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				Mr. William Wechsler I base my remarks on two basic assumptions about the digital and biotechonological revolutions: 1. The US supports the continued growth and expansion of the biotech and digital revolutions because we believe them to be positive forces for promoting wealth and prosperity around the world. Among many other effects, they provide previously disadvantaged countries an opportunity to join the world economy and increase their standard of living. 2. The state will not wither away. Although there will be a decline in the importance of the nation-state, trends toward democratization and federalization will continue. State laws and regulations will have a more profound effect on the state´s ability to promote growth and sustainability. The previously slight differences among states in how capitalism is managed will begin to have larger effects on the state´s well being. What are the main problems and challenges presented by the digital revolution? I will present my thoughts according to the framework provided earlier in this conference by Dr. Moira Gunn: - Soceital protections and security - Literacy - Economics - Privacy - Morality I will concentrate upon the first issue, as it is the one I know well, and touch upon the rest. How are we addressing these problems? Dealing with digitalization In May 1998, President Clinton signed two presidential directives, creating formal institutions to address critical infrastrucutre issues presented by the digital revolution. This includes, for example, disruptions in the banking system or the stock market, by organized crime or terrorists. The Task Force on Critical Infrastructure has identitifed clear actions that the goverment should take to address these issues: - Work with the private sector, where the great majority of the vulnerable infrastructures are located. It will be hard to coordinate and identitfy these vulnerabilities. - Increase reseach and development on computerized detection of network intrusions. Using artifical intelligence, computers can identify anomolous activity along the net and insert patches to block out intruders. - Adapt tradtional intelligence to provide protection against modern threats. - Recognize new potential security threats. For example, every computer in the industrialized world needs to reconfigured for Y2K. Although most of this work is being done in India, there are no security procedures in place. We do not know what is being put into these computers. Improving biotech security The biotech revolution presents a different set of problems. Although the US discontinued its biotechnology program in the 1950s due to moral concerns, countries such as Russia and Iraq have actively pursued the development of biological weapons. This genre of warfare has become not only easier and cheaper to execute but very dangerous. For example, viruses can be masked inside other diseases, by genetically programming viruses into more common carriers. This decreases our ability to recognize potential threats. What can be done? - Strengthen public response to potential threats. The government requested $1.4 billion of the fiscal year 2000 budget for both the critical infrastrtucture and weapons of mass destruction protection programs. The government is spending large amounts of money to train first detectors and to procure basic training equipment. The government is also funding research and development to create vaccines for deadly diseases, such as ebola or anthrax. - Build surge capacity, to prevent the system from being overwhelmed in case of attack. - Establish methods to deter the use of biological weapons. The real problem is not other states but rogue actors who are trying to procure nuclear weapons. Last year, the number of terrorist incidents was at an all-time low, but the number of people killed by terrorist attacks hit an all-time high. - Consider whether we should let scientists from other nations into the US to study. Maybe restrictions should be placed on scientists working on sensitive issues, requiring scientists from certain nations to have security clearances. Laws are slowly being formed to address these issues. Literacy Literacy will be a concern in the future, as English continues to dominate the Internet, potentially excluding many people. We need to launch a massive publicity program to spur educational development so that certain populations are not left behind. Economic implications The basic fundemental role of the state is very important. The US leads in the biotech and digital fields not because its scientists are smarter but because the laws of state - tax, infrastrucutre, bankruptcy laws - allow techonology to advance. This is very important for the economy of the future because it will determine monetary flows. Money will flow from restrictive countries to others with more advantageous laws, triggering the homoginization of national laws, including democratization. The last two areas, about which I know the least, are perhaps the most important. Privacy and morality The age of privacy is past. Although the state will create new laws to protect its citizens, the biotech and infomation revolutions will wipe out privacy as we know it today. This will be difficult to accept but necessary. Finally, morality is the largest problem presented by the biotechrevolution because it deals with the essence of what it means to be a human being. We must start a dialogue on this issue and develop comprehensive strategies in advance. (The views presented by Mr. Wechsler are his own and not necessarily those of the National Security Council or the United States Government.)
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