Tech Diplomacy Forum Supervisory Board
Ambassador Eugenio Vargas Garcia
Tech Ambassador, Brazil
With over 30 years of experience in international relations and foreign policy, Ambassador Garcia has established himself as a leading voice at the intersection of diplomacy and emerging technologies. C-Formerly serving as Director of the Department of Science, Technology, Innovation and Intellectual Property at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was officially appointed to the inaugural position of Extraordinary Ambassador for Technology and Innovation in October 2025, making Brazil the first nation in South America to formally institutionalize tech diplomacy at the highest diplomatic level.
Silicon Valley Expertise & Global Tech Engagement
Ambassador Garcia’s unique expertise in tech diplomacy was forged during his tenure as Deputy Consul General of Brazil in San Francisco, where he served as Brazil’s primary liaison to Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem. In this role, he built strategic bridges between Brazilian institutions and leading technology companies, fostering partnerships that advanced Brazil’s position in the global digital economy.
His deep understanding of both traditional diplomatic protocols and cutting-edge technology trends has made him a sought-after speaker and thought leader at major international forums, including the World Economic Forum, ITU’s AI for Good Summit, and various multilateral technology governance initiatives.
Academic Leadership & Policy Innovation
Ambassador Garcia is a leading scholar in tech diplomacy with a particular focus on Global South perspectives and challenges. His extensive academic work examines how developing nations can leverage innovation diplomacy to strengthen economic competitiveness while ensuring inclusive and sustainable technological development.
His research addresses critical questions around technology governance from a Global South lens, exploring themes such as AI governance asymmetries, the militarization of artificial intelligence, and the peaceful uses of emerging technologies. Ambassador Garcia’s scholarship emphasizes the need for developing countries to have meaningful participation in international technology standard-setting and governance frameworks.
Vision for Global Tech Governance
In his role with the Tech Diplomacy Forum’s Supervisory Board, Ambassador Garcia champions the Forum’s polylateral approach to technology governance—moving beyond traditional state-to-state negotiations to embrace collaborative frameworks that include industry, academia, and civil society. His appointment as Brazil’s Tech Ambassador positions him to implement these principles in practice, fostering international cooperation on critical issues including artificial intelligence governance, cybersecurity frameworks, digital trade agreements, and responsible innovation policies.
Ambassador Garcia’s pioneering work continues to shape how nations navigate the complex intersection of technology and diplomacy, ensuring that technological advancement serves the broader goals of international cooperation, economic development, and global stability.
Ambassador Eugenio Garcia’s Academic Work
Garcia, E. V. (2025). Technology for whom and for what? A Global South view of tech diplomacy. Global Policy, Special Issue: Tech Diplomacy: Technology, Agency, Order, 1–9. [ISSN:1758-5899] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.70024
Garcia, E. V. (2024). The technological leap of AI and the Global South: deepening asymmetries and the future of international security. In R. Geiss & H. Lahmann (Eds.), Research handbook on warfare and artificial intelligence. Edward Elgar Publishers. [ISBN: 978 1 80037 739 4] https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/research-handbook-on-warfare-and-artificial-intelligence-9781800377394.html
SSRN paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=4304540
Baele, S. J., Bukhari, I., Whyte, C., Cuomo, S., Jensen, B., Payne, K., & Garcia, E. V. (2024). Conclusion, Forum “AI IR: Charting International Relations in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”. International Studies Review, 26(2), 22-25. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viae013
Garcia, E. V. (2024). The Other in the machine: diplomacy and the AI conundrum. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, Forum: The End of Diplomacy? ChatGPT, Generative AI and the Future of Digital Diplomacy. [ISSN: 1751-8040] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-024-00329-6
SSRN paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=4629685
Garcia, E. V. (2024). How far are we from harnessing the power of AI in developing countries? Safety and Global Governance of Generative AI. Report published by WFEO Committee on Engineering for Innovative Technologies (CEIT) and Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology. http://www.wfeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/CEIT_Safety-and-Global-Governance-of-Generative-AI.pdf
Garcia, E. V. (2023, November 11). Artificial Intelligence and International Relations [LinkedIn post]. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/artificial-intelligence-international-relations-eugenio-v-garcia-vmvsc
Garcia, E. V. (2023). A revolução tecnológica bate à nossa porta. Estamos preparados? CEBRI-Revista, 2(7), 9-15. Seção Especial: Tecnologia e política internacional na era digital. https://cebri.org/revista/br/edicao/7/jul-set-2023
Garcia, E. V. (2023, February 14). AI risk and global order: will AI governance survive a new Tech Cold War? [Guest post]. AI Supremacy Newsletter, Substack. https://aisupremacy.substack.com/p/ai-risk-and-global-order-will-ai
Garcia, E. V. (2022). Pós-Bicentenário verde-digital: uma política externa 3.0 para o Brasil. CEBRI-Revista, 1(4), 65-82. [ISSN 2764-7897] https://cebri.org/revista/br/artigo/59/pos-bicentenario-verde-digital-uma-politica-externa-30-para-o-brasil
Garcia, E. V. (2022, October 22). AI diplomacy: five recommendations to developing countries [Medium post]. https://medium.com/@egarcia.virtual/ai-diplomacy-five-recommendations-to-developing-countries-163e57f85a48
Garcia, E. V. (2022, June 14). What is tech diplomacy? A very short definition. Beyond the Horizon, International Strategic Studies Group (ISSG). https://behorizon.org/what-is-tech-diplomacy-a-very-short-definition/
Garcia, E. V. (2022, June 9). What is tech diplomacy? A very short definition [Medium post]. https://medium.com/@egarcia.virtual/what-is-tech-diplomacy-a-very-short-definition-9042afdc9ce4
Garcia, E. V. (2022). Multilateralism and artificial intelligence: what role for the United Nations? In M. Tinnirello (Ed.), The global politics of artificial intelligence (Chapter 3). Routledge, Chapman & Hall/CRC Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Series. [ISBN 1138314579] DOI: 10.1201/9780429446726-3. Available on Amazon
Garcia, E. V. (2021, November 24). UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI: why it matters and what to expect from it. The Good AI online platform, News & Analysis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357074719_UNESCO’s_Recommendation_on_the_Ethics_of_AI_why_it_matters_and_what_to_expect_from_it
Garcia, E. V. (2021). A governança internacional da IA: fragmentação e convergência na política global. In R. Vainzof & A. Gutierrez (Eds.), Inteligência Artificial – Sociedade, Economia e Estado. Thomson Reuters/Revista dos Tribunais. [ISBN: 9786556149226]
Garcia, E. V., & Gualtieri, A. (2021, August 7). Inteligência artificial para o desenvolvimento: hora de virar o jogo no Brasil. JOTA Tecnologia e Direito. https://www.jota.info/opiniao-e-analise/colunas/regulacao-e-novas-tecnologias/inteligencia-artificial-para-o-desenvolvimento-hora-de-virar-o-jogo-no-brasil-07082021
Garcia, E. V. (2021, August 4). Living under AI supremacy: Five lessons learned from chess [LinkedIn post]. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/living-under-ai-supremacy-five-lessons-learned-from-chess-garcia
SSRN paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=4304549
Garcia, E. V. (2021, June). AI is too important to be left to technologists alone. In AI Governance in 2020 – A Year in Review: Observations from 52 Global Experts. Shanghai Institute for Science of Science. https://www.aigovernancereview.com/
Garcia, E. V. (2021, June 15). The peaceful uses of AI: an emerging principle of international law. The Good AI online platform, News & Analysis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353624530_The_peaceful_uses_of_AI_an_emerging_principle_of_international_law
Garcia, E. V. (2021, March 19). Multilateralism and artificial intelligence: what role for the United Nations? [Preprint]. SSRN. http://ssrn.com/abstract=3779866. Research Gate DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26034.32961
Garcia, E. V. (2021, April 22). Tué par des algorithmes : Les armes autonomes présentent moins de risques? Beyond the Horizon, International Strategic Studies Group (ISSG). https://behorizon.org/tue-par-des-algorithmes-les-armes-autonomes-presentent-moins-de-risques/ [English version: https://behorizon.org/killed-by-algorithms-do-autonomous-weapons-reduce-risks/]
Garcia, E. V. (2021, May 19). Precisamos falar sobre as armas autônomas e o direito internacional. ILA Brasil Blog, International Law Association. https://ilabrasilblog.wixsite.com/blog/post/precisamos-falar-sobre-as-armas-aut%C3%B4nomas-e-o-direito-internacional
Garcia, E. V. (2021). Foreword to the 2020 Handbook on AI and International Law (1st ed.). Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence & Law (ISAIL). https://issuu.com/indiansocietyai/docs/2020_handbook_on_artificial_intelligence_and_inter
Garcia, E. V. (2021, January 28). The international governance of AI: where is the Global South? The Good AI online platform, News & Analysis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348848134_The_International_Governance_of_AI_Where_is_the_Global_South
Garcia, E. V. (2019, September 16). The militarization of artificial intelligence: a wake-up call for the Global South [Paper]. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3452323
Garcia, E. V. (in press). Artificial intelligence, peace and security: challenges for international humanitarian law. XIII Anuário Brasileiro de Direito Internacional. Centro de Direito Internacional (CEDIN).
Garcia, E. V. (2019, August 21). AI & global governance: when autonomous weapons meet diplomacy. United Nations University, Centre for Policy Research, AI & Global Governance Articles & Insights. https://cpr.unu.edu/ai-global-governance-when-autonomous-weapons-meet-diplomacy.html
Garcia, E. V. (2019). Inteligência artificial, paz e segurança: desafios para o direito internacional humanitário. Cadernos de Política Exterior, (8), 99-121. IPRI. [ISSN 2359-5280]