OSCE urged to adopt common approach to new technologies

Cassis urges OSCE to adopt a common approach to new technologies Keystone-SDA

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ignazio Cassis has called on the member states to anticipate scientific and technological developments at an early stage.

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At a two-day conference of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Swiss foreign minister called for “pragmatic” cooperation.

“If no one controls them, they will control us,” said Cassis at the OSCE conference in Geneva, referring to new technologies. Following corresponding initiatives in the UN Security Council under a Swiss chair in 2024, the Cassis now wants to anchor the topic more firmly in the OSCE.

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The greatest danger today is no longer technological surprise, but political delay, said Cassis. If regulation lags behind innovation, mistrust, misjudgements and tensions arise.

Wide impact

Technological developments influence all three dimensions of the OSCE: the politico-military sphere with new forms of warfare and deterrence, the economic sphere with digital competition and the human dimension with effects on civil liberties and social cohesion.

Technologies must be recognised before they cause social problems, said Cassis. A Geneva-based foundation has been working on this task for years. The aim is to utilise technologies for the benefit of society and to avoid negative consequences such as inequalities or security risks.

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For this reason, the foundation should now support the OSCE members in this area and promote cooperation.

It is not about “regulating everything”, said Cassis. Rather, the most important challenges must be tackled in a targeted manner.

Among other things, the conference participants discussed the impact of artificial intelligence and quantum computers on security and cooperation in Europe. They also discussed how new technologies can help to jointly manage scarce resources.

Adapted from German by AI/mga

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