When the Secretary of State pitches Silicon Valley, he’s looking for more than just series-A capital. John Kerry’s looking for help—for technological innovations that could help win the online war with extremist groups like ISIS, find a path between privacy for US citizens (and dissidents abroad) and unbreakable encryption available to terrorists, and maybe even provide energy without damaging Earth’s climate or global economies.
So, you know, that’s a pretty big job. Kerry joined WIRED’s head of editorial Robert Capps and deputy editor Adam Rogers for an interview in Silicon Valley for the first episode of our new podcast series, WIRED Dot Gov. Each episode will be a conversation with key players in government and tech. You know, the people who are shaping the WIRED world … and we’re starting with a guy who’s traveled all over it.
We’ll be posting each episode of WIRED Dot Gov right here on WIRED.com, or you can subscribe to the WIRED Radio feed in iTunes, or wherever you get podcasts, to hear these and all the other great podcasts we make. Stay tuned. You can read the transcript of our interview with Secretary Kerry below.
Robert Capps: Because we are here in Silicon Valley and we are talking about Silicon Valley issues, I’m curious to hear what things you think, right now, are the most important things that Silicon Valley can or should be helping our federal government with. Particularly in terms of what you do at the State department, and in terms of international relations, dealing with allies and others. So, what things do you most want from Silicon Valley?
John Kerry: Partnership. Partnership; engagement.
First of all, thank you. It’s a privilege to spend a few minutes with you and I’m glad to have a chance to share thoughts about Silicon Valley and the State department and what we are trying to do. Obviously, this is the center of cutting edge thinking, the best innovation, the best application of technology to solving problems anywhere in the world. And what we have discovered over the course of time, through some innovative efforts that were actually pioneered by a couple of other entities of government, like the Commerce department and some others, is that there are potential partnerships.
There’s a synergy between the technology, innovative, creative push of this Valley with the problem-solving that we need to do on a global basis. An example: this morning I met with a bunch of Stanford kids who are involved in a program, a class in which they are getting credit. They’re actually working through challenges that have been created by the State department for them, to figure out how they can apply technology in order to try to help meet those challenges, solve the problems. Whether it is human trafficking or the potential of collision in space with space garbage or countering violent extremism—which are three examples amongst several.
We’re working on each of those things right now in ways where we believe that this Valley has the ability, on most occasions, to make money while doing good, but also just to do good. To make the problems go away. That’s a partnership that is really critical because the biggest disruptor in the world today, changing so much of what is happening, is the digital march. The incredible transformation. We want to apply it as constructively as we can to help solve some of the problems that come with that transformation. They are a part of our foreign policy matrix.
Adam Rogers: So when you talk to a company that’s working in Silicon Valley, it strikes me that some of the things that the State department might hope for are almost contrary to what the Silicon Valley companies are set up to do. Figuring out how to keep certain governments from being able to use te
