Excellencies, Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to address this year’s International AI Cooperation and Governance Forum, and regret that I am unable to join you live, due to the time difference.
I speak to you today in my capacity as Officer in Charge, of the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology. This Office was established by the Secretary-General to support the implementation of his Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, bringing together all stakeholders to build a more open, free and secure digital future for all.
In particular, one of the key digital challenges identified in the Roadmap was that of Artificial Intelligence, a truly transformative technology that comes with serious challenges. To counter these risks while fully realizing the benefits of AI, we need better global steerage and cooperation. This point was reinforced in the Secretary-General’s recently-released Report on Our Common Agenda; his vision for the future of the United Nations and multilateralism in the next 50 years. There, he stressed AI as an area where greater global regulation might be needed.
Forums like this one, a joint collaboration between academia - Tsinghua University; and international organizations – UNDP;– are thus a much-needed opportunity to foster dialogue, understanding and collaboration. Tsinghua and UNDP’s partnership on areas such as the AI for SDGs Youth Bootcamp has also helped empower young people to better harness AI technologies to address real-world challenges.
This is in line with the United Nations’ focus on ensuring inclusion and engagement of all; through diversity of views, including of young people, and representation of all countries and regions in global cooperation.
Here, in the digital sphere, this is especially important as we seek to better harness technology for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to build a more open, free and secure digital future for all. This is why, for instance, in the Secretary-General’s proposal to establish a new multistakeholder body on global AI cooperation, he precisely stressed the importance of ensuring inclusion of the Global South and their perspectives.
I am thus particularly glad that in the Forum’s discussions on AI, you will be considering aspects such as sustainable enterprise development, climate action and the SDGs themselves.
It is through our collective efforts that we can promote artificial intelligence that is trustworthy, hu¬man-rights based, safe and sustainable and pro¬motes peace, as outlined by the Secretary-General in his Roadmap. These are the key questions that underline the urgent challenges we face today with AI – ensuring that this technology is used in ways that are positive and ethical, environmentally-sound, it respects and protects human rights, and helps to achieve sustainable development.
Given the UN’s unique convening role and universal legitimacy, I remain convinced that this is where many of these important issues must be discussed. The contribution of all stakeholders will be critical in this process, as we continue to further develop the UN’s work on AI.
The Office of the Envoy on Technology is set to collaborate with all of you, in particular to ensure that all our efforts are mutually reinforcing and complementary. We can and must work together in order to create inclusive, responsive and effective global cooperation structures that can meet the challenges posed by AI.
I thank you for your attention.