Kallas spoke about the COVID-19 crisis, which gave Estonia the opportunity to look at topics related to digital technologies from a new angle. “Estonia is an e-state and we were ready to study and work online. However, in Estonia, as well as in many other countries, the issue of where to get reliable information was raised.” Kallas added that the crisis has confirmed the need for global trust systems, for example, to validate vaccination certificates, but also to manage the information space.
The prime minister pointed out that at the autumn Tallinn Digital Summit, Estonia’s goal is to discuss exactly how to increase the reliability of technologies and investments in the world. “We want to give proper thought to the common standards and principles that countries and societies that support democratic values should agree on. There are already various international initiatives in this field, but in Tallinn, we can talk about the connections between them,” said Kallas. She added that the issue of infrastructure reliability is also very important.
“Technology in itself is neither good nor bad, the important thing is how we choose to use it,” said the prime minister. She drew attention to today’s threats in cyberspace, but also to the opportunities that technology offers us. “By having control over technology, it is possible to influence the behaviour of other countries, which means that we, as democracies, need to remain unified and drive the advance.”
Ro Khanna, Member of the House of Representatives, and Peter Harrell, Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness on the White House National Security Council also took part in yesterday’s debate.
Today, Kallas is heading to the Yellowstone Weekend conference, which will last until the end of the week.