The United Nations’ Role in Governing Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked discussions and concerns worldwide. Governments and multinational corporations are now exploring ways to regulate and harness this powerful technology. In this article, we will explore the unique role the United Nations (UN) can play in governing AI and ensuring its inclusive and beneficial use for all. We will also discuss the challenges the UN faces and the potential for equal opportunities in the global application of AI.
Inclusivity, Legitimacy, and Authority of the United Nations
The United Nations has long been known for its ability to bring nations together and address global challenges. When it comes to AI governance, the UN stands out in three key aspects: inclusivity, legitimacy, and authority.
Inclusivity: Compared to other initiatives, the UN can bring together many more countries on the issue of AI governance. This inclusivity ensures that diverse perspectives and interests are represented, leading to more comprehensive and balanced regulations.
Legitimacy: The UN has a proven track record of dealing with the impacts of various technologies, such as biological, chemical, nuclear, and space sciences. The organization has helped prevent misuse and promote inclusive and peaceful use of these technologies. This legitimacy lends weight to the UN’s recommendations and actions in the field of AI governance.
Authority: When the United Nations takes a stance on AI, its impact is significant. The UN has several instruments, such as human rights treaties, to which obligations related to AI can be linked. Governments are bound by these treaties to prevent AI features that lead to the exclusion of certain communities or violate the rights of certain individuals. This combination of moral authority and legal obligations creates compliance pressure for countries to fulfill their commitments.
UN’s Unique Challenges in AI Governance
While the UN’s role in AI governance is crucial, it faces specific challenges that need to be addressed effectively.
Meaningful Engagement: To ensure a comprehensive and effective AI governance framework, the UN needs to engage not only governments but also the private sector, civil society, and the technology community. The Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on AI Governance, as a multi-stakeholder body, recognizes the importance of involving different actors in the decision-making process.
Agility in Decision-making: UN processes are often lengthy due to the need for consensus-building among numerous actors. However, technology advances rapidly, and this calls for more agility in decision-making to keep pace with AI developments. The UN must find ways to expedite its decision-making processes without compromising the inclusivity and legitimacy it strives to uphold.
The Role of Governments in AI Governance
Governments play a pivotal role in shaping the direction of AI through regulation and promotion of inclusivity. Here are some key ways in which governments can influence AI development:
Regulation against Abuse and Harm: Governments must create regulations to prevent AI’s misuse and potential harm to society. This includes ensuring that democracy and the rule of law are not undermined by AI technologies. Regulations should safeguard human rights, privacy, and data security.
Promoting Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems: Governments can foster a diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem, reducing the concentration of economic power and opportunity. By encouraging competition and openness, governments can enable equal access to AI technology and its benefits, particularly for marginalized communities and countries.
Closing the Global Digital Divide: AI has the potential to bridge the digital divide and provide equal opportunities for all. However, there is a concern that certain countries may benefit more from AI advancements while others are left behind. Governments need to ensure that AI is accessible and beneficial to everyone, especially those in the Global South.
Towards a Nuanced Understanding of AI’s Impact
The promise and danger associated with AI often dominate discussions, but it is crucial to move beyond this dichotomy and explore the nuanced aspects of its impact. Access to opportunities and empowerment should be at the forefront of AI discussions.
Empowering All Through AI: AI holds tremendous potential to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By leveraging AI in areas such as health, agriculture, food security, education, and the green transition, governments can drive positive change and address critical global challenges.
Democracy and Diversity: Ensuring that AI does not concentrate power in the hands of a select few is essential for maintaining healthy democracies. Democracy thrives on diversity, competition, and openness. Governments must be vigilant in preventing AI from becoming a tool that undermines democracy, deceives society, and diminishes our humanity.
Globally Converging AI Regulation
Efforts are underway to bring together global conversations on AI regulation and governance. Convergence and a shared understanding among nations and actors are essential for effective AI governance. Here are some key outcomes that could be achieved through global convergence:
Understanding and Mitigating Risks: A common understanding of the risks associated with AI technologies is crucial for effective regulation. By identifying and mitigating these risks collectively, international collaboration can prevent potential harms and ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI.
Governance Tools and Models: A shared understanding of governance tools that work and those that require further research and development is vital. Governments, private sector entities, and civil society organizations need to collaborate in developing agile and distributed governance models that maximize the opportunities while minimizing the risks of AI.
Public Trust and Understanding: Achieving a common understanding regarding AI governance decisions is crucial for sustainability and public support. The UN’s Future Summit in September 2024 offers an opportunity to make important political decisions that align with public expectations and foster trust in AI governance efforts.
Conclusion
AI governance is a pressing global issue that requires international collaboration and collective action. The United Nations, with its inclusivity, legitimacy, and authority, plays a pivotal role in shaping AI governance frameworks. However, the UN also faces challenges in engaging various stakeholders effectively and adapting to the fast-paced nature of AI development.
Governments have a crucial role to play in regulating AI, promoting inclusivity, and closing the global digital divide. It is important to move beyond the simplistic promise-versus-danger discourse and develop a nuanced understanding of AI’s impact.
Global convergence on AI regulation is essential to ensure a responsible and equitable deployment of AI technologies. By understanding and mitigating risks, developing effective governance tools and models, and fostering public trust, we can harness the full potential of AI while safeguarding the interests and well-being of humanity.
By actively engaging in AI governance and promoting transparent and inclusive discussions, we can pave the way for a future where AI is a force for positive change and sustainable development.
Summary:
The United Nations plays a crucial role in governing artificial intelligence (AI). Its inclusivity, legitimacy, and authority allow for the involvement of diverse perspectives and the development of comprehensive regulations. However, the UN faces challenges in engaging various stakeholders effectively and adapting to the rapid pace of AI development.
Governments have the power to shape AI governance through regulation and promotion of inclusivity. They must prevent AI’s misuse, promote an inclusive innovation ecosystem, and address the global digital divide. By doing so, AI can become a tool for positive change and equal opportunities.
A nuanced understanding of AI’s impact is necessary, moving beyond the promise-versus-danger discourse. Access to opportunities and empowerment should be at the forefront of AI discussions to ensure a more inclusive and beneficial future.
Efforts are being made to globally converge AI regulation and governance. This convergence is aimed at understanding and mitigating risks, developing effective governance tools and models, and fostering public trust. By achieving these goals, we can harness the full potential of AI while safeguarding humanity’s well-being.
Active engagement and transparent discussions are essential in shaping the future of AI governance. Through collective action and collaboration, we can create a future where AI contributes to sustainable development and maintains the values of democracy, diversity, and openness.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
Here are excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.
___
AP: A number of national governments and multinational corporations are discussing or beginning to take action on artificial intelligence. What can the UN do that others cannot?
GILL: I would say three words. Inclusivity – compared to some of the very important existing initiatives, it brings many more countries together. The second aspect is legitimacy, because the United Nations has a proven track record of helping countries and other actors deal with the impacts of different types of technologies, whether in biological, chemical, nuclear or space sciences – and not only prevent misuse, but also promote inclusive, peaceful use of these technologies for the benefit of all.
The third is authority. When something comes from the United Nations, it can have a significant impact. There are certain instruments at the United Nations – for example the human rights treaties – to which some of these obligations can be linked. For example, if an AI feature leads to the exclusion of a certain community or the violation of the rights of certain people, governments have an obligation to prevent this under the treaties they have signed at the United Nations. So it is not just a moral authority. There is a kind of compliance pressure to meet any commitments you make.
AP: At the same time, are there challenges that the United Nations faces that some of the other organizations active in this area are not addressing, or not addressing to the same extent?
GILL: When you have such a big tent, you need a good process that is not just about checking the attendance of all participants, but also about having a meaningful, substantive discussion and achieving good results. The challenge is to meaningfully engage the private sector, civil society and the technology community. For this reason, the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on AI Governance is deliberately set up as a multi-stakeholder body.
A third limitation is that UN processes can be lengthy because consensus building among large numbers of actors can take time and technology advances rapidly. That’s why we have to become more agile.
AP: Can governments, at any level, really get a handle on AI?
GILL: Absolutely. I think governments should do this, and there are many ways they can influence the direction AI goes. This is not just about regulating against abuse and harm to ensure that democracy and the rule of law are not undermined, but it is also about promoting a diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem so that there is less concentration of economic power and opportunity larger become widespread.
AP: Speaking of equal opportunities, some people in the Global South hope that AI can close digital divides, but there is also concern that certain countries could reap the benefits of technology while others are left behind and left out. Do you think it is possible for everyone to get on the same level?
GILL: This is a very, very important concern, something that I share. For me, it’s a reason for everyone to come together in a more nuanced way: to move beyond this dichotomy of “promise and danger” – which often arises in the minds of those who have agency, who have the ability to do this – to a more nuanced understanding , in which access to opportunities and their empowerment dimension, beyond “promise and danger”, are also in the foreground.
So, yes, there is the opportunity, there is the excitement. But how to take advantage of the opportunity is a very, very important question.
AP: There is a lot of talk about bringing together the ongoing global conversations about AI regulation. What do you think this means and how can it be implemented?
A: Convergence, a common understanding of risks, would be a very important outcome. A shared understanding of what governance tools work or could work and what may need to be researched and developed would be very valuable. A shared understanding of what kind of agile, distributed model is needed to govern AI – to minimize the risks and maximize the opportunities – would be very, very valuable. And finally, we must have a common understanding of the political decision we must make next year at the Future Summit (a UN meeting scheduled for September 2024) so that our efforts in these functionalities are sustainable and find the understanding of the public and the public Trust.
AP: What keeps you up at night when it comes to AI? And what makes you hopeful when you wake up in the morning?
GILL: Let me start on the hopeful side. What really excites me is the potential to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals through the use of AI, particularly in the priority areas of health, agriculture, food security, education and the green transition. What worries me is that we are pushing it in a way that, on the one hand, is clear about what AI is capable of; and secondly, it leads to a greater concentration of technical and economic power in a few hands. These may be very well-meaning individuals and companies, but democracy thrives on diversity, competition and openness.
So I hope that we are heading in the right direction and that AI does not become a tool to undermine democracy, deceive society at large and diminish our humanity. These are the kinds of questions that worry me, but overall I’m very optimistic about AI.
—————————————————-