This year’s Summit comes at a pivotal moment for the global digital and tech agendas:

• In 2024, the year of elections. From Brussels to Washington, from London to Delhi, administrations are looking into investments in technology to boost their economies and security while navigating an increasingly confrontational and protectionist environment.
• Technology is now at the centre of every potential flashpoint, including the US-EU-China triangle and the efforts to isolate rogue regimes in Russia, Iran, and North Korea, as well as the future of the North-South trade and investment opportunities.
• Worldwide, internet freedom is being curtailed while organisations and individuals are grappling with the growing exploitation of hardware and software vulnerabilities.
• Digitalisation is transforming conventional battlefields in real time, in both active and frozen conflicts.
• Access to AI tools has taken the world by storm, amplifying economic competitiveness and security concerns. The pace towards more inclusive and sustainable digital societies is slowly picking up.

There remains a real risk that domestic industrial policies and the pursuit of strategic autonomy will lead to trade barriers and fragmentation even amongst democratic allies. But there is also an ideal opportunity for friendshoring: by combining talent, investments, and markets, democracies can outpace and out-innovate autocracies. In the meantime, we must compare our notes and strive to adopt a unified stance on present Russian threats and potential China risks.

To pioneer digital security strategies for tomorrow and beyond, close collaboration among allies and partners is required today. At Tallinn Digital Summit 2024, we set an ambitious goal to harmonise our agendas.

Find out more about the three core themes of #TDS2024 below.

Secure Innovation and Technology

Learning from the Past and the Present to Forge a Safer Digital Tomorrow

At the Tallinn Digital Summit, we will focus on taking stock of our current situation in the global race for innovation by looking back on what we have done right in regulating and supporting innovation in different domains, why we have hesitated to harness innovation in certain areas, and what lessons we can draw from our past challenges to ensure our future successes.

Discussions about emergent and disruptive technologies have gone on for years. By reflecting on our experiences, we aim to obtain insights into how to foster innovation effectively to remain competitive and adaptable in the face of rapid technological advancements.

Resilience and Partnerships

Building Our State and Societal Resilience

Governments, businesses, and individuals are subject to direct attacks and subversive manipulation attempts. At the same time, more frequent and violent natural disasters strain the state’s ability to keep critical infrastructure operational and responsive to people’s needs.

The role of technology, infrastructure, and education in modern security is highlighted differently between active combat zones and countries at peace, as well as between physical and digital realms, but resilience is equally essential. On the global scale, by building resilience, openness, and transparency of global connectivity, we promote partnerships, innovation, trust in technological solutions, and wider benefits.

The Summit will lay the foundation for discussions on how states, people, and the international community can become more resilient through technological innovation and trusted partnerships.

Global Technology Governance

How and Where to Next?

The problem of conceptualising “good” technology governance is of consuming interest worldwide. Data governance and AI principles — such as the Hiroshima Process and the Bletchley Declaration — have been agreed upon. Through the AI Act, the EU has taken a comprehensive approach to AI regulation. At the UN, the High Level Advisory Board has been formed to explore global governance of AI. The UN’s Global Digital Compact aims to reach a multinational agreement on common principles for digital cooperation at the Summit of the Future in September 2024.

While we wait for new solutions for the post-digital, post-quantum, and AI-driven society, we continue to rely on almost two-decade-old guidelines. In Tallinn, our conversations will examine how national, international, and global approaches and agreements have fared and what should be on our to-do list.

Join us in Tallinn to be part of this crucial conversation and to help shape a secure digital tomorrow!