Atlantic Council Proposes Tech Measures to Maintain US’ Economic Edge, National Security; John Goodman Quoted

The Atlantic Council has released a report offering recommendations for the U.S. government and its allies to maintain national security and economic competitiveness in the global economy with the use of technology.

The council said Wednesday its Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data classified those recommendations into seven areas: global science and technology leadership; secure data and communications; enhanced trust and confidence in the digital economy; assured supply chains and system resiliency; continuous global health protection and global wellness; assured space operations for public benefits; and future of work.

The council’s Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data offered specific measures under each area that Congress, the White House, federal agencies, private sector, academia and allied countries should take to maintain superiority in key technology areas and ensure the sustainability and trustworthiness of the digital economy and its infrastructure.

Priority recommendations include developing a national and economic security technology strategy, strengthening the implementation plan for the National Cyber Strategy, accelerating the operationalization of quantum information science technologies and demonstrating artificial intelligence improvements to delivery of public and private services.

The report also classified the critical technologies into six areas that will shape the “GeoTech Decade,” in which technology and data will have a “disproportionate impact” on global governance, economics and geopolitics.

Two of those areas are technology platforms that enable a digital economy, including data science, cloud computing and communications and networking and technologies for intelligent systems, including AI, edge computing, internet of things and distributed sensors.

“For the US and its partners to remain economically competitive and protect national security, we must work together to build trust in the digital fabric of the GeoTech decade,” said John Goodman, CEO of Accenture Federal Services and co-chair of the council’s GeoTech Commission.

“We must act now to invest in these new technologies, to develop and expand our skilled workforce, and to establish norms to ensure that technology emerges as a powerful force for good,” added Goodman, a 2021 Wash100 Award winner.