From buying tickets and seeking loans, to directing autonomous automobiles, artificial intelligence is prevalent in everyday life. It is also utilized in specialist domains such as cancer screening and assisting in the creation of accessible settings for the disabled. As per UNESCO, AI is also assisting respective governments and the commercial sector in making decisions, as well as combating global problems such as environmental degradation as well as food insecurity. Nevertheless, the organization warns that the technology would pose “unprecedented obstacles.” “To mention a few, we observe increasing gender and ethnic prejudice, substantial challenges to personal privacy, dignity, and agency, the hazards of mass monitoring, as well as the increased use of untrustworthy AI technology in law enforcement.”
“There were no uniform standards to give a response to these concerns until today,” UNESCO noted in a statement. Taking this into consideration, the accepted text strives to lead the creation of the required legal infrastructure to enable the ethical growth of this technology. “For artificial intelligence to serve humans, the world requires laws.” The Guideline on the Ethics of AI is a significant response. It establishes the first global frame of reference while entrusting States with the obligation of implementing it at a national level. “UNESCO will help its 193 Member States in their execution and encourage them to update them on their progress and practices regularly,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
The paper seeks to showcase the benefits of AI while minimizing the concerns that it also carries. As per the agency, it serves as a guidance document to guarantee that technological revolutions encourage civil rights and add value to the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing issues such as transparency, responsibility, as well as privacy, as well as action-oriented regulation chapters on information governance, training, culture, labor, healthcare, and the economic system. One of its key goals is to safeguard data, going above & beyond what digital companies and governments are doing to safeguard individuals by assuring openness, agency, and ownership over their data. The Recommendations also expressly prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for social scoring and mass monitoring purposes.
This document also highlights that AI actors should prioritize data, energy, and resource-efficient approaches to guarantee that AI becomes a more significant instrument in the battle against climate change as well as other environmental challenges. “Decisions that affect millions of individuals must be fair, transparent, and contestable.” “These new technologies must assist us in addressing today’s main difficulties, such as increasing inequality and the environmental catastrophes, rather than exacerbate them,” stated Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences.
