From WhatsApp to AI, Australian envoy Philip Green on the changing face of diplomacy: ‘Substance to replace ceremony’

“A key reason why the Australian government has opened a Consulate General in Bengaluru is that we are vitally interested in tech. This has become a global sector of information and intelligence about the future of tech and how it will change our country… It is not the only vertical where our policy is broadened. Space, counterterrorism, science, climate change –across any number of verticals, diplomacy is expanding,” the High Commissioner stated.

Specialised domain expertise in various fields would become more important, he added, shifting away from a time when diplomats were expected to have a broad range of skills. He said there would be a trend towards more experts and fewer generalists with officials outside foreign ministries. Citing the example of the High Commission in India, he said, “It looks like a mini-Canberra with people from a wide range of ministries from our departments of defence, home affairs, energy, etc.”

Green also highlighted the new trend of world leaders having access to quick communication by means such as WhatsApp. He recalled a conversation with a European Union (EU) diplomat who said the role of modern diplomats was “to understand the society I am in at a deep level, and to enrich the way my leader understands what is happening.”

On the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the High Commissioner anticipated that it would have the effect of fewer personnel in headquarters, where more automated activity could happen, and more people working “in the field”. Green added that AI would not replace diplomats, but diplomats using AI would replace those who did not.