Robert A. Destro

Human rights is often the point of the spear in Tech Diplomacy. When ingenious men and women collaborate to devise innovative solutions to practical problems, tech diplomacy is needed to protect both their interests and the common good. When unscrupulous governments and non-state actors use sophisticated technology to spy on or manipulate their trading partners and customers, tech diplomacy is needed to organize the opposition. As AI, synthetic biology, and the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) threaten to upend our understanding of the key concepts of “life, liberty, and property”, human rights advocates will need to become sophisticated tech diplomats themselves. The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue offers creative men and women a forum in which they can collaborate to devise humane and mutually beneficial solutions to thorny political problems. That, of course, is the essence of diplomacy! I am honored to join the Institute’s Advisory Council and look forward to contributing to its success.