Both Hume and Voltaire began with the same skepticism about rationalist philosophy, and each embraced the Newtonian criterion that made empirical fact the only guarantor of truth in philosophy.

to become a leading evangelist for this new Newtonian epistemology, and by consequence a major reason for its widespread dissemination and acceptance in France and throughout Europe

the currents of Newtonianism

the power and value of careful empirical science.

in a hedonistic calculus of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

his hedonistic morality

the free and public use of critical reason, and from the liberty that allows such critical debate to proceed untrammeled

makes him an unquestioned forerunner of modern civil libertarianism.

Voltaire to this dictum is the fact that even while he did not write these precise words, they do capture, however imprecisely, the spirit of his philosophy of liberty.

“I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

But since many were incapable of such self-knowledge and self-control, religion, he claimed, was a necessary guarantor of social order.

For Voltaire, humans are not deterministic machines of matter and motion, and free will thus exists. But humans are also natural beings governed by inexorable natural laws, and his ethics anchored right action in a self that possessed the natural light of reason immanently

Central to this complex is Voltaire’s conception of liberty.

a singular role

The prehistory of the Internet

Special attention will be paid to knowledge networks, economic and material means, productions (scriptural, artistic or other) and vectors of influence

This conference wants to contribute to a transnational and decompartmentalized history of these circulations.

but with the development of benchmarking tools like AGENT, we’ll be able to measure how close we’re getting.

‘cost-reward trade-offs’, which means an understanding of how humans take actions “based on utility, trading off the rewards of its goal against the costs of reaching it.”

A model must then judge how surprising the agent’s behaviors in the ‘test’ videos are, based on the actions it learned in the ‘familiarization’ videos. Using the AGENT benchmark, that model is then validated against large-scale human-rating trials, where humans rated the ‘surprising’ ‘test’ videos as more surprising than the ‘expected’ test videos.

Researchers from IBM, MIT, and Harvard have created just that: AGENT, which stands for Action-Goal-Efficiency-coNstraint-uTility.

a “naive sense of physics” — this means that we know certain things about physics without having to work through physics equations, like why you shouldn’t put a bowling ball on a slanted surface.

The 5×5—The future of cyber diplomacy

It is far from being proven that most digital identity programmes have brought additional benefits to users, without placing them at risk.

Veći deo trgovine među njima tada bi se obavljao u domaćim valutama. Ali da bi se poravnale one neizbežne razlike (viškovi i manjkovi u platnom bilansu), Centralna banka će stvoriti zajedničku valutu.

Ono što je Rusiji zaista neophodno jesu kritični industrijski proizvodi poput kompjuterskih čipova. A njih bi mogla da traži da ih uveze iz Kine, da a ih plaća juanima koje je Rusija već obezbedila.”

Duh reformi usmerenih na obuzdavanje ‘slobodnog tržišta’ počeo je da se širi među studentima još pre deset godina, a ti isti su sada već počeli svoj uspon po lestvicama partijske hijerarhije.”

Identity is today the real battlefield. Identity is coming back as a powerful matter. Remember what someone said, “it is the economy, stupid”? Now, “it is the identity, stupid”.

The beauty of the European experience is “you and me”, overcoming the heritage of the past and offering to the world the recipe for peaceful coexistence, cooperation, integration and development.  

“it is the identity, stupid”

do not have anymore on their mind their country – well, they will always have their country on their mind.

Nothing similar in scope and content is available today in Europe, I am sure.

The big difference between us and an important part of the rest of the world is that we have institutions.

It is very difficult to build institutions.

the rest of the world

“People [matter], institutions [matter] much more”. People go by, institutions remain.

working on institution-building

They have to work in a different way because today everybody is a Minister of Foreign Affairs, because the foreign is internal and the internal is external. There is no longer a clear boundary. Who takes care of the internal dimension and who takes care of the external dimension? “You are in charge of the external dimension” - yes, but there is not a clear border between one thing and the other.  

You are very close to Brussels.

it will become a period of instability and we will have to build a new security order.

And any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create an answer, not a nuclear answer but such a powerful answer from the military side that the Russian Army will be annihilated, and Putin should not be bluffing.

I know that diplomacy is about values, and also about interest.

When more or less 20% of the world community decided not to support or not to reject the Russian annexation – for me, it is too many. It is too many.

Thank you also to the Florence Institute, the Maastricht Institute for conducting the feasibility study which will [pave] the way in order to make this pilot project a permanent reality.

It is not the same thing to be a national diplomat and a European Union’s diplomat

Thanks to the strong support of the European Parliament that has been very much instrumental in ensuring the funding to create this pilot project, we finally see a certain number of European young people - young diplomats - that want to become fully-fledged European diplomats. 

we are certainly living also a “moment of creation” of a new world.

But if we want to engage frankly and honestly, to discuss about the real problems and looking for solutions, then you have to tell all the truth – but we will do it later. 

political freedom, economic prosperity, social cohesion

The gardeners have to go to the jungle.

Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.

Europe is a garden.

Solving sovereignty for security and data control is well under way.

hybrid cloud approaches are becoming more popular so that organisations can leverage the potential of large providers while retaining their most sensitive processes under their own control or the control of local providers. 

including around the relevant regulatory authority

homogenisation

to lessen the risks of dependence on foreign technology,

policy changes and leverage digital sovereignty

to establish the network of people who have both mastery of science and diplomacy

The ripple effects of all this bifurcation goes beyond just science and technology. It risks the decoupling of global systems that have been the enablers of peace and stability for the last seventy-five years

we are now in danger of perhaps a technological bifurcation due to geopolitical conflic

are our current regimes for intellectual property protection and dissemination fit for purpose

This involves governments playing a role not simply the regulator and a producer of rules but being a proactive enabler, providing the necessary frameworks and infrastructure for progress and excellence, and to translate this research into useful, and if I may add, ethical applications for commercialisation.

leaps in chip technology are often boosted by government research grants.

CHIPS Act,

Only TSMC and Samsung, a South Korean tech giant, know how to make the world’s most advanced chips.

Its success reshaped the industry, allowing fab-less design companies to flourish, without the financial burden of building pricey new factories every few years. Today tsmc is the biggest chipmaker in the world by market value.

only outfits that manufactured huge amounts of chips would be cost-competitive. With lavish support from Taiwan’s government, TSMC was born.

put into practice a long-held idea for a firm that made chips designed by customers

First, the Soviet Union tried and failed to replicate Silicon Valley.

In “Chip War”, his elegant new book, Chris Miller of Tufts University shows how economic, geopolitical and technological forces shaped this essential industry.

Africa group of OECD and African Ambassadors could provide strategic insights.

ncluding members of the Governing Board of the Development Centre

over the next six months,the Secretariat will conduct extensive consultations in order to narrow down the scope and define the main pillars of the partnership.

urther inclusion in OECD databases

withOECD standardswhere possible

Policy Reviews

Knowledge sharing, peer-learning and high-level policy dialogues

rely onevidence-based policy analysis and policy dialogue

to strengtheningthecoherence of policy frameworks

on an equal footing in global policy-making and standard-setting can enhance the international community’s response to global challengesand help further level the global playing field.

in some instances–global standard-setting

for greater recognition of Africa in global governance and for the development of a co-designed, mutually beneficial partnership.1

with a platform for policy dialogue through which African partners can provide their perspectives on standards

strengthenAfrican policymakers’voices

to build an impactfulpartnershipbased ontrust,mutual understanding and enhancedco-operation on an equal footing,to addressmutually agreed priorities.

Africa’s priorities are guided by Agenda 2063, a wide-ranging long-term vision for the continent.

the Africa Infrastructure Index scores improved for almost all African countries between 2018 and 2020.

It is a time to unite behind a new grand narrative for Europe and to build a vibrant organisation.

a vibrant, influential and inclusive community

there is a community that gets motivated by it and an organisation that ensures its implementation

this new narrative cannot be about reaching a compromise that only disguises a common lowest denominator. It must be about making bold choices.

there are anchoring points to build on.

it is difficult to predict how things will unfold

a unique opportunity to write history, to try to serve a greater purpose, and to make a difference.

2Open Loop is a global program that connects policymakers and technology companies to help develop effective and evidence-based policies around AI and other emerging technologies.

2022 Annual Report on Implementation

Against this backdrop, Mr. Selassie pointed to four priorities for policy makers in the region:

Chang created TSMC, which produces chips designed by its clients, as opposed to designing its own. The company now produces 92 per cent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors.

after Congress passed legislation to provide $52bn to bolster domestic semiconductor production in the US.

Areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing were particularly important, he told the audience.

for a "grown-up" conversation about collaboration with China at UK universities.

we understand that there is no free good here.

for Chinese digital currencies

New standards for the internet proposed by China

the BeiDou satellite system - a rival to the established GPS network which he said had been built into exports to more than 120 countries.

to create "client economies and governments" by exporting technology to countries around the world

Otherwise, our model will perish, will not be able to survive in this world.  

Our fight is to try to explain that democracy, freedom, political freedom is not something that can be exchanged by economic prosperity or social cohesion.

hat are the links between political freedom and a better life.

When we say that China is our rival, systemic rival, systemic rival means that our systems are in rivalry. And the Chinese are trying to explain to the world that their system is much better. Because, well, maybe you are not going to choose your head of government, but you will have food, and heat, and social services, you will improve your living conditions. Many people in the world, yes, they go and vote and choose their government, but their material conditions are not being improved. And in the end, people want to live a better life.  

in this battle of narratives

I need my delegations to step up on social media, on TV, in debates. Retweet our messages, our [European] External Action Service materials. Certainly, my blog, which is the everyday “consigna”. Tailor it to the local circumstances, use local languages. The first problem is that we speak English but a lot of people around the world do not speak English and do not understand if we address them in English. Do it in local languages. We still have a “reflex” of European culture: we speak our languages, and we expect the rest of the world to understand us. Many, many people around the world do not understand, not even Spanish.  

We provide you with materials and I have the feeling that you do not transmit the message strongly enough.  

And I am still surprised that, in some delegations, it seems that they do not take enough consideration of our communication, and they do not tweet and re-tweet the messages that we are delivering from the centre. You have to be a network that is repeating, transmitting, insisting. 

we are creating new dependencies in this link between energy, climate [and] technology.

we cannot substitute one dependency by another.

We have to try to think in the medium and long-term

between what we announce and what we implement,

Please, be prepared for better explanation of what we do with a time schedule.

It does not mean anything one figure if you do not put a time dimension.

When we hesitate, we regret it.  

Take more initiative. Be ready to be bold.

Behave as you would behave if you were an Embassy: send a telegram, a cable, a mail - quickly. Quickly, please, react.  

I think that we have to be faster and to take risks. I need you to report fast, in real time on what is happening in your countries. I want to be informed by you, not by the press. Sometimes, I knew more of what was happening somewhere by reading the newspapers than reading your reports. Your reports come sometimes too late. Sometimes, I read something happening somewhere and I ask “what [does our Delegation [say]. For the time being, nothing. “For the time being, nothing” is not affordable. You have to be on 24-hours reaction capacity. Immediately - something happens, you inform. I do not want to continue reading in the newspapers about things that happened somewhere with our Delegation having said nothing.  

It is no longer the economy, it is the identity.

We think that we know better what is in other people’s interests.

to overestimate the rational arguments.

more empathy

to listen more

we have the “Brussels effect” and we continue setting standards, but I believe that, more and more, the rest of the world is not ready to follow our exportation of model.

we try to export our model, but we do not think enough about how the others will perceive this exportation of models.

with Team Europe and the Global Gateway

we have to think more politically.

apart from that, there [are] the hybrid wars, there is the disinformation war that continues. I want to stress the importance of the war on information and disinformation – I will talk about it later.  

the global system does not deliver,

These people do not want to be forced to take sides in this geopolitical competition.

the rising nationalism, revisionism plus identity politics.

Everything is a weapon: energy, investments, information, migration flows, data, etc. There is a global fight about access to some strategic domains: cyber, maritime, or outer space. 

what the Mexican President said about us yesterday.  

There is an authoritarian trend.

a fight between the democratic systems and the authoritarian systems.

We cannot say “we are the democracies”, and the ones which follow us are also democracies - that is not true. That is not true. 

the US-China competition

a messy multipolarity.

the degree to which Russia is becoming a major factor in African theatres – yes, it is a surprise. We could not – we should [have] -, but we did not imagine how quickly, from the Central African Republic, now to Mali, and I do not know what is happening in Burkina Faso. 

the reaction of the Central Banks raising interest rates in the United States. Everybody has to follow, because otherwise their currency will be devaluated.

the world food and energy crises

the deep US-China competition

So, we have a difficult cocktail – internal and external – and the old recipes do not work anymore. We have mounting security challenges and our internal cohesion is under threat. 

You - the United States - take care of our security. You - China and Russia – provided the basis of our prosperity. This is a world that is no longer there. 

we delegated our security to the United States

The best energy is the one that you produce at home.

the access to the big China market, for exports and imports, for technological transfers, for investments, for having cheap goods

on cheap energy coming from Russia

we have decoupled the sources of our prosperity from the sources of our security

uncertainty is the rule.

a world of radical uncertainty.

the new ‘frontiers of diplomacy’

Thus, Russia’s preference for the UN reflects its position that states and national governments are the primary actors in information security. Other stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society and academia, play a subordinate role. While their respective roles and responsibilities are recognised, governments are ultimately seen as leading national efforts

Coupled with Russia’s notion of information security, the emphasis on state sovereignty again evokes human rights concerns.

an understanding of states and their governments as the primary actors responsible for the protection of the ICT environment.7

Broadly speaking, the Russian understanding of information security goes beyond concerns regarding the security of information and communication technologies systems and also includesthe regulation of information or content flows.

Like-minded states have, in particular,highlighted concerns over potential limitations of the free flow of information or content through greater government control.

Rather than negating the applicability or adequacy of international law, a treaty is presented as a critical means to clarify how existing international law applies to cyberspace. This approach also highlights the possibility of identifying and codifying additional legal norms.

Ever since the beginning of UN discussions in 1998, Russia has, in particular,stressed the need to negotiate a formal international legal agreement in this area.

Russia initiated discussions in the Committee in 1998 with a draft resolution entitled ‘Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security’.

Like-minded states mainly from the Global North advocate an open, free and secure cyberspace that preserves the free flow of information globally, while another group led by Russia and China strive to establish a governance regime that would enable greater government control of cyberspace

the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act

The Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents chipmakers, said it was studying the regulations. It urged the United States to implement the rules "in a targeted way" and called for collaboration internationally to "help level the playing field".

“In which case,” she noted, “US firms will lose market share and China will find a bypass to the US restrictions, a worst-case scenario.”

“Preserving our edge in science and technology is not a domestic issue or national security issue. It’s both,” he said.

China’s National Computer Centre, the Beijing Institute of Technology and Beijing Sensetime Technology Development, a subsidiary of a major Chinese AI company.

allows Washington to extend its reach well beyond its borders, preventing companies globally from sending products to the China firms made with US software, machinery or technology.

it would impose restrictions on 31 Chinese companies, research institutions and related groups effective October 21

conceptual break with traditional human-centered understandings of the world and its politics.

but with the biogeochemical processes of the Earth itself.

do not care about our borders and political divisions

require processes and institutions that are inherently planetary in scale and scope.

Berggruen Institute Books:

Introducing Whisper

The experts also called attention to the radical impact of digital technologies on any humanitarian response. They highlighted the dependence on digital identity programs – particularly the collection of sensitive biometric data as a condition to access humanitarian aid – despite dangers to human rights as illustrated recently in breaches, data loss, and the exclusion of at-risk communities. They implored humanitarian actors to account for human rights impacts to ensure that digital solutions do not cause further harm to those most vulnerable.

a unique holistic view of technology and deep experience in multiple genres of research communities

researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory determined that the web of accounts—on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and five other social-media platforms—had been promoting pro-Western narratives, posting in Russian, Arabic and Farsi. The researchers characterise it as “the most extensive case of covert Western influence operations…analysed by open-source researchers to date.”

Governments in Latin America, Africa and South-East Asia have avoided condemning Russia not because they buy tales of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, but because they want Russia’s guns, oil and grain. Traditions of nonalignment and resentment towards the West exist independently of Russian propaganda.

And while eyeballs may be a “necessary precondition” for effectiveness, “high engagement doesn’t necessarily translate into effectiveness,” notes Ms Grossman

In a poll of six African countries commissioned by The Economist earlier this year, support for Russia’s invasion was strongest in Mali and Ivory Coast.

“Russia is very effective at building on sentiments that already exist,”

The five permanent members (America, Britain, China, France and Russia) should wield their veto only in “rare, extraordinary situations”, Mr Biden said

On global health, Mr Biden pledged help to ensure the world is better prepared to confront the next pandemic

food security

The second part of the West’s strategy is to mitigate the repercussions of the war

First, Mr Biden softened his long-standing division of the world into rival camps of democracies against autocracies.

“Ukraine fatigue”,

“I have come to say that Africa has suffered enough of the burden of history; that it does not want to be the breeding ground of a new cold war,” said Macky Sall, the president of Senegal and current chairman of the African Union. Like others, he managed to bemoan the impact of the Ukraine war without mentioning Russia. He urged de-escalation, a ceasefire and a negotiated solution.

Eastern Europeans are keen on enlargement, but also want to keep the veto, particularly in matters of foreign policy, where they do not trust France or Germany

Hungary (along with Poland) is currently not receiving any of the pandemic cash, specifically because of its rule-of-law shortcomings

The Luxembourg Compromise protects against federalist overreach. The Reverse Luxembourg would protect Europe from diplomatic blackmail.