for Technology

Thank you for that warm welcome, Secretary General Cormann.

It’s a privilege to be joining you and everybody here at the inaugural Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Forum on Technology.

Today’s event is unique, it is ambitious, and it is truly global.

It is wonderful to be able to welcome such a rich and diverse group of open and democratic countries, and leaders in academia, industry and civil society from across the world.

I must first express my sincere thanks to the OECD for their efforts in shaping today’s programme.

With its world-leading expertise on tech and the digital economy, and its vital role in developing policy guidance and approaches to governance that we value highly in the UK, there is nowhere better placed to hold a forum like this.

My thanks also go to the US and Spain for their support in getting us here today, and to the many other countries and stakeholders that have shaped, and will continue to shape, this forum in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

Within a relatively short period of time, it’s fair to say that technology has evolved at breakneck speed. The meteoric rise of ChatGPT and of AI more generally, of virtual assistants, of self-driving cars – of all this incredible technology – has the power to fundamentally change society as we know it. What were once regarded as the challenges of tomorrow have fast become the challenges of today.

And the geopolitical context is increasingly uncertain, too.

Against this backdrop, we need to work even harder to make sure that the values and fundamental principles of democracy are embedded in the design, development, deployment, and governance of new technologies.

Strengthening collaboration with industry, academia and civil society around the world, not just among OECD countries, is essential to achieve that vision.

This Global Forum on Technology provides us with the platform to tackle the challenges we face in doing so, head on.

Everybody here today shares a commitment – to shaping a future where new technologies strengthen open societies, support human rights, and empower citizens, even as they turbo-charge innovation and sustainable growth for the benefit of all.

We know that technology and scientific discovery are key to realising our future prosperity and wellbeing – as long as the critical foundations of digital infrastructure, digital skills and digital literacy are addressed first.

In fact, when you take three of our biggest global challenges – food, fuel, and healthcare – it’s clear that those opportunities are already here.

Right now, engineering biology is revolutionising agriculture, developing crops that are more resilient and nutritious, enabling us to take enormous steps towards achieving our Zero Hunger sustainable development goal.

Engineering biology is also bringing us closer to delivering affordable, reliable, sustainable energy for all, through advances in everything from carbon capture technology and the bioremediation of pollution to the sustainable production of new materials and biofuels.

And the chance for change is just as exciting in enhanced healthcare. Speaking personally for a moment, I’ve beaten breast cancer, and cancer will have touched many of us in this very room. So we can be excited that AI-powered image analysis tools can help doctors to identify cancer cells more accurately, while Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are being used to create immersive experiences that can help patients to better understand their condition and empower them to shape their own care.

We must do all we can to seize these opportunities. But, of course, they come with risks, too. We know that there are real and legitimate concerns about how to ensure that the transformative power of tech is harnessed safely and responsibly.

We know that virtual reality, for example, has the power to bring people together in new ways. To revolutionise education, training, entertainment and a whole host of other sectors. But, like social media, we want to ensure that this immersive world does not become a breeding ground for hate or intolerance.

Discrimination can be baked into algorithmic decision-making, too.

The data that Generative AI is trained on, for example, is overwhelmingly created by people in wealthy, developed countries, making these powerful tools less relevant to those in poorer parts of the world.

And there are risks elsewhere. Synthetic Biology has the potential to revolutionise many aspects of our lives, making them longer, happier, and healthier. But it could also be used to create new pathogens that threaten human health, and bioweapons that could be used to harm people or disrupt critical infrastructure.

So, the question we must ask ourselves is: how do we put people at the centre of our technological future, protecting democracy, freedom, and human rights, while capturing those benefits.

As governments, we know we can’t only rely on traditional governance models to do this. These are powerful new questions, and old answers just won’t do.

We do need to look to innovation, creativity and flexibility. I think we need to work with business to grow economies – creating jobs and prosperity for citizens, building public trust.

And the Global Forum is critical in this endeavour… in its breaking down of barriers between communities – bringing together, industry, civil society, academia and policy makers – to gain a better understanding of the challenges we face, and how to overcome them.

We have a real opportunity here for meaningful dialogue that addresses the kind of knotty issues we don’t necessarily discuss elsewhere. And by involving non-OECD partners from the start, we can ensure that our discussions are informed by a community of partners with truly global perspectives.

I am personally deeply excited to see where today’s discussions will take us. I look forward to the journey ahead with all of you today.

Thank you.