On November 5, the third edition of the International Seminar entitled “Artificial Intelligence in times of COVID-19: perspectives for Latin America and the Caribbean”, Organized by the OECD, with the support of the European Union and in collaboration with ECLAC.
As expected, the impact of the pandemic was at the forefront of all the presentations on the agenda. For OECD specialists, artificial intelligence is a key element in the fight against Covid-19, joining the efforts of public policy makers, the medical community and society in general.
Trustworthy AI
In the opening, Andrew Wyckoff, Director of Science, Technology and Innovation at the OECD, said that “one of the characteristics of AI is that it presents global public challenges. For this reason, sovereign policies must work together with the international community. Thus, the OECD adopted an intergovernmental standard for the responsible and trustworthy management of AI in May 2019, known as the Intelligence Principles. There are six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, that have adopted these Principles.” He added: “It is important that governments commit to implementing AI systems that are reliable in accelerating important measures and ending inequalities.”
Along those lines, Andreas Schaal, Director of the OECD Secretariat for Global Relations, said that “the imbalances between people, companies and sectors are a reality that occurs on all continents. The Covid-19 crisis has further highlighted this situation, but it has accelerated positive trends prior to the pandemic, such as digitalisation. The use of AI can help governments face important challenges in the Covid-19 crisis, such as identifying counterfeit medicine and detecting corruption in the supply chain. We know that the potential of AI goes far beyond the crisis. It can help governments implement policies for recovery and the improvement of public services. Therefore, AI is not an option: it is something to be adopted".
Ethical and responsible AI
Karine Perset, member of the OECD's Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, proceeded to present the Artificial Intelligence Observatory. According to the expert, these Principles on AI have the support of the European Commission and the approval of the G-20. Without being legally binding, the OECD Principles are an aid that governments use to design their national legislation. In short, the Principles are a guide for the development of their own policies. Principles on AI They state the following:
1. AI must serve people and the planet, driving inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being.
2. AI systems should be designed to respect the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and diversity, and incorporate appropriate safeguards – for example, allowing human intervention where necessary – to ensure a fair and equitable society.
3. AI systems must be governed by transparency and responsible disclosure to ensure that people know when they are interacting with them and can object to the outcomes of that interaction.
4. AI systems must operate robustly, reliably and securely throughout their lifecycle, and potential risks must be assessed and managed at all times.
5. Organizations and individuals that develop, deploy or manage AI systems must be responsible for their proper functioning in accordance with the above principles.
The OECD recommends that governments:
• Facilitate public and private investments in research and development that stimulate innovation in trustworthy AI.
• Foster accessible AI ecosystems with digital technologies and infrastructure, and mechanisms for data and knowledge sharing.
• Develop a policy environment that paves the way for the deployment of trustworthy AI systems.
• Train AI-savvy people and support workers to ensure an equitable transition.
• Cooperate on information exchange across countries and sectors, develop standards and ensure responsible governance of AI.
AI in Latin America
In light of this innovative global initiative, representatives of international organizations, governments and non-governmental organizations discussed the good practices in the use of AI in Latin America and the Caribbean during the pandemic.
Thus, Cristina Pombo, Senior Advisor and Head of the Digital and Data Working Group, Social Sector, Inter-American Development Bank (BID), referred to the fact that the citizen participation It is key to designing public policies and that technology can be used as a tool to build consensus..
“Thanks to the use of smart tools, we found that Argentines are susceptible to solidarity initiatives; Peruvians to government measures; and Chileans, as well. These examples show the importance of having data-focused actions to respond to social needs. The ethical use of these tools allows us to understand citizens’ needs in real time. Politicians can implement and report actions that include citizens’ concerns, improving decisions in the short term and, in the long term, reaching consensus to get out of the crisis.”
Meanwhile, Jose Gustavo Sampaio Gontijo, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Digital Innovation, Secretariat of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Brazil, focused his analysis on the network of eight AI labs, launched in November 2019. The initiative covers strategic areas such as cybersecurity and defence.
“The eight laboratories are linked to the national strategy. There is one for industry, another for health, for agro-food, among others. Currently, the Government is in the process of selecting the centers. The first four will be announced between now and December. Likewise, different initiatives have been taken during the pandemic, such as tools to track and diagnose Covid-19 patients,” he said.
To its turn, Constance Gomez-Mont, Founder and CEO, C-Minds, highlighted the work of NGOs under a collaborative scheme with the aim of creating alliances that enhance the benefits of new technologies.
“During the pandemic, we realized that clinics are not as agile as they could be. Real-time data analysis and transparency were needed, as was collaborative work. So, we designed an AI system for clinical trials to capture, track, and share information in the region and use the machine learning process to understand and apply patterns more quickly. Now we are going to make chatbots to communicate with patients in a natural way and to integrate the highest privacy standards with clinical trials in Mexico and Chile. Everything will be open source. That is where the power of NGOs lies,” he stressed.
As well, Jose Antonio Guridi, Advisor to the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of Chile, considered that AI data should be open.
The young expert pointed out: “Chile uses a participatory process for AI. We cannot look for the answer in a ministry. During the pandemic we have seen the different factors that are needed to fight it. That is why the government established a roundtable of open data provided by transport, private industry, academia, etc. The main effort is to open the data to make good decisions.”
At the same time, Maria Isabel Mejia, Senior Executive in Digital Government, Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), said that “municipalities are interested in improving transparency.” And he explained that “89 projects from seventy cities in 11 countries in the region recently presented initiatives to this end on various topics. This shows that AI is a transversal technology and can help solve many public problems in the region".
“In Europe, we have seen that online education has increased the inequalities during confinement. Vulnerable groups in society have felt the differential treatment. The gap has widened. It is a public problem to be taken into account," he stressed. Massimo Craglia, Principal Scientist at the Digital Economy Unit, European Commission.
In closing, the experts encourage improving and developing AI-powered tools to reduce economic and social disparities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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