The U.N.’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced a series of recommendations to govern A.I., promoting ethics that encourage positive impact of machine learning and intelligent systems while avoiding potential harms.
UNESCO's 193 members agreed to implement impact assessments and enforcement frameworks to secure human rights. UNESCO committed to support members and called for regular progress reports.
“Decisions impacting millions of people should be fair, transparent, and contestable,” Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO assistant director-general for social and human sciences.
The UNESCO recommendations prohibit A.I. for mass surveillance and social scoring, though that genie seems to already be out of the bottle.
Strong personal control of private data with accountability and transparency mechanisms was also called upon.
UNESCO highlighted the important role A.I. can have to tackle critical environmental challenges such as climate risks. Big data, optimization, and other efficiency generating solutions will prove to be invaluable in the years to come.