About the Day
Are we on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution? Is the world headed for an arms race in space? Today’s wave of rapid technological innovation has left many wondering what the transformative effects of today's emerging technologies will have on global affairs.
Join us as we discuss how emerging technologies are transforming world politics and explore how national governments and non-state actors should work to help mitigate the risks associated with such innovations.
Interested in only attending the in-person evening reception? RSVP below:
Agenda
Digital Equity and Inclusion
9:00am | Virtual
Robert Atkinson
Founder and President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
As founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), recognized as the world’s top think tank for science and technology policy, Robert D. Atkinson leads a prolific team of policy analysts and fellows that is successfully shaping the debate and setting the agenda on a host of critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. Learn More…
Daniel Castro
Vice President, INformation Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and Director, Center for Data Innovation
Daniel Castro is vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and director of ITIF's Center for Data Innovation. Castro writes and speaks on a variety of issues related to information technology and internet policy, including privacy, security, intellectual property, Internet governance, e-government, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Learn More…
About the Moderator
Edward McMahon
Rormer Regional Director for East, Central, and West Africa
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
Edward McMahon has been a faculty member in the University of Vermont’s Community Development and Applied Economics department since 2003 and has a joint appointment with the Political Science department. McMahon has spent decades as an analyst and practitioner in the dynamics of political change. He spent 10 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State, specializing in African Affairs. And from 1989-1998, he served as Regional Director for East, Central, and West Africa at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
Systemic Racism in Cybersecurity
11:00am | Virtual
Sayako Quinlan
Solutions Engineer, CrowdStrike
Sayako is a Solutions Engineer working in incident response and strategic advisory services at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. She has experience researching topics including IoT security policy, cyber capacity building, the gender gap in cybersecurity and has a paper published by the think tank New America titled "A Brief History on Law Enforcement Hacking in the United States." Sayako graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University with a major in Science, Technology, and International Affairs. Learn More….
Ayan Islam
Co-Chair, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Working Group, Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS)
Ayan Islam is the Co-Chair of Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Working Group for the Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), a women's international peace and security leadership organization. As Vice Chair, Ayan supports the working group's efforts to identify, amplify, and augment work being done to explore the effects of emerging technology and cybersecurity concerns on communities of color. Additionally, Ayan is a cybersecurity strategist with the US government. She provides program and project management support for cybersecurity related programs and projects to include reviewing and drafting congressional materials, and examining strategic direction for program initiatives and activities, policy enforcement, cybersecurity awareness, and other resources.
Kathleen Hyde
Cybersecurity Co-chair and Program Director
Champlain College
Kathleen Hyde, is the Champlain College Online cybersecurity co-chair and a Champlain College cybersecurity program director. She teaches information security courses at the graduate level and has developed multiple courses on a variety of cybersecurity, digital forensics, and risk management topics. She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science, in Computer Information Systems.
Geopolitics of Cyberspace
2:00pm | Virtual
Adam Segal
Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security and director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports Innovation and National Security: Keeping Our Edge and Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet. His book The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age (PublicAffairs, 2016) describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He currently writes for the blog, “Net Politics.” Learn More…
About the Moderator
Peter Clavelle
VCWA Chair
Former Burlington Mayor
Clavelle has more than 40 years of experience in local government and decentralization in both the U.S. and international arenas. As a former mayor and city manager, Peter brings direct, practical experience in managing local government affairs.
Evening Reception: The Rise of Digital Repression
6:00pm | In-Person at Hula Lakeside
Steven Feldstein
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where he focuses on issues of democracy, technology, human rights, U.S. foreign policy, and Africa. He previously served as the holder of the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs and an associate professor at Boise State University.
Feldstein served as a deputy assistant secretary in the Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau in the U.S. Department of State, where he had responsibility for Africa policy, international labor affairs, and international religious freedom. Previously he was the director of policy at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and also served as counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where he oversaw U.S. foreign assistance programs, State Department management, and international organizations.
He has published research on how artificial intelligence is reshaping repression, the geopolitics of technology, China’s role in advancing digital authoritarianism, and COVID-19’s effect on democracies. He also released a global AI surveillance index to track the proliferation of advanced big data tools used by governments. Learn more…
About the Moderator
Jim Welch
Author and Senior Editor
VT Digger
Jim Welch is a senior editor at VTDigger and former executive editor at the Burlington Free Press. He also was deputy managing editor at USA Today, where he reported on foreign policy issues from more than a dozen spots around the world, including Russia, China, Northern Ireland, Cuba, and Uzbekistan. On several occasions, he served as an official international election observer in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Jim has a degree in government from Georgetown University and a master's in leadership from its business school. He is currently an adjunct lecturer in English at the University of Vermont and previously served as a professional in residence at the University of Iowa.
Thank you to our Sponsors
