Member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted on Thursday (25.11.2021) a historic text defining the common values and principles necessary to ensure the healthy development of artificial intelligence (AI).
Machine intelligence is present in everyday life, from booking flights and applying for loans to driving self-driving cars. It is also used in specialized fields, such as cancer detection, or to help create inclusive environments for people with disabilities.
According to UNESCO, AI also supports decision-making by governments and the private sector, and helps address global problems such as climate change and world hunger.
However, the UN agency warns that technology "brings unprecedented challenges."
“We are seeing a rise in gender and ethnic bias, significant threats to privacy, dignity and autonomy, the dangers of mass surveillance and the increasing use of unreliable AI technologies in law enforcement, to name a few. Until now, there were no universal standards to address these issues,” UNESCO said in a statement.
In this context, The adopted text, which is not legally binding, aims to guide the construction of the legal infrastructure necessary to guarantee the ethical development of this technology.
“The world needs rules to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits humanity. The Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is an important response. It establishes the first global regulatory framework, while giving States the responsibility to implement it at their level."UNESCO will support its 193 Member States in their implementation and will ask them to report regularly on their progress and practices," said UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay.
The text aims to highlight the benefits of AI, while reducing the risks it also entails. According to UNESCO, it offers a roadmap to ensure that digital transformations promote human rights and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, addressing issues around transparency, accountability and privacy, with action-oriented policy chapters on data governance, education, culture, work, healthcare and the economy.
One of its key calls is for data protection, going beyond what tech companies and governments do to guarantee individuals greater protection, ensuring transparency, agency and control over their personal data. The recommendation also explicitly prohibits the use of artificial intelligence systems for social scoring and mass surveillance.
The text also stresses that AI players should focus on methods of efficient use of data, energy and resources that will help make AI a more important tool in the fight against climate change and in solving environmental problems.
“Decisions that affect millions of people must be fair, transparent and contestable. These new technologies must help us face the major challenges of our world today, such as growing inequality and the environmental crisis, and not deepen them,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, Gabriela Ramos.UNESCO Press Release)
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