New global agreement to set rules for artificial intelligence
Thursday, all member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved a new text describing the common values and principles necessary to ensure the proper development of artificial intelligence.
The organization said artificial intelligence permeates everyday life; From booking flights to requesting a loan, including driving autonomous cars. It is also used in specialized areas, such as cancer screening, or to help create inclusive environments for people with disabilities.
In a statement, UNESCO explained that artificial intelligence also supports the decision-making process by governments and the private sector, while helping to tackle global issues such as climate change and world hunger; But technology creates unprecedented challenges.
In announcing the new agreement, UNESCO cited “a series of challenges such as the exacerbation of gender and ethnic prejudices, serious threats to privacy, dignity and viability, the emergence of the threat of surveillance of mass and increased use of unreliable artificial intelligence technologies. in law enforcement.
There have not yet been global standards dealing with these issues.
The new approved text aims to guide the construction of the legal infrastructure necessary to ensure the ethical development of this technology, and to highlight the advantages of artificial intelligence, while reducing the risks involved.
According to UNESCO, the agreement provides a guide to ensure that digital transformations advance human rights and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, address issues related to transparency, accountability and confidentiality, and develop action-oriented policies in data management, education, culture, work, healthcare and economics.
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said:
The world must set rules for artificial intelligence that benefit humanity, and the recommendation is one of those key rules, as it sets the world’s first legal framework and holds countries accountable for its implementation at the level national.
UNESCO will support its 139 Member States and ask them to submit periodic reports on their progress and practices.
A key recommendation of the text is to protect data, beyond what tech companies and governments are doing to further protect individuals by ensuring transparency, capacity and control over their personal data, and the recommendation explicitly prohibits l use of AI systems for social and mass assessment. surveillance.
The text emphasizes that AI actors should prefer to choose AI methods that are efficient in the use of data, energy and resources, so that these methods help to ensure the consolidation of the leading role. of AI as one of the tools to fight climate change and tackle environmental issues.