USAID launches ‘digital policy’ to guide it through next decade

This past week, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power announced the agency’s new $14.6 million digital policy that’s being rolled out going forward through 2034. The new policy updates and expands on USAID’s previous digital strategy that was issued in April 2020, and which was in effect up until the new policy was put in place.

Workshops and solicitations for comments on the draft policy were carried out in recent months.

The new USAID digital policy emphasizes information integrity through the hardening of IT and other systems against malicious cyber activity, and through the endorsement of the values of democracy against tyrannical uses of technology.

“Authoritarian governments and other actors are using increasingly powerful technologies — with tools like facial recognition — to survey people, to manipulate information using increasingly convincing deepfakes, [and] launching cyberattacks against their adversaries,” Power said during remarks she made at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She added, “many tech capabilities are growing faster than our ability to fully understand them.”

“Technology can deepen inequality, just as it can reduce inequality,” Power continued, noting that, “today, with advances in AI specifically set to upend industries across the planet, it’s clear we stand at the cusp of another technological upheaval that none of us really can predict.”

Earlier this month, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman warned about the dangers posed by AI during her address to the AI Leadership Summit. She warned that AI “threatens to amplify the digital divide between the Global North and the Global South,” and that “USAID is no stranger to this reality. In fact, we have monitored AI in development for over a decade and used artificial intelligence in our programming since 2018 … I can say that there are three broad principles guiding our work in AI. First, we are committed to fostering responsible AI. Responsible AI refers to the process of making sure that at every step of the way, we and the tools we use respect human rights, provide equitable analyses, and comprehensively understand the benefits and risks that AI presents – helping us to make informed decisions about the technology we use, and how we use it.”

The newly instituted digital policy at USAID “expands our toolbox so that we can keep up with fast-moving technology that can be weaponized against citizens. As the agency’s first-ever credo on digital democracy, it codifies our intent to counter the rise of digital repression at its source,” Power said, noting, “We are working with lawyers, judges, legislatures and other oversight organizations to develop national strategies and standards around the use of technologies.”

The new policy states that “the use of digital data by governments, businesses, civil-society organizations, media outlets, and even individuals, has increased their power and productivity, but also put us all at greater risk of malicious cyber activity. Information integrity, which is needed to protect democratic institutions, such as free and fair elections and the rights of civil society and media, is more at risk than ever. Because of these challenges, USAID has an important role to play helping technology be deployed and used in a manner that reflects our values and benefits all people.”

Power said USAID’s new digital policy “will pursue three key goals: enhancing development and humanitarian outcomes through infrastructure investments; improving digital knowledge, skills, policies, and technology; and promoting privacy, security, transparency, equity, and human rights in USAID programming and across digital ecosystems.”

She reiterated USAID’s commitment to a model of development that advances open, inclusive, secure, and rights-respecting digital ecosystems – minimizing the risks of new technologies while maximizing their potential to improve people’s lives.

USAID’s new digital policy “reflects its recognition that rapidly evolving digital and emerging technologies are transforming development and humanitarian assistance objectives, accelerating progress towards addressing global challenges while also requiring careful governance and action to mitigate risks,” Power said. “USAID intends to provide $14.6 million in new funding to support the goals of the digital policy,” and that “these resources will be aimed at achieving key objectives outlined in the policy, the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence, building the cybersecurity capacity of partner countries, and strengthening foundational digital connectivity infrastructure and financial services.”

Power also said USAID intends to “work with Congress to propose a new office to support the implementation of this policy and account for the central role digital technologies play in USAID’s work and on development outcomes around the world.”

This new office, which has yet to be given a name, “would enhance USAID’s ability to anticipate and respond to rapidly evolving trends in the technology landscape; accelerate progress on systematically incorporating digital tools across the agency’s work; promote the efficient and responsible use of technology across USAID programming; and facilitate cross-sectoral and regional investments as well as dynamic partnerships with private sector, civil society, and partner governments,” Power explained.

The new office would also expedite the incorporation of digital tools, responsible technology use, and the facilitation of regional investments and partnerships with the private sector and partner governments, which would be overseen by the office.

Pursuant to USAID’s new digital policy, agency priority missions, regional missions, and country offices are required to hire, contract, or appoint a Digital Development Advisor (DDA) or a Digital Specialist with a majority allocation of their overall time dedicated to work on digital and cybersecurity programming, as determined by their annual program budget. These DDAs and Digital Specialists must have the necessary technical skills, competencies, and experience, with responsibilities explicitly included in their job descriptions.

DigitalDevelopment.org is USAID’s new knowledge hub to connect external stakeholders to digital development resources in a given country, which Power said makes “it easier for the development community to support digital transformation efforts around the world.”

The hub provides the “most relevant country-level data and resources to understand the dynamic digital ecosystems of countries under one domain.”

The cybersecurity component of the hub provides information critical to protecting information from damage, unauthorized use, modification, and exploitation.

The new policy coincides with several new related initiatives launched by USAID. Earlier this month, the agency announced more than $26 million in new funding as part of a new partnership with IBM to strengthen cybersecurity across Europe. The agency’s Cybersecurity Protection and Response initiative is intended to “empower host governments, as well as critical infrastructure operators, to identify, respond to, and recover from cyberattacks in partner countries.” The program will also build long-term resilience in the cybersecurity realm by supporting development, governance, frameworks, and workforce challenges.

In May, USAID also announced a partnering with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to support local Indian telecommunications companies in testing new cutting-edge wireless technologies that source from interoperable, secure, and trusted vendors, with a potential reach of hundreds of millions.

Article Topics

cybersecurity  |  digital identity  |  humanitarian  |  responsible AI  |  U.S. Government  |  USAID