Between Ethic Concerns and Geopolitics: What Can We Learn from International Organizations’ Resolve to Regulate AI?
by Yaron Gamburg
I planned to write this article long before the global outbreak of COVID-19. When I started six months ago my new diplomatic position representing Israel at international organizations based in France, I was surprised to discover how much importance all of them - OECD, Council of Europe, UNESCO - relate to regulating Artificial Intelligence. As I contemplated this, I suddenly found myself in a new reality of “confinement” decreed in France and almost elsewhere in Europe. What sci-fi movies and dystopian literature showed us with such precision, is now on full display as our everyday life. And the questions about AI and its ethics are part of this reality, not just a fruit of sci-fi imaginary world. Just look at the role of AI technologies during the ongoing crisis: it was used by US. UK, Chinese, Taiwanese, South-Korean governments to encourage medical research and testing.[1] In my home country, Israel, the technology was used, among other things, by Public Health funds to predict the spread of COVID-19.[2]
The need for regulation of AI technologies had come under the attention of different players already 4 years ago, resulting in multiple documents of principles and guidelines. We can expect that the upcoming debate on AI will be informed by the work that has been done so far, so it’s worth looking at it. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was apparently faster than others, not only adopting AI Principles (May 2019)[3] but also moving towards implementation of some of them, OECD’s AI Policy Observatory. In 2018 the European Union presented the European strategy for AI, followed by the adoption, last February, of the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence. UNESCO, the UN-affiliated organization based in Paris and mandated to promote cultural and scientific cooperation, indicated its interest in the subject publishing in 2019 a “Preliminary Study on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence” and launching in March its ad-hoc experts group to draft “global recommendations on the ethics of AI”. Council of Europe (CoE), an organization based in Strasbourg and convening 47 countries of European continent (sometimes confused with European Union with its 27 members), opted for establishing its own group of experts in December 2019.
The discussions on AI ethics and principles taking place at international organizations reveal the same differences that exist at any other discussions between people coming from different countries, cultures, faiths, practices, traditions and languages. States disagree on so many issues - on climate change, on immigration, on human rights, on democracy. How and why could they all agree on principles of use and development of Artificial Intelligence, one of the most promising technologies with a potential to change our lives almost in any aspect?
From this perspective, the chances of different organizations to find a global consensus on AI look dubious. UNESCO itself, who aptly raised the gravity of geopolitical concerns in this ethics driven endeavor on AI, is not sufficiently equipped with international legitimacy to overcome the inevitable obstructions, as it lacks the membership of the US in its own ranks: two years ago the US and Israel left UNESCO precisely for its... excessive politicization. By contrast, OECD’s recommendations have better chances to serve as the policy basis for its member-states and other countries who joined the initiative. But, absence of China and Russia from OECD limits this effort only to the organization’s member-states. The same constraint is shared by EU’s principles with its emphasis on European values.
It may well be that the efforts to come to a global agreement on AI would fail, as it happened with cyberspace regulation a few years ago. Therefore, the most effective way to proceed will be by consolidating the principles among like-minded countries and organizations associated with them. The example of OECD and EU indicates that it is possible to reach a consensus on recommendations and to start acting upon them. These organizations should engage other countries willing to endorse AI principles, as it happens already with OECD’s recommendations. The urgent need for AI regulation cannot be dependent on reaching a global consensus - a noble, but elusive goal.
[2] Ronny Linder; “Artificial Intelligence in the fog of war”, The Marker, 25.3.2020 (Hebrew). https://www.themarker.com/news/health/1.8708713
YARON GAMBURG is an International Affairs Specialist and senior diplomat who has just finished his tour of duty at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC where he served as Minister for Public Diplomacy. He worked closely with the US Department of State, the US Department of Veteran Affairs, the State governments of Maryland and Virginia, institutions of higher education, think and fact tanks and the leaders of Jewish, Hispanic and African American communities, religious groups and institutions.
Mr. Gamburg has extensive experience in international cooperation in the areas of Homeland security, economic relations and public diplomacy. He was also involved in bilateral trade negotiations, made presentations at OECD and at the EuroMed program of the EU, as well as at O’Reilly Gov2.0 global conference. In recognition of his contribution to California-Israel homeland security, he received an award from the California Office of Homeland Security. Mr. Gamburg also served as an official delegate to the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis sponsored by the George W. Bush administration. Fluent in English, Russian, Hebrew and French, Mr. Gamburg was interviewed and has commented to TV, radio, newspapers and digital media worldwide: LA Times, France 24, Le Monde, L’Express, Pervyi Kanal, Izvestia, Kol Israel, Maariv and many others. An early adapter and enthusiast of Digital Government, he initiated a training program on digital diplomacy that became mandatory for all diplomats within the Israeli Foreign Service.
READ OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE:
An Interview with Dr. Frank Quiambao
by Dr. Gilles Gravelle
An Interview with Oli Thordarson
by Stephanie Rizzardi
by Aaron Anderson
Comments
Post a Comment