More than six hundred participants from almost seventy countries at the Global Forum prove that artificial intelligence is an important field, and it is no coincidence that Slovenia was chosen to host this meeting, because we have a long tradition of working with artificial intelligence. No country or company can find answers to the new questions of our time alone. This is why, according to Minister Dr. Stojmenova Duh, we need global cooperation.
The morning of the first day of the Global Forum was dedicated to reviewing, exploiting experiences, sharing knowledge and exchanging views on the fundamental criteria recommended by UNESCO to assess the use of AI in Member States.
In November 2021, 193 UNESCO Member States adopted the Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the first normative document of its kind on the use of AI worldwide. At approximately 50 pages, the recommendations provide countries with a comprehensive framework for the ethical development and use of AI. In addition to setting out the values and principles that should guide the design, development and use of AI, the recommendations also propose actions that Member States should take to ensure that these values and principles are respected in areas such as communications, information, environment, culture, education and research, economy, work, etc.
To assist Member States, the recommendations also include two assessment tools or criteria: the first is the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and the second is the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) .
The first tool aims to assess and promote actions, legislation, strategies, work plans and institutions in the field of AI in a given country, as well as to identify needs, gaps or inconsistencies in the protection of human rights and human dignity. , sustainability or environmental protection, equity, the principle of inclusion, etc. The main objective of the second ethical impact assessment tool is to be able to verify whether the algorithms respect the principles and values set out in the Recommendations and whether the information on the AI tools is transparent and publicly accessible.
Different countries are reaching different levels in their use of AI, some are developing working bodies and guidelines, others have already implemented strategies and solutions, and around fifty countries, including Slovenia, are already participating to the application of the UNESCO RAM criteria, with an additional 150 countries joining the assessment in the near future.
During the first roundtable on Monday morning, moderated by Vilas Dhar, member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence, country representatives briefly presented the AMR preparedness in Senegal, in Chile, Vietnam, Jamaica, Oman, the United States, Estonia, Greece and Mexico.
Dana Morris Dixon from the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica, among others, highlighted the involvement of young people, with three of their task force members being under 30 years old. Seth Center, deputy U.S. envoy for critical and emerging technologies, suggested basketball players’ philosophy when adopting AI: They have limited time, they must be mobile, agile and responsive, and they must learn quickly when it comes to things they don’t yet know. Nele Leosk, Goodwill Ambassador for Digital Affairs at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the importance of data and its use: everyone must know how their data is used and consent to its reuse.
In the second part of the debate on evaluation criteria, moderated by Antonio Zappula, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, representatives from Gabon, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Romania, Maldives and Mexico described the state of AI in their countries. In Romania, for example, there is an AI advisor in the Prime Minister’s office who is also available to the private sector, thus serving as a bridge between the public and private spheres and also a good detector of citizens’ needs.
The morning part of the debates was moderated by Igor Bergant, journalist and presenter of RTV Slovenia, who took the opportunity to present Slovenia using a 60,000 year old Neanderthal flute, a 5 year old bicycle 000 years or mountains. in the sun around the Brdo Congress Center.
The afternoon of the Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence opened with a brief discussion on the Global Observatory on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, created by UNESCO in cooperation with the Alan Turing Institute and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). ).
This is a platform that will constitute a knowledge hub on the ethics and governance of AI. The Observatory will collect reports on methodology and country readiness assessments, best practices in AI governance and analytics, connect networks, platforms and partnerships, and contribute to cutting-edge studies to better understand modern technologies, their beneficial and ethical use. , as well as evaluate their implications. The Observatory was presented by Gabriela Ramos, David Leslie of the Alan Turing Institute and Reinhard Scholl, Chair of the Ethical Artificial Intelligence Program at ITU.
The overview of national AI governance and the presentation of the Observatory were followed by the official opening of the Global Forum. Luka Mesec, Deputy Prime Minister, recalled that AI arrived practically overnight and how we manage these changes depends on us, he said, confident that we will be up to the task.
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, believes that in the face of contemporary phenomena, we urgently need global cooperation so that we can be active participants and not just passive observers. Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, also advocated a multilateral approach, as cross-border solutions make it easier for countries to find answers to common challenges.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union, and Vera Jourova, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, also welcomed the audience via video link.
In the afternoon, the Global Forum will also include a ministerial-level session on regional approaches to ethical AI governance (moderated by Aida Kamišalić Latifić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Digital Transformation), a discussion on possible ways to regulate the use of AI and the path towards globally harmonized regulation (moderated by Gabriela Ramos), and presentations on best practices to protect the environment through AI.
You can follow all discussions live on the Ministry of Digital Transformation’s YouTube channel.
