The Tech Ambassador

In 2017, Denmark became the first country in the world to appoint a tech ambassador. The thinking was simple: the big tech giants had acquired economic and political power on a par with nation states, and their platforms shaped how we talk to one another. Technology, in other words, had become a foreign and security policy priority – so Denmark needed to talk to tech companies directly, as equals. My job included building contacts and networks with the industry's key players and raising the profile of Denmark's tech diplomacy (TechPlomacy) on the global stage. The initiative had offices in Copenhagen, Beijing and Palo Alto.

As senior adviser, I worked directly alongside the ambassador in California. I took part in meetings with many representatives of the tech industry and wrote numerous diplomatic cables to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Danish authorities and agencies on new technologies and their consequences for society – including gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9 and the geopolitical race in drones and quantum technology. I also helped organise many visits by Danish ministers and delegations.

Denmark became a pioneer in tech diplomacy, and several countries have since appointed their own tech ambassadors and envoys. The embassy's extensive global work opened doors to the tech industry's top leadership and built relationships that reach beyond any single conversation.

The results of diplomacy can rarely be measured directly – and are even more rarely made public – but they lie in access, trust and influence. The initiative got its own explainer video on what TechPlomacy is, which I helped to produce.