The Techtonic Shift

The Techtonic Shift: How Technology Turned from a Tool of Progress into an Instrument of Power

🍷 Ticket includes first drink from the bar (wine, beer or soft) 🍷

For a long time, the tech world operated on three simple assumptions: no enemies, no borders, and no reason to slow down. Tech companies built global networks pretending that political rivalries didn't matter. Information and trade moved freely across the globe, and openness was seen as progress.

​Now, that world is breaking apart.

​In this talk, Paul Verhagen shows how technology shifted from a tool that connected us to the main tool that divides us. We used to view technology as simple products we could buy and sell on an open market.

​Today, nations view technology as a primary instrument of power.

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​We have entered a brand-new reality:

​* Information is a security asset: Data is no longer just harmless content or social media posts - it is valuable intelligence that countries guard like military secrets.

​* Technology is about power and independence: Owning key technology like microchips or AI means you can control other nations and avoid being pushed around yourself.

​* Being open to the world is seen as a risk: Sharing your technology or relying on foreign trade used to be seen as smart business. Today, it’s seen as leaving your front door unlocked.

​Through real-world examples - like why a single microchip company (ASML) is now at the center of world politics, how computer algorithms are taking over political decisions, and how past technology like trains reshaped society - this talk uncovers one big truth: technology has always been about power, but we forgot that.

​You will leave with a clear "Aha!" moment: understanding panic-free exactly how and why technology shifted from a force that unites us to a wedge that divides us.

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​About the speaker

​Paul Verhagen is an AI and technology policy expert, data scientist, and author specializing in the intersection of advanced technologies, global geopolitics, and national security. He serves as a Senior Fellow at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies and a Lecturer and Strategic Liaison at the University of Amsterdam, working directly at the interface between technical AI specialists, academics, and international policymakers.

See full details of the event on Luma: https://luma.com/nnlsxrug