At Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president, there were some new faces in the front row—the Tech Bros. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg were among the key players from Silicon Valley welcoming the returning president. Since then, this small band of extremely wealthy tech entrepreneurs has played an outsized role in fashioning the future direction of US communications networks and its military research and development programs. Deeply involved in the race to beat China in the development of AI superintelligence, their influence extends well beyond America’s borders, impacting billions of lives in Europe and around the world.
In this debate, we brought together some of Europe’s leading experts on the politics of digitalization to discuss whether the Tech Bros will save the world or destroy it.
Francesca Bria is a professor at UCL IIPP and a Fellow at Stiftung Mercator. She leads the "EuroStack" project to strengthen European digital sovereignty and is also the Chair of the New European Bauhaus Facility, a Board Member of the European Innovation Council.
Marietje Schaake is a Dutch politician, internet and privacy expert, and Stanford-based academic known for her work on technology, trade, and foreign policy.
Helga Nowotny is a science researcher and professor emerita in social studies of science at ETH Zurich and a leading voice in science and technology studies (STS) and in international research policy.
Beeban Kidron OBE, Crossbench Peer in the UK House of Lords and Founder and Chair of the 5Rights Foundation, advocating for digital regulation and children's rights.
Misha Glenny, IWM Rector, moderated the debate.
