ΟΤ FORUM 2- Michael Kratsios: International collaborations on new technologies are necessary

The need for international cooperation for new technologies was stressed by the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, speaking to OT FORUM-Meta Living.

He stressed that China’s rise has created a global divide. “There is the way the West uses technology and the way China does it,” he said, adding that the latter uses “illegal practices.” In fact, he added that “As democracies we must work together”, lauding Greece, which has the most graduates of new technologies at European level.

Read also: OT FORUM 2 – ILO’s Ernst Ekkehard: Teleworking is here to stay

Fire prevention

At the same time, he noted that the use of technology should be used to prevent fires, something that is being done in the United States.

As he said “we are able to map areas, such as California”, while at the same time “we receive data on winds, rainfall, etc.” adding that “When there is a fire, then we can send – in an appropriate way – fire fighters to put out the fire out”, and “we can predict which areas may be most affected”.

Technology and Defense

He also referred to the issues of the connection of the new technology with the issues of Defense. In fact, he urged Greece to use such “cheap technologies” in order to “monitor its islands” or monitor what is happening on its borders. In essence, he was talking about using satellite imagery to control what was happening.

He also cited the monitoring of the Aegean through new technology, noting that there are companies, such as Space X, that use satellite imagery, calling on the European Union to move towards such solutions.

At the same time, he noted that Greece is “in excellent condition” in terms of Defense, reminding that it is one of the few countries that pays for defense  2% of its GDP, as provided by NATO.