Ensuring good ethical governance of AI is one of the most important challenges of our time. The rapid rise of AI has created global opportunities, from improving educational outcomes and advancing health diagnostics to improving social connectivity and work efficiency. However, these advances come with profound ethical challenges. AI systems can embed biases, contribute to climate breakdown and threaten human rights. Such “AI risks” are likely to exacerbate existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.
UNESCO has produced its 2021 Recommendation, adopted by all 194 UNESCO Member States, prioritizing protect human rights and dignityand emphasizing principles such as transparency, fairness, human oversight and determination of AI systems.
Building on this recommendation, the 1st UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence was held in Prague, Czech Republic in December 2022, with the theme “Ensuring Inclusion in the World of AI”. The 2nd Global Forum took place in February 2024 in Slovenia and focused on AI governance and international collaboration.
