The prime minister also said that the Digital Age is changing everything where technology is the new weapon
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing The Sydney Dialogue. ANI
Underlining the impact of the Digital Age, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said “we are in a time of change” that happens once in an era, where technology are becoming new weapons.
Delivering the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue, Narendra Modi said the Digital Age is changing everything around us. “It has redefined politics, economy and society. It is raising new questions on sovereignty, governance, ethics, law, rights and security. It is reshaping international competition, power and leadership,” said the prime minister.
The prime minister’s speech on the theme of India’s technology evolution and revolution was preceded by introductory remarks by Australian prime minister Scott Morrison.
During his address, he also highlighted that while technology was ushering in a new era of opportunities, it also presented “new risks and new forms of conflicts across diverse threats from sea-bed to cyber to space”.
“Technology has already become a major instrument of global competition and key to shaping the future international order. Technology and data are becoming new weapons. The biggest strength of democracy is openness. At the same time, we should not allow a few vested interests to misuse this openness,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Narendra Modi also raised the issue of cryptocurrency at The Sydney Dialogue. He said, “It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth.”
Modi’s warning on cryptocurrency comes after he held discussions on rules for cryptocurrency in India, during which it was decided that a committee would come up with rules to ensure checks and balances.
He concluded, “We are at a historic moment of choice. Whether all the wonderful powers of technology of our age will be instruments of cooperation or conflict, coercion or choice, domination or development, oppression or opportunity.”
The Sydney Dialogue is being held between 17-19 November. It is an initiative of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
With inputs from agencies