Announcement by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Press Release
28.02.2024
ASPI’s Sydney Dialogue to return 2-3 September
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is pleased to announce that the third Sydney Dialogue for critical, emerging and cyber technologies will be held on 2-3 September 2024.
The Sydney Dialogue (TSD) brings together world leaders, global technology industry innovators and top experts in cyber and critical technology for frank and productive discussions, with a specific focus on the Indo-Pacific.
TSD 2024 will generate conversations that address the awesome advances being made across these technologies, their impact on our societies, economies and national security, and how we can best manage their adoption over the next decade and beyond. These will include generative artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, biotechnology, climate and space technologies.
We will prioritise speakers and topics that push the boundaries and generate new insights into these fields, while also promoting diverse views, including from the Pacific, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
This year’s event will also capture the key trends that are dominating international technology, security and geopolitical discussions. With more than 80 national elections set to take place around the world in 2024, the event will also focus on the importance of political leadership, global cooperation and the stable development of technologies amid great power transition, geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing conflict.
ASPI is pleased to have the support once again of the Australian Government for TSD in 2024.
Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, the Hon Clare O’Neil MP said: “The threats we face from cyber attacks and tech-enabled perils such as disinformation and foreign interference are only growing as the power of artificial intelligence gathers pace.
“The kind of constructive debate that the Sydney Dialogue fosters helps ensure that the rapid advances in critical technologies and cyber bring better living standards for our people rather than new security threats. Closer engagement with our international partners and with industry on these challenges has never been more important than it is today.”
TSD 2024 will build on the momentum of the previous two dialogues, which featured keynote addresses from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and former Chief Executive Officer of Google Eric Schmidt. A full list of previous TSD speakers can be found here. You can also watch previous TSD sessions here.
TSD 2024 will be held in person and will feature a mix of keynote addresses, panel discussions, closed-room sessions and media engagements.
Topics for discussion will also include technological disruptors, cybercrime, online disinformation, hybrid warfare, electoral interference, climate security, international standards and norms, as well as technology design with the aim of enhancing partnerships, trust and global co-operation.
Justin Bassi, the Executive Director of ASPI, said: “The Sydney Dialogue 2024 will continue to build on the great success ASPI has established since 2021. These technologies are affecting our security and economies faster, and more profoundly, than we ever imagined. We need frank, open debate about how, as a globe, we manage their adoption into our lives.
“We are proud to be focusing on our Indo-Pacific region and encouraging a wide and diverse range of perspectives on some of the most important challenges of our time.”
More information and updates on the Sydney Dialogue can be found at tsd.aspi.org.au.