新加坡：外交部长维文·巴拉克里希南博士周四（10月15日）表示，小国和发展中国家必须在规范技术的规则和防护栏中拥有发言权，而不应由少数强国和科技巨头垄断这些规则。
SINGAPORE: Small states and developing countries must have a say in the rules and guardrails governing technologies, rather than a handful of powerful nations and technology giants having a monopoly of it, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday (Oct 15).
巴拉克里希南博士在新加坡国际网络周的高级别外交全体会议上还呼吁，政府、科技公司和更广泛的国际社会之间应建立一种新的契约。
Dr Balakrishnan also called for a new compact between governments, technology companies and the wider international community in his address to a high-level plenary session on diplomacy at Singapore International Cyber Week.
他说：“我们需要对风险进行共同的、坦诚的、直白的评估。我们需要制定共同的规范和防护栏，以便我们能够加快技术发展的步伐并收获其益处，同时也能应对风险。”巴拉克里希南博士还表示，外交不再仅能在民族国家之间进行。
"We need a shared, unvarnished, bald assessment of the risks. We need to develop common norms and guardrails so that we can accelerate the pace of technology and reap its benefits, but also deal with the risks," he said. Dr Balakrishnan also said diplomacy can no longer be conducted solely between nation-states.
他说：“如今，我们国际体系中一些最具影响力的行为体并不是民族国家。事实上，其中一些就是大型科技巨头。”
"Today, some of the most consequential actors in our international system are not nation-states. In fact, some of them are the big technology titans," he said.
他指出，这些公司中的一些“价值超过了联合国（United Nations）多数成员国”。
He noted how some of these companies are "worth more than the majority of member states of the UN (United Nations)".
除了金钱，这些公司还掌控着现代生活所依赖的关键技术。它们控制着数字平台以及人工智能（AI）的发展速度和前沿。
Beyond money, these companies control critical technologies on which modern life depends. They control digital platforms and the pace and the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI).
他说：“这些公司董事会或首席执行官所作的决定——关于准入、部署和防护措施——其影响远超国界。”
"The decisions made in the boardrooms or by the CEOs of these companies – on access, on deployment, on safeguards – have consequences far beyond national borders," Dr Balakrishnan said.
他将此情况与英国和荷兰东印度公司的历史作了类比，称这些公司在当时通过贸易积累了巨大的经济和政治权力。
He drew a historical parallel to the situation with the British and Dutch East India companies, who in their era had accumulated enormous economic and political power through trading.
他说：“这些公司能够组建军队和海军，谈判条约，甚至征服和管理领土。而且，如果你已经忘记了，英国东印度公司在印度的殖民过程中发挥了核心作用——甚至参与了新加坡作为自由港的 founding（建立）。”
"These companies could raise armies, navies, negotiate treaties, even conquer and administer territories. And in case you have forgotten, the British East India Company played a central role in the colonisation of India – even the founding of Singapore as a free port," he said.
“现在，我并不是说今天的互联网巨头们是一样的——我希望他们不是一样的，”他说。
"Now, I’m not saying that today's internet titans are the same – I hope they’re not the same," he said.
但他说值得记住的是，私营公司如今“拥有超过大多数国家的能力和资源”。
But he said it is worth remembering that private companies now "possess capabilities and resources that exceed that of most nation-states".
巴拉克里希南博士表示，政府仍然最终对国家安全、国际法以及使用武力的决策负责。
Dr Balakrishnan said that governments still remain ultimately responsible for national security, for international law, and for the decisions on the use of force.
“但越来越多的是，塑造这些决策——这些困境——的技术实际上是由私营公司开发和控制的，”他说。
"But increasingly, the technologies that shape these decisions – these dilemmas – are in fact developed and controlled by private companies," he said.
他补充说，这对于前沿人工智能尤为重要，因为少数几家公司正在开发对国际安全具有深远影响的能力。
This is especially important for frontier AI, he added, where a small number of companies are developing capabilities with far-reaching impacts on international security.
巴拉克里希南博士说：“事实上，我们中的大多数人，甚至超级大国，也不会对完整的技术栈拥有垄断。”
Dr Balakrishnan said that "most of us in fact, even the superpowers will not have a monopoly on the complete technology stack".
“总会存在一定程度的相互依赖。”但世界上仍有许多地区甚至还没有赶上上一次工业革命，他们需要——我们所有人都需要——达到下一场数字人工智能革命的前沿，”他说。
"There will always be some level of interdependence." "But there are still many parts of the world which have not even caught up with the last industrial revolution, and they need – all of us need – to get to the frontiers of the next digital AI revolution," he said.
“否则，数字鸿沟将扩大，经济和军事实力的差距也将变得更加根深蒂固，我们将为新阶段的新殖民主义埋下伏笔。
"Otherwise, the digital divide will widen, the disparity in economies and military power will also become more entrenched, and we will set ourselves up for a new stage of neo-colonisation.
他还说，虽然并非所有国家都会处于开发新技术的前沿，但他们可以志在成为有效部署这些技术以改善生活和转变经济的前沿。
He also said that while not all countries will be at the frontier of developing new technology, they can aspire to be at the forefront of deploying these effectively to improve lives and to transform economies.
巴拉克里希南博士还表示，为了让各国能够有意义地参与，他们需要具备能力，他列出了三点：对基础研究和技术的支持与获取、人才和基础设施。
Dr Balakrishnan also said that for countries to participate meaningfully, they need capabilities, and he listed three: Support and access to foundational research and technologies, talent and infrastructure.
所有国家都需要安全且有韧性的数字系统、可靠的连接以及对计算资源的访问，他说。
All countries need secure and resilient digital systems, reliable connectivity, and access to computing resources, he said.
“但并非每个国家——甚至超级大国——都能自行构建整个技术栈。”
"But not every country – even a superpower – can build this entire stack on its own.
“这就是为什么我们继续相信，国际能力建设仍然至关重要。”巴拉克里希南博士说。
"And that’s why we continue to believe that international capacity-building is still essential," Dr Balakrishnan said.