Session

So I want to welcome everyone this afternoon to our first quarter webinar that we are hosting as a Diplo Foundation, the Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya. And we want to invite you to join in the conversation. We have a very distinguished panel of panelists who are with us. They will be introduced later on. But we thank you for giving your time this afternoon to be with us. So thank you so much. And I want, without any further delay, to give this opportunity to Dr. Kate Getao to moderate the session. So welcome, Dr. Getao.

Thank you very much, Mwende. It’s really a pleasure to be here. Here in Kenya it’s late afternoon, but good morning, good evening, maybe even good night to different participants here today with us. It’s such a pleasure to be talking about this very important topic, and I’d like to introduce our panelists. We have His Excellency Ambassador Daniel Schaer, who is the Estonian ambassador to Kenya. You’re very welcome, Ambassador. I hope I pronounced your name correctly, but you can guide me as you give your opening statement. We also have Professor Patrick Maluki from the University of Nairobi, who takes care of diplomacy. He takes care of diplomacy and international relations for the university. and Mwende, do we have Philip Thigo, is he with us, Ambassador?

No, we’re waiting for him I hope he will turn up but we can continue.

I’m hoping later to have His Excellency Ambassador Philip Thigo who is Kenya’s Cyber Ambassador to join us he’s not with us right now but we hope he’ll join us as we proceed We also have Professor Jovan Kurbalija who is the head of Diplo Foundation and also a very experienced diplomat and diplomatic trainer. And my name is Katherine Getao. I’m your moderator this afternoon and our topic is Technology Innovations for Creative Diplomacy Now I’ll just introduce this topic by saying a few things and then I’ll invite distinguished panelists to proceed with their opening statements. So as we all know, diplomacy is one of the oldest human professions. For thousands of years, it has relied on conversation, persuasion, trust, and the careful interpretation of signals between states.

While the tools of diplomacy have evolved from handwritten letters to encrypted cables, the core activity has remained deeply human. However, the environment in which diplomacy operates is changing rapidly. The COVID -19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards digital diplomacy. Negotiations moved online. Meetings began to begin. Be recorded, transcribed, translated, and analyzed automatically. At the same time, the number of international processes and multilateral discussions has expanded dramatically, placing growing pressure on diplomats to follow complex negotiations and report quickly to their capitals. New technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are beginning to assist diplomats in this work. AI systems can now listen to meetings, generate summaries, map positions across multiple actors, and even help draft reports. These tools offer significant opportunities.

They may allow diplomats to manage information overload, strengthen analytical capacity, and enable smaller diplomatic services to participate more effectively in complex, global negotiations. At the same time, these technologies also raise new questions. How much should diplomats rely on AI -generated analysis? How do we guard against automation bias or excessive trust in machine recommendations? And as AI systems increasingly learn from human expertise, from our writing styles to our reasoning patterns, do we need to begin thinking about the protection of what one might call our cognitive signatures? We are also seeing AI used in increasingly sensitive domains, including intelligence analysis, military decision support systems, and many others. These developments highlight the importance of governance, transparency, and responsible use of technology.

We are also seeing AI -generated analysis of the world’s most important issues, including the global health crisis in the world’s most important issues, and the global health crisis in the world’s most important issues. Today’s discussion will explore both the practical opportunities and broader implications of technology for diplomacy. We will look at what tools are already available, what has proven most useful in practice, and what new questions diplomats and policymakers may need to address as these technologies continue to evolve. Let me now turn to our distinguished panelists who bring both diplomatic and technological perspectives to this important conversation. So I’m sure you’re very eager to hear from our panelists. I want to reassure you that I’m not a chatbot.

I think nowadays it’s the fingers that will count. So I’ll start with you, Your Excellency. Ambassador. Ambassador Schaer. and please do correct me about the pronunciation of your name, I’d be grateful. As a seasoned ambassador, what has been the most significant change in diplomatic practice since negotiations and more of your work moved online?

Thank you very much for having me and thank you for the introduction. As you pronounced my surname perfectly, it’s Schaer, as you mentioned. And yes, I’ve been an ambassador for a couple of years now in Kenya and in South Africa. And I think that my own experience is already an indication of how the technology is influencing the situations. My job is actually in Estonia. So the job position is in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It’s ambassador at large. So in addition to being accredited to Kenya and to South Africa, I’m also covering most of the continent, especially in business diplomacy questions. And so obviously that requires a lot of technology and virtual meetings and things as that.

And to make things even more confusing or more technological needed is I’m also living in Brussels because my wife is a diplomat and she is posted to Brussels. So it makes, you know, the technology so far makes diplomacy or doing, you know, implementing diplomacy much easier. I’m able to intervene in events. I’m able to be in contact with counterparts. I’m able to be in contact with counterparts. around the continent able to participate in meetings with my fellow ambassadors from the European Union that we have regularly in most of the countries in Africa and around the world where we’re stationed. So, I mean, the technology already has come into this area, allowing us to implement this roaming ambassador position.

For those of you who don’t know, Estonia, we have 1 .3 million people. So we’re quite small. And because of that, we have to use our resources in an efficient way. And that’s why we decided in the beginning of the 1990s to implement a very deep digitalization project in the government resources especially. And just recently, we reached 100%. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’re here. services are online. The last to join were marriage and divorce because we wanted to make sure the people were sure that they were ready to take these important steps and not to rush in them.

So the government has given us the tools to do diplomacy around the world. Our last president, Ms. Kersti Kailulait, went on a sailing trip to Antarctica to raise awareness on climate and the changes that we’re seeing with the melting ice cap and so forth. She was able to sign documents from the sailboat that was on the way to Antarctica. So again, it’s the government who’s given us these tools to be efficient in everyday life, not only in diplomacy, but in everyday life. The other side of things, when you have the use of technology, then the opposite side is also cybersecurity. and often cybersecurity is in competition or in preventing the use of tech or reduces the amount of technology that you can use.

So, for example, where we are only now starting to look at AI solutions and how we can use them in diplomacy or at least starting to implement them now because we are obviously not able to be on an open source AI platform for sharing diplomatic information. So I think that there is a way to, as you mentioned in your lead -in, finding the balance between how technology can make things easier but at the same time keeping the human aspect. And I think being an ambassador at large, I understand how important the people -to -people contacts are. So, yes, technology makes the work easier and technology… makes some things more efficient. But again… actually meeting face -to -face, breaking bread with diplomatic colleagues, having these meetings, they cannot be replaced.

And you actually understand, I mean, even from now, looking at the screen, I don’t know how people are reacting to my intervention. I can’t feel the crowd. I don’t know how to adjust. So, I mean, these aspects are really missing from the technological components. Thank you for that. Much appreciated. So there are also tools, of course, to show your appreciation. But I think that the technology will continue developing, so there will be different solutions, and it’s here to stay. So I think we have to just put into place the checks and balances to make sure that we are using technology for good and in an efficient way. Thank you. Of course, there’s the whole other topic of the misinformation and the disinformation room of how easily information travels these days.

And in some ways, diplomacy or the component of diplomacy, which was press releases or statements from the ministers or statements from politicians, that component of diplomacy has really moved into social media and has moved into more of a fast mode. So I think these developments are going to be interesting to see how that goes. Eventually, I have a feeling that people, I think, already have too much information. So how efficient the social media will be will depend more on quality. and if we, you know, I think later on we can discuss about the different engines but I think some engines or some social media tools are more efficient than others for diplomacy and I think that’s something we can continue discussing here.

So I’ll leave that as my introduction.

Thank you very much Ambassador Schear. That’s a very practical introduction about how technology is enabling you to be to play multiple roles in multiple locations both in your work and in your private life the importance of cyber security and the growing importance of social media in international discourse so now I think I’d like to turn to Professor Maluki because you’ve been a trainer of diplomats for many years and I’m sure there have been great changes in the needs of the curriculum of course diplomats still have to be very good communicators and very good negotiators but what are the new ways that you are finding that you need to equip your young diplomats with technology so that they can excel in their careers in this fast changing world of diplomacy.

Please go ahead Professor Maluki.

Thank you very much Katherine and good evening. Good afternoon wherever one may be I am Professor Patrick Maluki, and I’m a professor at the University of Nairobi, where I chair the Department of Diplomacy and International Studies. This is a department which has trained, I would say, roughly 50 % of Canadian diplomats, and therefore have been in the diplomatic training field for quite some time. I’m also happy to mention that I chair the Foreign Service Academy Council. This is the council which manages the Foreign Service Academy, I think in terms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our main mandate is to strengthen the capacity of the Canadian diplomat. Therefore, the subject matter of today is very relevant to some of the activities that I engage in, and I want to echo part of what Ambassador has just teased out, and confirm that diplomats…

…was majorly… used by countries to promote their national interest. It’s one of the mechanisms for global governance because in the national system, having no authority above the national state requires collaborative engagement, persuasion, and other soft skills for any country to navigate the very difficult terrain that characterizes international politics. And therefore, traditionally, the diplomat has been one of the main responses has been communication, and for that matter, effective and timely communication. I think without going to the deep lesson of diplomacy, I want to narrow in on the aspect of communication. Sometimes we relate diplomacy with media, and we normally appreciate the fact that media are always very fast. But what enables media to be very fast in communication is technology.

I think it is technology. I think it is technology. I think it is technology. So now the diplomatic terrain is rapidly changing. And I’m happy we have the Estonian ambassador here. And Estonia is one of the best examples of digitization of services as well as diplomatic engagement. So the modern diplomat must, of essence, be very fast and efficient in communication. And I look at science innovations, you know, as one way in which now diplomats are getting new tools to aid them in their day -to -day work. Quite a number of technological innovations have emerged. I think some of them have been mentioned. For example, artificial intelligence is an important innovation that diplomats are using today in a number of ways.

We can also cite the big data. And analytics, too, that’s also emerged in terms of technological innovations, which is very dynamic and useful. in the conduct of diplomas. We have social media, which is another platform for digital diplomas and the global engagement real -time. These are tools, as I said, that diplomas require to enhance their performance. We have blockchain technologies that are already known and in use in the different countries at different levels in the application of these technologies. But the question is, how equipped are the diplomas today to use these platforms, these tools, to enhance their performance? Virtual and immersive technologies, very, very important for simulating real -time situations in different geographical locations, as well as quantum computing.

I would say these are some of the modern, of course, when technology is ever evolving, even by the time we finish this discussion, maybe other tools might have been innovated. But we need to appreciate, each of these technological tools. For example, how are diplomas using the artificial intelligence? For example, for policy analysis, forecasting, crisis prediction, these are things that diplomats can really do with the application of technology. Automated translation. You know, a lot of work in diplomacy is communication, and we have conferences at a much larger level, and we need to really understand each other’s needs, but we don’t come from the same linguistic groups. And therefore, automated translation, very, very important. And negotiation simulations as well, the recording.

When I teach my bachelor classes, of course, my students are there, but each of them has an AI application where the notes are recorded, and they can replay, you know, at their own time. So this way, the diplomat is assisted in a number of ways to remember. Some of them may be details, probably that he could have forgotten or could have omitted in his own record. So I think when we apply technological… tools, then the diplomat is better prepared. Public opinion analysis, we can really gauge the attitude of nationals abroad. These are very important aspects for public diplomacy, where we can gauge how other nationals perceive us and what we need to do, and therefore take corrective measures.

So these are the tools. But we also have big data, which is a technology tool that is used by diplomats. For example, diplomacy deals with a lot of crisis issues. We have migration, now we are experiencing wars. So with big data, it is very easy to undertake migration analysis to know who is where, you know, economic forecasting, quite a number of questions. We can also do conflict risk analysis with the… technological tools, you know, the modern diplomat can get this information in a better and more informed way. And so what I want to say is that, yeah, use of technology and technological tools have really enhanced the performance of modern diplomat. Blockchain and the trust infrastructure, which are emerging scientific tools applied by diplomat with the blockchain, you find that we can enhance transparent and timber -resistant digital records.

One of the challenges with AI is the credibility and the reliability of the records, but this can be taken care of by other applications or other tools, and for this matter, the blockchain technology. So we can have greater trust and accountability in diplomatic arguments. So what you can do is to use the technology and the what we need to appreciate is the ability of the modern diplomat to be more efficient if he or she can be enabled, the keyword is enabling him or her to utilize the emerging diplomatic scientific innovations that can assist him or her in performing his duty. So with the blockchain, you can also secure digital identity systems. You know, for example, for refugees, you know, when people have been displaced and you want to reconnect to communities or other relatives, then we need some scientific, you know, mechanism.

And the blockchain tools can help in some of these efforts to identify and really reconnect, you know, people who are related. And lastly, I talked about the emerging technologies, virtual reality, where through technology we can simulate. You know, a cultural meeting, we can, you know, have meetings which reflect, like showing where each one of is. That way, you enhance the reality of a diplomatic event. So these new tools are very, very important. So new tools for cultural diplomacy, where you have virtual museums, you know, digital cultural events can be undertaken using these technological tools. And therefore, it creates opportunities for global engagement without geographic limits. You can really simulate these trends. And of course, this has to also do with a lowered cost.

If we can achieve all this with the minimum cost, then the better. So the diplomat of the country. I think I mentioned about the quantum technologies, which is also an emerging technology. Majorly, this technology relies on mathematical. skills where computing I mean quantum computing is revolutionizing the data processing and scientific research essentially…

Thank you so much Professor Maluki and it’s really wonderful to just see how enthusiastic you are about the range of technologies that have become available and how relevant they are to the specific work that diplomats do I was expecting Jovan Kubalija I’ve been informed that he had to leave if he rejoins us later of course I’ll have a question for him Now I can see that there are already questions which are coming into the chat and please feel free to continue interacting with us all the participants through the chat with your questions your feedback your comments but as you do that I’d like you to tell us in chats if you had an AI assistant in your diplomatic mission for those of you who are diplomats what task would you most want it to perform which of the things you do are you feeling the need for an AI based assistant so the question is up there on the screen thank you Arvin so please just type your answers in the chats and Mwende will be going through the chats and she’s going to summarize for us which are the most popular AI assistants which are appearing so even if you have a question of course or another feedback please feel free to ask feel free to use the chat but please also engage with this question.

So Ambassador Schaer I turn to you again could AI now we’re turning to a specific technology because it’s becoming a very controversial one could AI help identify emerging coalitions or shifts in negotiation positions during complex multilateral discussions are you comfortable with AI doing that or do you think it should stay a human activity?

Thank you very much I think it’s the background component to these discussions I mean I do use my AI for very basic things if I’m going to meet a new person you can get a very good background if you haven’t received the CV and things like that you know very simple things probably shouldn’t be using AI for that because the Google is probably just as efficient but I think where you can get the analysis is that it can bring in different sources and compare them to each other. So to make an efficient background paper for you or background materials, a lot of our diplomats in Estonia is exactly that that is required. Rather than having a diplomat looking through the different memos that have been written, the different analysis that has been done, we get so much text that the long -term goal would be to be able to analyze all of these documents, put some sort of an analysis together, but then also to be able to create those questions that you might want to look from the outside.

So we are going to have an internal AI system, and then we’re also going to have some access to the external AI solutions. So, I mean, I think that. That would be the. sort of the best solution is to give more time to the diplomats to put together a quick analysis, and especially for countries such as Estonia, who do not have representations all around the world and don’t have the information. Will they be able to actually feel what the sense of that country is or their negotiation position? I think that’ll be a lot more difficult, but AI definitely will give you tips and will be able to prepare you for those discussions. I think that’s probably the direction that we’re going towards.

listen to meetings, especially multilateral meetings, and the AI is able to map all the different positions. It’s able to analyze in which direction the discussion is going, whether we’re moving towards coalition or conflict, and many other features. Now, as I turn back to Professor Maluki, I’d be so interested to know what kind of questions your students ask as they face this new world of diplomacy. Are they more concerned with mastering the different technologies that are available? Are they more concerned about the practicality? Whether maybe diplomats from developing countries will be less advantaged? than those who are from a more technologically advanced society? Or are they more concerned with policy issues like transparency, like data privacy and other issues that arise as technology becomes one of the members of a diplomatic meeting?

Maybe you can just give us a sense of where your students see their future challenges to be emerging.

Thank you very much, Katherine. Let me start by saying that we appreciate innovations in technology, but those technological innovations cannot replace the human person in the conduct of diplomacy. We have quite a number of tools that diplomats use, but there are some instances where the personal touch of the individual. For example, I wouldn’t expect, you know, a diplomat to present his or her credentials through an AI. You need to meet the head of state and you know, the high conduct is very important. You know, we normally also utilize the non -fable communication cues when we interact with other diplomats and therefore we appreciate it. But going back to your question, what are the main concerns?

I think one of the concerns in the training of diplomats now is the asymmetrical levels in which different countries are in regards to use application of scientific tools in the conduct of diplomacy. Those diplomats from advanced societies where the application of these tools is more difficult. they are at a better position because a bigger number of them can utilize these digital tools, for example AI, to analyze background, you know, get more prepared as compared to some of the diplomats from societies which are challenged in terms of application of scientific tools in the practice of diplomacy and therefore bridges this scientific gap is a very major concern for practicing diplomats and the ability to master the skills is also not it is not equal, so many of emerging diplomats are keen on being exposed to the utilization and the kind of environment in the missions well equipped with modern technological tools that can aid the work of the diplomat but of course other issues that come, the technology as this has been said before is the essence of security, you know, of a reliant or dependence on them digital and scientific tools.

Also, expose our country in a number of ways, become vulnerable the moment this infrastructure is maybe attacked through cyber security hackers, ETC. Then, of course, you find quite a number of issues coming to play. But going forward, the modern diplomat must be well equipped with these scientific tools just to aid, but not to replace, the human person in diplomacy. Thank you. Okay,

thank you very much for raising some very interesting points, Professor Maluki. And as you were talking, I was just thinking about how very senior people nowadays in government they use social media to communicate with citizens and they make a lot of policy statements. And I think that’s the And I think that’s the most important thing for the most important thing for the most important thing for the most important thing for us to be able to do. Ambassador Shear you also raised the issue of cyber security now that we are online it means that our messages can be intercepted, I often hear the social media pundits saying oh there was a very secret meeting last night and our sources are telling us that this is what was discussed and as an old government hand I start wondering how do they know are they telling the truth, can we rely on what they are saying and indeed somebody has put in the chat that can we trust these analyses based on data which is being scraped off the internet, although Estonia is a very developed country you have a small population so I’m sure and I think I can infer from your being ambassador to Kenya ambassador to South Africa and also ambassador at large to Africa you have a very very broad mandate because I’m sure you can’t have huge diplomatic missions when you have a relatively small population so how do you manage this overload of information and misinformation and also how do you tell between what’s true and what isn’t how do you protect your communications so that we don’t hear them quoted the following day on social media and we’re not quite sure how people prematurely got access to that information so maybe just give us a flavor of both practical and governance aspects of cyber security for the modern diplomat, especially one with a wide mandate such as yourself.

Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. Well, again, as I mentioned previously, there is a divide between what is open source social media and what is diplomatic business -wise communications. So those two cannot be mixed in our system. So if it’s on social media, if it’s out there on your Facebook, on your Instagram, on your X, on your LinkedIn, then you have to realize that this can be quoted. There’s no way of taking that back. There’s no way of putting it back into the bottle. The genie has been let out. So that’s really keeping the two components separate from each other. In Estonia, I think Professor brought up a little bit talking about blockchain. In Estonia, the government system has developed a lighter version of blockchain to verify all of the entries in the e -government services.

So if somebody is looking at your data, you will be able to see that from the blockchain -like system that is given access to the citizens. So in Estonia, the data is owned by the citizen, not by the government. So again, you are obligated to verify your data and your information. And I think this is linked a little bit to some of the questions that have been asked. There are questions about the digital divide. There are some questions about how can smaller countries use AI. Well, AI is all about data. So I think your question exactly was correct. How do you ensure that the data that has been entered is correct? Is it correct or the data that has been shared is correct?

So those are very difficult questions because if you’re using social media these days, it’s possible to use very different – they don’t always have a proper verification system. Some are just based on a payment system. Somebody also asked about LinkedIn. So I find that LinkedIn tends to be the most real or has the least amount of fake accounts. People are going through a verification process where you have to present your government ID to get in there. So I think that the level of trust in the information that’s delivered on LinkedIn is higher than in other sources. And LinkedIn is a tool that I use actually quite a lot. We announced that we’re opening an embassy this year in Kenya.

That was my most popular post on LinkedIn. I think it had over – 2 ,000 or 3 ,000 interactions, lots of new contacts, but the reach was over 100 ,000 real people. When you have a reach on XX, you don’t know how many of those are bots, how many of those are different duplicate accounts and things like that. So I think to make a comparison between different platforms, LinkedIn, again, builds the trust. And so the data that you have has to be also built up on trust. I think we have a lot of African components here and the colleagues from Kenya here who are speaking, and Kenya has a lot of data. The problem is that the challenge is that they’re in different databases and how do you share the information?

How do you make interoperability? So for you to make AI successful or using it successfully, you have to have not only the data interoperability, but the data has to be trustful and verifiable. So I think we have a lot of challenges ahead of us. but I think it is possible because again using blockchain you can leave watermarks you can register so the technology is being worked on and I think that it will be a continuous process one will go will develop faster than the verification process will catch up and it will be a continuous sort of developing, continue to develop the systems but it’s all based on trust.

Okay, thank you very much Ambassador Cher for also separating formal communications that are protected by technologies such as blockchain so that they can be trusted and the sort of general information that we find all over the internet although of course citizens are more and more relying on those very informal platforms for their information so probably I’ll turn to you with my last question before we go to a quiz which I’ll ask Arvin to start preparing the live poll which will come immediately after Professor Maluki has answered my question. So Professor, I made a joke recently at the Munich Cyber Security Conference and I said in the age of social media everybody is a diplomat we know that Kenya is famous for having what they call a cyber army and sometimes they engage in spirited verbal sparring with other countries, particularly Nigeria and South Africa on various issues.

Do you see this as healthy or does it sometimes go over the top and cause the kind of offense which a seasoned diplomat never would? What would you do to help our young people, even as they’re very passionate about defending their country, to learn to be a little bit more diplomatic on social media? Or is it if you think it’s important or not important?

Thank you very much, Katherine, once again. And I think these are very important. What are their concerns? Majorly, countries are turning into public diplomacy. The essence here is to enhance, you know, voice and the visibility of a country. That’s the essence of diplomacy. And by public diplomacy, we want to reach out to foreign audiences. And social media has been one of the most efficient ways of reaching out to large numbers and putting… the information out there. And I’m sure I agree with you that Kenyans have really been very active in social media and communicate to the rest of… Well, I see very positive contribution to that because through social media quite a number of other Africans in other parts of the world and other parts of Africa are able to know more about Kenya.

The challenge is when the conversation gets overboard and maybe it hails its anger and detest, which is undiplomatic. But the act of communicating, passing out information, you know, talking about Kenya to as many people as possible is very positive because, you know, not everybody knows where Kenya is and the more Kenyans engage in social media to communicate information about the country, well and good. But our challenge is how to control the message that is conveyed in these channels. Sometimes the… kind of get abused and it may bring resentment, you know, misunderstanding. This is where the challenge comes. How can we control these channels? How can we manage them such that you know, those who use every Kenyan is a diplomat.

I mean, anyone who can communicate positively about our country, anyone who can make the voice or amplify the voice and visibility of Kenya is a diplomat. Because the more people know about Kenya, the better. Unfortunately, our former diplomatic channels, including the foreign missions abroad, they cannot have as much global reach like when we use social media. So, in the realm of public diplomacy, it is positive. But the challenge is how …

Okay, I think as you wait for Professor Maluki to rejoin us, I think this is an appropriate time to just go on to the poll. And I think Arvin is going to put up the question, which technology is already proving most useful for diplomacy? And remember, we’ve just been told that all of us are diplomats. We represent our countries, our organisations and ourselves online. So you can just make, I think a poll will come up on your device and you can click on one of the choices and we’re just going to give it about 30 seconds or so to see if you have any questions. Thank you. get the answers and I can see already that AI summaries and report drafting seem to be coming out on top and automated transcription of meetings is also doing well.

So it looks as if we really want this technology to help us in the work, the practical work that we are doing. I’m interested that not many people are choosing real -time translation. Maybe not many of us are in these multilingual meetings and also I can see that data analysis and coalition mapping are not doing so well. So AI summaries and report drafting and automated transcription of meetings. Fantastic. I’ll just give it a few more seconds. A little bit of a countdown and then having learned that about the summaries and the automated transcription. we will go back to the meeting. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and now I shall end the poll. Okay. So I hope the results are now visible to everybody.

As you can see, 24 % of you said automated transcription of meetings, 52 % AI summaries and reports drafting. That’s about half of you already. Then 7 % real -time translation and 17 % on data analysis and coalition mapping. so all of these are tools that are already available in the world of diplomacy and it’s very interesting to see that the tool which really represents a lot of the practical work which diplomats need to do on a daily basis are coming out on top so I hope you have access to these technologies I’m sure you do even this meeting we’re having now is being transcribed and everything is going to be captured even what is in the charts and it will be used to learn so having seen that Ambassador Schaer what pressures do you think that technology is reducing for diplomats?

because as I said Estonia may be much more have more resources or be more developed but with your small population I’m sure your missions are quite under the work pressure. Are you in agreement with the results of the poll that the two areas of really reporting on meetings are the most important or do you have a different point of view of what should be happening?

Thank you very much. I’d be very interested to hear what percentage of these people who are taking the note taking and who are using the memos and things like that are dealing with information that might be sensitive and if it is sensitive information how much of it is done so you’re able to create an in -house AI solution. and as far as I know there aren’t very many countries because it’s quite expensive to build your own AI, there aren’t very many countries who have their in -house which is closed off from the web so I mean yes the tool is very it would be the ideal tool the ideal tool was to, I mean I think the amount of reporting that takes place in diplomacy these days has grown just as exponentially as the access to social media so there is a very very massive amount of information and the thing is you can deal with the open source and the non -sensitive through the AI but when the information becomes sensitive and I think you alluded to that before if you want to have a proper analysis done by your ambassador or your diplomat in that country there might be some sensitive information in that memo.

And that memo cannot be accessed or that analysis cannot be close to an open source area. Otherwise, you can create a diplomatic incident. And I think that is definitely the biggest challenge. How do you use sensitive information in today’s AI systems?

Yes, a very important point. And as information goes open source and is learned by various AI, there may be a day that, you know, we may be asking the AI that please negotiate like Kenya. I ask it a diplomatic question and it’s able to answer as if it was a diplomat from Kenya or from Estonia or from South Africa. Greenland or anywhere in the world because it has been able to access those transcripts and learn the different styles. I think this is an emerging issue which definitely countries need to address. And as you said, some of them may be able to have their own AIs which learn from their own data and specialize. But many others are using general purpose AI from their well -known platforms.

And of course this means that those platforms are learning from the information that the diplomats disclose to them as they interact with the official intelligence. Now Mwende, can you guide me if Ambassador Maluki is back? Sorry, Professor Maluki is back?

Yes, he is back. He is back. So I can ask him a question. And Yovan or Ambassador Viggo are they available at all? Let me check

Okay, as you check I’ll ask my next question to Professor Maluki and then you can tell me at the end.

I am back

Okay, excellent Yes, thank you very much Professor and I can see that many people are asking whether they’ll get a transcript The recording of this webinar will be available I think later this week on the Diplo Africa part of the Diplo website the Diplo portal so that will be available Arvin can tell you and you tell us at the end whether there will be any other kind of transcript available of this meeting but the complete recording is always available Thank you and you can also watch past webinars. I think we’ve had about eight or nine. So all those are available on the diplomacy .edges portal. So welcome back, Professor Maluki. We’ve just been discussing the tools that are now available to diplomats.

And when we did a poll, most users chose the transcription and summarization tools for meetings as important. Of course, this is what is expected of diplomats every time there’s a meeting. So this must be a big chunk of their work. And I did a little diplomatic work for Kenya at the UN. So I know how difficult it can be to be there every day and to go on late into the night analyzing and preparing reports for capital. It’s not easy. So it’s great that AI is helping us, but that is also a risk because when we use general purpose AI, it learns from what we are giving it. And sometimes we don’t want what it’s learning available to everyone.

When you are doing your training, what do you tell students about the security or the cybersecurity of using the emerging technologies, including social media, including AI and so on? Are they aware of the risks? And if they are, which are the most common risks? which you’ll be discussing with your students.

So I wouldn’t want everyone to have 100 % fixation on the value of scientific tools. Human beings develop these tools, and therefore the human beings should be the repository for whatever diplomatic activities, action that… But we appreciate that they enhance diplomatic work. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you so much, Professor Maluki, for telling us some of the risks, although we also need to focus on the opportunities. Now, I’m looking more to the charts, and there’s an interesting question there from Nadia, which I think aligns very much, Ambassador Schaer, with what you said. You told us your president went to Antarctica. About climate change. And one of the big controversies right now is how much energy and even water… I was told that every time you ask a question to an AI, in generating the answer, it uses half of a bottle of water, half of the 500 ml. So by the time you’ve asked it key questions, it has already used up a whole bottle of water.

And then, of course, a lot of energy as well. In fact, I’m wondering whether some of the global conflicts which are happening right now are because of the hunger of AI for energy. So. What in diplomatic circles, is this something that is being discussed? Is it a concern or it really isn’t on the radar yet? Knowing that Estonia is really at the forefront of climate change. what would be your position on perhaps the frivolous use of AI for so many applications and yet it’s using up a lot of energy and a lot of clean water? thank you Ambassador Schaer.

yes thank you for that for the question I think in some way I alluded to that in one of my earlier answers that often AI is used in a similar way to Google I mean I’m guilty of it myself a regular internet search and one it’s being used because AI gives better results it searches more than your normal search engine and if you see the search engines also often have AI already incorporated into it so yes it is a concern the amount of energy that’s being used is quite significant one of the steps that Estonia has taken is one of our most recent data centers that we built was 100 % green, so CO2 neutral. So I think that’s one of the steps of the direction to go into.

But the other area that we’re looking at is also, for example, in education. Rather than seeing AI as an answering machine, which is what we tend to use AI for, we want AI to be a teaching tool or a learning tool for the students. So the way that a use of AI can justify or try to justify these questions that you posed is if the results that come from it are more significant. But I think that’s even a larger discussion as to access to the Internet. When we started e -governments or creating an e -government in Estonia, we had the dialogue and we had plenty of internet to be able to do e -government. Today, there’s a lot faster internet and things like that, but is it being used for productive reasons or is it more for social media or for entertainment purposes?

So I think it’s definitely a larger debate. And I wanted also just to take this opportunity, there was another question about gender. Actually, tomorrow we’re launching, together with the European Union, we’re launching a gender and technology Team Europe initiative. We’re launching it here in Brussels. Estonia is a partner there, and we will be focusing also on our priority countries in Africa, including Kenya, where we were looking to see how to ensure that girls and women are brought along with the digital world. So we’re looking at the digital revolution. and digitalization that is taking place by looking also at STEM, looking at how girls can participate more and not even just participate, just get an understanding of what’s happening in the STEM area.

We have a project called Unicorn Squad. It started in Estonia. It’s for girls from 9 to 11, and they are brought outside. It’s like a separate group after -school activity where they’re introduced to STEM. And we just recently had the same project close to Kisumu in Kenya in Agero, and there were girls from 9 to 11 building robots using the green screen, making electric circuits. And I completely agree with the question that was asked, that everyone has to be brought along with the digitalization process. Everybody has to be able to have these opportunities. is to use these tools, otherwise the divide will grow much faster. So I think there’s two very important questions raised here. How do we bring everyone along with us?

And then the environmental question. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much, Ambassador Schaer. And maybe just proceeding on from that or some of the challenges and following in from something you said earlier, Professor Maluki, about social media and many people picking their viewpoints on various countries from social media. And somebody has asked how much does TikTok and Instagram and all the information people put there, and of course they identify themselves as citizens of different countries, how much is that shaping? people’s views of different countries around the world. So now the view is no longer diplomatic. The view is created by social media and what people share there. And of course, it’s a very unvarnished view of each and every country. How much should this be a concern?

And do you agree that people’s views are being shaped by what they see nowadays? Not so much on TV, not so much on newspapers or textbooks from the library, but more by what citizens from around the world are sharing on their social media pages. Professor Maluki.

Thank you. Asante. Asante sana. Yes. It is, okay, I come from an academic background, and we normally rely on research. And I think the question you just posed may really. require, you know, some baseline survey, for example, to say, if we go to Uganda, can we gauge the impact of social media communication from Kenya to Uganda? That would be, but I can see where this is their impact. They have been posting impact on the social media. Let me say this. Ideally, especially in the democratic government, government in power is a representative of the people. And therefore, even when it performs diplomatic function, it performs that on behalf of all to really, you know, perform diplomatic services and function professionally.

But ideally, it is in the interest of the order of Kenya to have its views, its identity amplified by the government in power through diplomatic channels. So I think then… the focus of people speaking about their country is very positive. The question is how efficient and how correct is that done? And that’s why I’m saying that maybe if we conduct a baseline survey, that we can gauge. However, there are quite a number of incidents that happened, I think, in the history of Indian diplomatic practice. And I think one of it was we have had even important meetings where controversial statements have been made and Kenyans have reacted. And that reaction, because they voice their own views and it is out there, it normally informs policy.

People know this is not a go -on, this is not. I want to take, for example, I think there was a visit by a head of state from the U .S. who, in the discussion, with the Kenyan head of state, they alluded to the issue of… of the transgender relations, things that seem to be anti -African. And I think Kenyans spoke in the social media very loud. And so even leaders read, and Kenyans have defended the country where it has been like you are getting some accusation, issues of conflict, you know, kind of being unstable. So all these are important nuances that even from a diplomatic position, we can gauge on the way the public perception is on.

So I think the social media has opened very important channels of communication to hear different views. But the concern is how to ensure that they are not abused. It’s not very easy, but it is necessary to make sure that whatever gets out through social media. does not even undo the good diplomatic work that has been done by professional diplomats in the defense and protection of the Kenyan image abroad. But it is one of the areas where society has to really grapple with. And I alluded to, maybe we alluded to the patrolling from Kenya. So if I’m communicating, I should say, let me not damage the image of my country. But not very easy to control this space.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you, Professor. And I was just thinking of the social media influencer, I don’t know why I’m forgetting his name, who toured Africa recently. And apparently, 100 million people were following the tour. And some of them said they’d never known anything about Africa, positive, and now they’re even going to visit. So I think he seems to have had more impact. Absolutely. Than many formal campaigns. or government efforts, just random solutions. By excellence. Yes, he did a very good job for us. So thank you very much for that, Professor Maluki. And maybe now I’ll turn to Ambassador Scheer. There’s another question about somebody who’s fascinated, I think a lady called Wangechi, who is very fascinated with this idea in Estonia that data belongs to the people rather than to the state.

And asking you to expound and share how this people -centered model is implemented in practice and how it builds trust and enables innovation.

Yes, thank you so much. So we have some principles with our e -government in Estonia. So we have a single digital identity that’s a number. It’s pretty much your digital name, minus 378051. And you can’t do anything with that number because you have to have the verification processes and so on and so forth with it. and everyone has this in each step of the way that you go, whether it’s from birth, whether it’s a school system, whether it’s paying taxes, whether it’s your bank account, all are linked to this number. So all of the information has to be given by you. And linked to this is a once -only principle, which means that once you’ve given the information to the government, no government agency can re -ask for that information.

So if the government already has your birth certificate, because they’re the ones who issued it, then no other government agency or ministry is allowed to ask you for a birth certificate because they have access to that information. They’ve issued the document. More particular cases, we had a police officer who was fired from the job because he was checking up on the information about an ex -girlfriend or something such. And he was fired from the job because he was checking up on the information about an ex -girlfriend or something such. And each person is given… access to a certain amount of information. It’s put into place by law who’s allowed to look at which information. And if you go over that, if you go past those rules, it’s registered in the log, which is used by blockchain, and then you’re able to go into your log and ask, why did this person look at my data for?

I mean, I didn’t go to the police station, or I didn’t apply for my digital application for my driver’s license. I didn’t go to meet with a police officer. Why did they access my information? And they have to inform you within five working days as to why they accessed the information. So every step of the way, you’re building the trust. And also, it’s a question of delivering services. So if you’re going through that process of registering and taking out an ID card or having that, identification, there has to be services linked to that. And for us, if there’s a new government service that isn’t digital, it’s a big scandal. So everyone make sure that all of these solutions are accessed.

And in some ways we have similar challenges where you have the rest of the world, where you have people living outside of the cities and the elderly not able to access the main office in the city. But you don’t need to do that because you have digital solutions to help you, banking, all of these questions. So it’s really a question of building up that trust. And I also saw there was another question asking about developing countries. Will they be behind in these tools and the diplomacy tools? And I think that we have to differentiate between sort of the traditional tools, traditional diplomatic tools, which are things like the note verbal yes it’s becoming you’re able to send it now digitally but you still have to actually compose that note you have to put together, you have to deliver it you have to follow up on it, you have to phone someone are you still coming to our event, are you still coming to visit us so those traditional components should be still accessible to any diplomatic institution the challenge is maybe what you were speaking about was this cultural diplomacy how do you promote your country how quickly your information moves that would maybe be a challenge but maybe in some ways it’s positive because again the amount of information that is out there is incredible, a minister goes on a visit, how many different postings how many different sources do you use of social media, where do you post things then you have your official press releases and all of this so maybe the low tech or a little bit of a slower technological diplomacy is maybe even better these days thank you

okay thank you very much Ambassador for that insight into how it works in practice I can see that there’s a new question about the balance between this very fast growing innovation data analysis and political sensitivity and the centrality of human judgments I have been following the use of AI in the military recently because of some of the things that have happened around the world. And as I read some of the incidents, I realized that there’s a temptation, especially for someone who is very busy, to just accept the AI answer and not really to delve into it very deeply, but just go on to the next task, especially when everywhere we are expected to be very, very high productivity.

So, Professor Maluki, how do you help your young diplomats to balance between using tools, which help us to do things very quickly, and then making good judgments about where they need to make the decision themselves, and where they need to do the analysis themselves? how would you think, how well equipped would you think they are to make that decision between when we just accept the output of the technology and when we have to sit back and do our own thinking Thank you

Thank you Katherine One of the leading or rather main understanding of diplomacy is application of tact and intelligence in the management of international affairs. So a diplomat must be very tactful must also be very intelligent. In other words a diplomat is someone with very sound judgment a very observant person. So in whatever you do, you must take responsibility Diplomatic blunders are some of the worst experiences that countries have suffered from in terms of the crisis And therefore it would not be enough to say because I relied on artificial intelligence to do this, to analyze this, to get this That I am safe from whatever accusation that may come up So in other words, what I’m trying to say in simple language is that every diplomat must own to whatever he or she does It’s very important So it is upon you to know, yes, you need scientific tools to enhance your performance But you also must be aware and very, very conscious of the shortcomings of some of the tools So if really we know that artificial intelligence is very effective And very, very effective And very fast in analyzing data But the credibility aspect is one thing So if you are a diplomat using these scientific tools, that awareness will put you on alert to say, what else can I do?

And I remember what Abbas had just said, that you may need to deploy other scientific tools like blockchain that may verify some of the actions that are trying to get out of a particular, I mean, artificial intelligence. So in other words, the diplomat must utilize scientific tools, but with real realization. That he or she… He will take maximum responsibility over what happens. Because a diplomat, given his stature in society and responsibility, he is obliged to do the right thing. To apply… you know, tact and be very intelligent in discharging his or her responsibilities. That, therefore, requires him. So scientific tools that are being developed that are there to enhance our service delivery and performance in official functions are very useful.

They are very useful, but we have to also take responsibility in case of their failure. And that means, therefore, be aware of conversant with the way a particular tool is applied, where it is most suited, and avoid using it in areas where you find that it may have weaknesses. So I think what we need is a complete education and awareness of these scientific tools and their utility in the various areas. So that a particular diplomat will deploy a specific tool in the correct context on the right. estimation. Thank you very much,

Professor Maluki. Now we’re drawing to the close, so I’m going to ask the last question, even as I ask the panel members to just give us their closing remarks as they answer that question. Okay, there’s one I had seen. I’ll see if I can still look at the other one. So, I’ll start with Ambassador Sher. And the first question was really that instead of taking the negative view that small countries or developing countries will always be behind because we generally have less resources and less people at our disposal, isn’t it possible that these countries can start exploiting this technology or using it in innovative and unconventional ways to give themselves a competitive edge in the future, even in areas like diplomacy.

I remember when I was at the UN, I was a delegation of one, and countries like Russia, US, had delegations of 10 or more people. So I saw myself as very disadvantaged, and then I kept making a joke that I wish I had a robot at my back to assist me in these negotiations because I don’t have a delegation. And at that time, it was a joke, but right now, people do have AI assistance. So do you see our countries, the small countries, the less powerful countries, beginning to use these technologies to give themselves a competitive edge, even where they can’t have boots on the ground? so there are several questions about specific technologies and which ones are good for diplomats so I believe that discussion can continue on the Diplo portal going forward so that we can point you to many of the tools which even Diplo is developing and which I think are available for use so please I won’t ask the Ambassador and Professor to answer those questions because they may not be aware of those specific systems.

So as we finish could you Ambassador just give us a quick answer to the question about the competitive edge and also give us your closing remarks. Then I’ll ask Professor Professor Maluki to do exactly the same and then I’ll summarize and we’ll come close.

Yes, thank you so much Chair and thank you for the good questions. Technology is the easy part. Technology is everywhere, the technology is available everywhere. The implementation and the change management is the key and I think that that’s maybe, it’s not necessarily based on the size of the country, but definitely a smaller country or a less influential country can increase their influence through the use of technology if they are open to it, if they are willing to change, if they are willing to try new things. And I think that is really the main message that we try to pass in our development cooperation, in our work with partners. Our experience was I mean, for example, our ID card is not an Estonian technology.

We took it from Finland, and we just implemented it fully to its full capabilities. So the technology is there, and it’s just the need to have leaders, to have diplomats, to have ambassadors who are willing to try different things. It’s clear that the days of sending, where you sent your reporting back to the capital, and it took three months or six months to arrive by ship, those days are past. So now it’s just, I think, just using innovative solutions, doing things differently. And my last point is that none of this will replace people -to -people contacts. I know from my own experience, being away far, from Kenya is not always the easiest, and I really cherish it.

every time that I’m able to go there for that one week or two weeks and meet people face -to -face. So, yes, use innovation, use technology. Change should be embraced, but personal, private, you know, one -to -one contacts are the most important thing that you have. Thank you

Thank you very much, Ambassador, for that very insightful answer and also for giving us your time. You really have a very busy schedule, so thank you very much. Thank you. Professor Maluki.

scientific tools in the conduct of diplomacy. I want to thank the organizers for inviting me for this. As I said, I am Professor Patrick Maluki. I chair the Foreign Service Academy Council and I’m also the Director of the Institute of Diplomacy and the National Studies University of Nairobi. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much, Professor Maluki. There is another question from Valeria, but I’m sorry, Valeria, we’re out of time. But this issue of the digital divide, we will continue to discuss it. We have a webinar every quarter, so I believe that is flagging us that this is a very important issue. It has arisen several times in the chat. So I do apologize Valeria and others whose questions have not been fully addressed. But we do thank you for joining us. Thank you. and all the participants, you’ve been wonderful. There’s a lot of interaction in the chat and the poll. We’re really, really grateful to have you here. And of course, Ambassador Sher, Professor Maluki, we are extremely grateful.

And the technical team led by Arvin, my co -worker Mwende. Thank you very much to all of you. Now, we’ve really gotten a very broad view of the use of technology. We’ve heard about all the different emerging technologies and how they’re being used. We’ve heard about how data and social media can empower citizens to participate in the diplomatic process. We’ve learned about some of the risks of using this technology. Technology. and some of the things we do to mitigate those risks. And we’ve also heard that all of us are going to have to engage with this technology as diplomats, as citizens, and really make it part of our lives, make us more efficient and productive, but at the same time keep us efficient and effective in doing what we’re best at, which is expressing ourselves and our own skills and professionalism in diplomacy, as in every other area.

So thank you, everyone, for attending. And I think we do not award certificates, but as I said, you have access to the portal and to the material, and I’m sure it’s going to be useful to you going forward. Diplo is an educational institution so they do have a wide variety of very important courses in this another area so you can enroll in one of their courses and you will get a very valuable certificate. Is there anything I’ve forgotten Mwende as we close? Okay so in Swahili, Asante Sana, thank you very much. So I’ll just say Asante Sana to all of you. I look forward to meeting you in our webinar next quarter. It will be advertised on the portal very soon.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Recording stopped.