Let us use tech to build, not destroy: PM in UAE
DUBAI: Addressing a global audience, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday warned against the misuse of technology, saying it must be used as a means to development, not destruction.
In his keynote address at the sixth edition of the World Government Summit hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai as the “guest of honour”, the prime minister said poverty and malnutrition have not been wiped out from the world but a large chunk of resources was still being diverted towards augmenting missiles and other weapon technologies.
“Despite all the progress, poverty and malnutrition have not gone away from the world. On the other hand, a large sum of money is being spent on increasing the speed of missiles and (destructive) capacity of bombs. We have to be alert that we make technology an instrument of progress, not of destruction,” the prime minister told a gathering that included Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of UAE.
Modi expressed concern over attempts by some people to radicalise the cyber space with the use of technology, in an apparent reference to its use by jihadists to recruit cadres.
“Technology is a gift whose user manual does not mention ethical values. The misuse of cyberspace for radicalisation is an example of abuse of technology by some people,” he said.
The PM pointed out that technology, which is changing at the speed of thought, has become a big instrument of “disruptive change” and empowered the common man.
“This empowerment has got strength from ‘minimum government, maximum governance’,” he said, referring to his government’s stated motto.
A joint statement issued at the end of the prime minister’s visit condemned the efforts, including by states, to support and sponsor terrorism against other nations or to use it as an instrument of state policy, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
“The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system,” said the statement.
Earlier in the day, Modi officially launched a project for the construction of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, describing the holy place as a “catalytic agent” of humanity and harmony that will become a medium of India’s identity.
He laid the foundation stone for the BAPS Swaminarayan temple via video conferencing from the Dubai Opera House.