The United States is “no longer the dominant power” in the tech world, even though it acts like one, said Paddy Cosgrave, executive director of the Web Summit Rio technology conference, being held this week in the Brazilian city.
“In the technological world, the world has moved on. The United States is no longer the dominant power, no longer hegemonic. It acts like one, but it no longer has the power it used to have,” Cosgrave, 42, said in an interview.
To illustrate this geopolitical shift, the Irish executive recalled an anecdote that occurred at the Qatar Web Summit a few weeks ago.
During a talk about the AI ​​race between China and the United States, when the moderator asked the thousands of attendees if they thought the United States would win, only two people raised their hands, he said.
“The 21st century undoubtedly belongs to China and the BRICS (emerging countries). They are on the rise,” said the co-founder of the conference.
Cosgrave advocated for “as open a world as possible” in opposition to trade barriers and condemned “the balkanization of the planet.”
At the Web Summit, “we are very pleased to bring together American, Chinese, and European companies,” he said.
The conference also addressed the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
Cosgrave drew a comparison with the risk that the automobile introduced in its early days, but which was moderated over time thanks to regulations.
“Every new technology can be both good and bad. And then we usually make a collective decision as a society that if we’re going to live with this technology that could have lethal consequences, (…) then we take steps to regulate it,” he said confidently.
Regarding content moderation and the fight against disinformation, he considered it essential that this be the responsibility of “the public sector, primarily our judicial systems,” rather than the responsibility of large technology companies.
“Delegating responsibility for the limits of free speech to corporations is a slippery and dangerous slope,” he said.
The conference, which has been held in Rio for three years, will remain in this city for five more editions, until 2030.
The annual meeting, which closes this Wednesday and this year welcomed 34,000 attendees, features hundreds of speakers, from startups to giants like Nvidia, TikTok, Meta, and OpenAI.