Diplomacy in the Age of Code: Blinken at the RSA Conference
Secretary Antony Blinken at the RSA Conference: technology as the arena of geopolitical competition, and the case for governing it together.
When the US Secretary of State takes the keynote stage at RSA, the world's largest gathering of cybersecurity professionals, the message is that security engineering and foreign policy have become the same conversation. Antony Blinken opened with a light reference to Ferris Bueller's Day Off before turning to his theme: the technology revolution is now central to competition between nations, carrying both serious security risks and real opportunities for progress.
The speech accompanied the launch of the United States' International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy, and it set out how American diplomacy intends to shape the technologies that will define the coming decades.
Six foundational technologies
Blinken named six technologies he considers foundational to national competitiveness and security, and noted that they increasingly converge and reinforce one another:
- Microelectronics
- Advanced computing
- Artificial intelligence
- Biotechnology
- Telecommunications
- Clean-energy technologies
When the digital world becomes the physical world
A central thread was the disappearing boundary between digital and physical systems. Cars, hospitals, power grids and water systems now run on software and connectivity, which means a cyberattack can cause physical harm. Securing infrastructure therefore means securing both its digital and physical layers at once, a point security practitioners have made for years, now framed as national policy.
Governance before it is too late
Blinken argued that the benefits of new technology depend on rules that ensure its responsible and ethical use. He described initiatives to promote AI that is safe, secure and trustworthy; to prevent the misuse of digital technologies, including surveillance and repression; to build agreed norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace; and to prepare now for the implications of quantum computing for today's encryption.
Technology for the global good
The speech gave equal weight to opportunity. Emerging technologies, AI above all, were presented as tools for accelerating progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with applications from agriculture to healthcare. The argument is strategic as well as moral: the countries that help others benefit from technology will shape the values built into it.
Trusted, resilient supply chains
Blinken outlined efforts to diversify and secure the supply chains behind critical technologies, especially semiconductors and the critical minerals they depend on, and to build partnerships that strengthen technology ecosystems worldwide while reducing dependence on untrusted vendors.
Protecting what matters most
He also addressed the defensive side of technology policy: measures to keep the most sensitive technologies out of the wrong hands, including export controls on advanced semiconductors and closer scrutiny of investments in sensitive sectors.
A shared responsibility
The speech closed on collaboration. No government can secure the technology landscape alone; it takes industry, academia and civil society working with the state. Done well, Blinken argued, that partnership can advance democratic values, uphold the rule of law, and promote both global security and prosperity.
Why it matters for security practitioners
- Cyber risk is physical risk. Operational technology, medical devices and connected vehicles belong in the same threat model as IT systems.
- Supply chain is strategy. Vendor due diligence, hardware provenance and software bills of materials are moving from best practice to policy expectation.
- Plan for post-quantum now. Inventory where encryption is used, so migration to quantum-resistant algorithms can be scheduled rather than rushed.
- AI governance is coming to every organisation. Expect requirements for transparency, testing and accountability in how AI systems are built and used.
Overall impression
The speech presented a comprehensive approach to the challenges and opportunities of emerging technology, built on three pillars: proactive diplomacy, governance frameworks, and international collaboration. Its most important message was that harnessing innovation and managing its risks are not competing goals. Both require a coordinated, inclusive approach, and both are now firmly part of foreign policy.
This article summarises and comments on the Secretary of State's keynote at the RSA Conference in San Francisco (May 2024). For exact wording, refer to the official transcript published by the US Department of State.