By R Anil Kumar
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The strengths of AI and other digital technology can help enable us to reverse the widening digital divide and enable a thriving society and flourishing planet
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“To truly harness AI’s potential, we need international cooperation – and solidarity”
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“We must seize this historic opportunity to lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI – for the benefit of all humanity”
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Rather than getting carried away by the seemingly unlimited, almost mystical and yet all too often imprecise, transformational power of AI, leaders should focus on identifying specific ways in which it can improve things for humans
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“We have an opportunity to make AI even more helpful for people, for businesses, for communities, for everyone”: António Guterres
UN, September 3.
Safety plays a key role in every function
Artificial intelligence (AI) holds extraordinary potential for both promise and peril. Responsible AI use has the potential to help solve many urgent challenges while making our world more prosperous, productive, innovative, and secure.
At the same time, irresponsible use could exacerbate societal harms such as fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation; displace and disempower workers; stifle competition; and pose risks to national security. Harnessing AI for good and realizing its myriad benefits requires mitigating its substantial risks. This endeavour demands a society-wide effort that includes government, the private sector, academia, and civil society.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for global cooperation in sharing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), warning that unequal access could exacerbate global inequalities.
“AI capacities today are concentrated in a handful of powerful companies – and even fewer countries. Meanwhile, too many countries face significant challenges in accessing AI tools,” António Guterres told a forum on artificial intelligence capacity building.
Bridging that gap is all the more important given AI’s potential for sustainable development. With many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets off track, artificial intelligence can help rescue the development agenda.
“To truly harness AI’s potential, we need international cooperation – and solidarity,” Mr. Guterres added.
Risks also are uneven
The UN chief also stressed that just as the benefits of AI are unevenly distributed, so too are the risks.
“Without adequate guardrails, AI could further exacerbate inequalities and digital divides and disproportionately affect the most vulnerable,” he warned.
“We must seize this historic opportunity to lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI – for the benefit of all humanity.”
Unique opportunities
Mr. Guterres noted the upcoming Summit of the Future,where Governments are expected to endorse a new Global Digital Compact, as a crucial forum to achieve just that.
He also highlighted ongoing efforts across the UN system.
For instance, in its final report this month, the UN’s High-level Advisory Body on AI is expected to outline a series of recommendations, including creating an AI Capacity Development Network, establishing a Global AI Fund for SDGs and developing a Global Data Framework for local AI ecosystems.
Artificial Intelligence must be safe and secure. Meeting this goal requires robust, reliable, repeatable, and standardized evaluations of AI systems, as well as policies, institutions, and, as appropriate, other mechanisms to test, understand, and mitigate risks from these systems before they are put to use.
It also requires addressing AI systems’ most pressing security risks — including with respect to biotechnology, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and other national security dangers — while navigating AI’s opacity and complexity. Testing and evaluations, including post-deployment performance monitoring, will help ensure that AI systems function as intended, are resilient against misuse or dangerous modifications, are ethically developed and operated in a secure manner.
