At the Boston Global Forum (BGF) Conference held at Harvard University’s Loeb House, former U.S. Congressman and university president Mark Kennedy delivered a keynote address on the urgent need for a New Economic Alliance among democracies in the AI age.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7, Kennedy emphasized that the world is undergoing a profound digital and geopolitical realignment, driven by the technological and strategic competition between the United States and China. “This is not merely a competition between technologies; it is a contest between systems and values,” he warned.
Kennedy outlined five strategic steps for democracies: building a trusted alliance rather than a fragmented ecosystem, avoiding overcorrection in export controls, promoting trusted open-source AI models, extending shared AI infrastructure to emerging markets, and embedding AI at the core of economic statecraft. He stressed that the New Economic Alliance must unite not only traditional allies like the UK, EU, Japan, and South Korea but also emerging powers such as Vietnam, Brazil, and Kenya.
Highlighting risks from China’s civil-military fusion and export of influence through AI models like Deep Seek, Kennedy called for urgent, coordinated action to ensure that open societies can cooperate at the speed of innovation. He concluded, “AI is not just a technology. It is a test of whether open societies can lead together through engagement, trust, and shared responsibility.”
The Boston Global Forum’s initiative on a New Economic Alliance marks a pivotal step toward building a resilient, democratic digital future.
Please see Mark Kennedy’s video here: