One of the greatest tragedies about human life is that we haven’t really managed to judiciously use our intelligence. Now, one can argue that our achievements throughout the history tell a different story, but if we look at the level on which our cognitive abilities can consistently function, it will be a safe assumption to make that we haven’t been able to make the most of it so far. What’s worse is that instead of striving to get there, some of us repeatedly show a tendency of using this very intelligence for all the wrong reasons. At times, our desire to be better than others translates directly to unscrupulous activities, which can also impact a wider slice of population. Hence, to make sure that such events are avoided, we have set up dedicated regulatory bodies within every major sphere. These bodies are tasked with monitoring actions of different nature. Furthermore, they are given the power to impose certain regulations across the board, and in a case where these regulations aren’t followed properly, the governing bodies can also hand out penalties in whichever shape or form they deem fit. It sounds like a fair setup, but the act of regulating different areas has grown to be harder in the recent past. This scenario, as you can guess, is a direct by-product of technology. It’s easier than ever before for the companies to bypass the rules. Nevertheless, that’s doesn’t even convey the full picture. The introduction of technology has also made infrastructure more vulnerable to infiltration. It was well-known already, but the severity of the issue really dawned upon us once the cybersecurity crisis kicked in last year. Fortunately, we are now actively looking to solve it, and our latest attempt to do is hitting the floor soon.
The Biden Administration is set to launch a new bureau for cyberspace and digital policy at the State Department. The decision is inspired by an intensifying need to bolster diplomats’ cyber expertise. As per the reports, this bureau will essentially deal with three primary disciplines i.e. international cybersecurity, international digital policy, and digital freedom. One of the many interesting details here is that the new cyberspace agency will also employ a special envoy for emerging technologies. The influx of new tech products, in particular, has caused a lot of problems for the regulators; therefore having a team entirely devoted to it should definitely help over the long term.
“This structure will provide us with greater leadership and accountability to drive the diplomatic agenda with the interagency and abroad, and build on the extraordinary work that is already taking place across the Department,” says Tony Blinken, Secretary of State.
A similar idea was brought up during Trump administration, but it failed to catch up any momentum at the time. The Biden administration, however, reopened the book on it. Following some minor tweaks in regards to its place in the organizational structure, the bureau is now ready to have a moment in the sunlight.
