Politicians and CEOs talk climate change, AI at APEC in San Francisco - NBC Bay Area
Politicians and CEOs talk climate change, AI at APEC in San Francisco - NBC Bay Area
Leaders from the worlds of politics and tech took center stage at APEC Wednesday in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, speaking about the need to tie the sectors together in the name of jobs, security, international relations and climate.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was among those big names, delivering a talk centered on warnings about climate change.
“California, in the last few decades, has been burning up, heating up,” he said. “Our children are choking up.”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
He also used that warning as a challenge to the world: be like California and turn climate concerns into business opportunities.
“And what we’ve been able to achieve in California is not only leading nation-leading environmental policy, but the application of that policy has allowed us to dominate as one of the most robust economies in the United States of America,” he said.
Another big name addressing the conference was former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice. She touched on the world’s hottest technology: artificial intelligence.
“Everybody’s learned to spell A.I., but they don’t really know what to do about it,” she said.
Rice also touched on why the world should look at technology through a lens of security.
“They have enormous benefit written all over them,” she said. “They also have a lot of cautionary tales about how powerful technologies can be misused.”
One Silicon Valley CEO described the event as the world coming to his doorstep.
“As the founder of a cybersecurity and A.I. company, it’s incredibly motivating,” said SecurityPal CEO Pukar Hamal. “It’s almost overwhelming as well, because there’s so many people to talk to, so many leaders to connect with.”
Thursday will once again blend this group of politicians and tech leaders, with President Joe Biden, Elon Musk, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff scheduled to address the group
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29