Technology is now at the core of our everyday lives, and is advancing rapidly. It should be used for good.

I am honored to join the Board of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy and to contribute to the promotion of technology's role in advancing freedom and prosperity in the face of authoritarian challenges by untrustworthy actors. As U.S. Ambassador I witnessed first-hand the impact which The Clean Network and the Trust Principles have to embolden international governments and companies to resist totalitarian regimes and their use of technologies to repress rather than promote human freedoms. The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy can develop the programs, thought leadership, and relationships necessary to bring together the best in technology with the best in governance.

The United States has been blessed with creating or leveraging most technological innovation over the years. Technology drives productivity which drives improved living standards and a better quality of life for all. Technology also drives national security. For these reasons it is important to lead the effort in awareness and action around the globe to ensure that technology is created and implemented in a way that supports the force of good. I believe the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy plays the critical role of working to help the adoption and execution of Trust Standards that create transparency, accountability, intellectual property protection, rule of law, support for sovereign nations and open markets. The work of the Institute is important and urgent.

There is no greater threat to freedom than advanced technologies in the hands of authoritarian regimes. Securing freedom hinges on securing technology, particularly in high-tech sectors such as 5G, AI, semiconductors, quantum, biotech, and others. While the U.S. can make a significant impact on our own, our strength is multiplied when we stand alongside our friends. The dictator’s greatest fear is a united front of free nations.

During my tenure as the Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State, I witnessed the bipartisan and growing appreciation of the intersection between critical technologies and American foreign policy. Soon after returning to Purdue University in December 2020, we launched the Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue to contribute to a crisp and essential vision: technology must advance freedom.