Diversity Institute shares its expertise and learns from others at UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance

Governments, academics, industry leaders and civil society gathered in Geneva in July for the United Nations’ Global Dialogue on AI Governance (external link) , a new forum established to strengthen international cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) governance. As AI continues to reshape economies, workplaces and daily life, the Dialogue focused on how countries can work together to ensure AI is developed safely, responsibly and inclusively. The UN's Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, cochaired by Canadian Yoshua Bengio, released before the conference  (external link) underscored both the extraordinary pace of AI development and the growing risks that accompany it. While the World Wide Web took about 15 years to reach one billion users, ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months. The report also warned that AI’s harms disproportionately affect equity-deserving groups, while access to computing power, data and expertise remains concentrated among a small number of companies and countries. That imbalance extends to who is shaping the technology: 88% of leading AI technology researchers are men.

Wendy Cukier, Academic Director of the Diversity Institute (DI) joined 4,000 participants from all 5 UN regions in a series of plenaries and workshops to discuss AI opportunities and risks with a particular focus on issues of governance and trust.  

“Across the two-day Dialogue, one message was clear: AI presents amazing opportunities but also risks. We must work together, globally, to develop AI governance frameworks, legislation and processes that are inclusive and build trust, not fear,” said Cukier. There was also significant focus on how to ensure AI bridges the digital divide and the focus on AI literacy and skills reinforced the importance of DI work on inclusive AI adoption.

One of the highlights of the conference was a “by invitation only” breakfast hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (external link)  (ICC), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which is leading the AI Adoption Initiative (AIAI)  and SAGE (external link) , which provides small and medium-sized enterprises with accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology. The discussion led by Co-Chairs of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, H.E. Ms. Egriselda López, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the United Nations again reinforced the importance of inclusive governance. ICC also released its new Joint Business Statement (external link) , calling for the enabling policy frameworks needed to help people, businesses and communities everywhere access, adopt and benefit from AI. Specifically ICC calls for

• Expand digital infrastructure, connectivity (including broadband and fibre networks), cloud services and computing capacity;
• Invest in workforce training, AI literacy and skills development;
• Support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in adopting and deploying AI;
• Develop locally relevant and multilingual AI applications;
• Advance good practices, standards and governance approaches that support trust and confidence in AI; and
• Partner with governments, academia and civil society to expand access to AI capabilities and expertise.

Rachel Dignam, the Director of EU, International and Canadian Public Affairs at Sage noted that: the success of AI won’t be measured solely by technological breakthroughs, but by whether businesses of every size, in every country, have the confidence and capability to use it.  And Joshua Meltzer from AWS underscored the importance of skills and training for all. 

“The ICC breakfast confirms what the research by DI, our partners and the Future Skills Centre have clearly demonstrated: That harnessing the power and promise of AI is not just about access to technology but needs to focus on human capital - skills and talent - as well as adoption processes. Our research has doubled down on responsible AI use cases across sectors and functional areas,” Cukier said. “Our AI competency framework which recognizes the importance of deep AI skills to build systems and AI literacy for all also focuses on AI skills for innovation - to ensure technological solutions are tailored to organizational goals and objectives. And the importance of centering entrepreneurs and SMEs seems a theme that resonated globally.”