AI / ML
Ethical AI marked its first birthday in the closing weeks of last year , according to the United Nations ’ educational , scientific and cultural organisation UNESCO .
The First Global Forum on the Ethics of AI was held in Prague in mid-December 2022 , hosted by the Czech Republic under UNESCO ’ s patronage . It represented the first international ministerial meeting to take place after the organisation ’ s adoption of the global recommendation on the ethics of AI a year before .
More than 190 member states adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence , the first global standard-setting instrument on the subject . It is designed to protect and promote human rights and human dignity , and offer a guiding compass for the rule of law in the digital world .
“ This is an opportunity to harness the potential of AI and steward inclusive AI governance , so no country is left behind ,” says UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay .
“ The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity . The recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer ,” says Azoulay . “ It sets the first , global , normative framework while giving states the responsibility to apply it at their level .”
AI open to misuse and unintended consequences Member states have indeed taken action in this area – for example , the UK government ’ s Central Digital and Data Office and Office for Artificial Intelligence have set out their own definition of AI ethics as a set of values , principles , and techniques that employ widely accepted standards to guide moral conduct in the development and use of AI systems .
The field of AI ethics emerged from the need to address the individual and societal harms that AI systems might cause , say government officials . Notably , these harms rarely arise as a result of a deliberate choice , as most AI developers do not set out to build biased or discriminatory applications , or applications that invade users ’ privacy .
The UK government ’ s official guidance regarding the main ways AI systems can cause involuntary harm surrounds : misuse , where systems are used for purposes other than those for which they were designed and intended ; questionable design , when creators have not thoroughly considered technical issues related to algorithmic bias and safety risks ; and unintended negative consequences ,
122 February 2023