Artificial Intelligence: Current Policy Reflections and Future Strategies

Ambassador Singh-Gill
Mr. Saran
Mr. Gurry
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Greetings and a warm welcome to the Palais des Nations! The Director-General very much regrets that he cannot be here today and sends his best regards. He has asked me to deliver the following remarks on his behalf.

I quote:

“I would like to begin by thanking the organizers of this event – the Permanent Mission of India to the Conference on Disarmament and the Observer Research Foundation. Their work in convening today’s diverse and distinguished cast of speakers is invaluable in bringing together the much-needed ideas and expertise in the field of AI and governance.

Geneva continues to be an important hub for disarmament and nonproliferation work central to creating a security environment conducive to advancing human development and cooperation.

As the center of international diplomacy in this field, the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) is home to various disarmament frameworks including the Conference on Disarmament, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and others. It also hosts various other disarmament related events and meetings which bring together important stakeholders from across civil society, academia and industry.

Multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary exchanges are invaluable to build trust and confidence, encourage information sharing, and find a common understanding on key concepts and characteristics of emerging technologies. In this context, I commend the commitment of Ambassador Singh-Gill in facilitating substantive discussions, in the context of the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (GGE on LAWS) in April, bringing on board a wide array of stakeholders in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

As the Director-General of UNOG, I am committed to supporting the ongoing work by Member States, civil society and other stakeholders in advancing dialogues on the overarching themes in AI and governance in a comprehensive, substantive and inclusive manner. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm for such wide participation in addressing the myriad opportunities and concerns associated with AI-based technologies in the areas of industry, medicine, defense, commerce, and government. The involvement of civil society, industry and academia is highly valued, and the diversity of expertise and experience they bring to such discussions is vital.

When considering the question of governance and regulation in AI, it is instructive to recognize the adaptable and multipurpose nature of innovations in emerging technologies, be it facial recognition, neural learning, content generation or data processing. While technological advancement, capability and computing power in the field of AI is indeed advancing rapidly, the speed of their diffusion across industries and applications is faster still.

The widening access and application of these technologies will therefore, bring to the forefront issues and circumstances that transcend borders and challenge traditional approaches to multilateralism.

Further, it has been widely noted that the pace of technological innovation in Artificial Intelligence outstrips that of international diplomacy and deliberation relating to its development and use. Normative considerations must keep pace with technological developments.

The implications of the increasingly widespread development and adoption of AI across disciplines and industries also touch on the many issues encompassed in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Be it Clean Energy (SDG 7), Good Healthcare (SDG 3), Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) or Strong Institutions (SDG 16), AI has the potential to transform these areas of life for humanity in all corners of the globe. What form that transformation will take however, will depend on how we govern it. As I have said previously, we must adopt a mind-set of cooperation and partnership, not of competition and silos.

Where do we go from here? It is clear to us that the field of AI is multifaceted and interconnected. Future policy and governance frameworks, can take no singular shape or form, but must account for the various aspects - humanitarian, legal, ethical, political, social and technological - that encompass their conception, development and use. Given this, we need to encourage greater investment in knowledge innovation and sharing, as well as partnerships between Member States and other relevant stakeholders. We also need to cater, through this dialogue, to future generations. This includes the exchange of national experiences, approaches and practices in governing AI and other frontier technologies. It also requires us to invest in education to empower, engage and take ownership of these developments. Such an approach would contribute to bolstering confidence and building common literacy across all the various stakeholders. Succinctly put: a comprehensive and informed approach to the effective governance of AI in its entirety must be based on broad inclusion and transparency.

Here at UNOG, we benefit from new technologies in our daily operations and services to Member States and other organizations. As a result, we have witnessed sweeping changes over the last few years to our conference services and coordination, library and archive management systems, and database security systems; all of which enhance data accessibility and research services.

I hope that today’s discussions will provide a valuable opportunity for organizations to consider how they will take forward this important issue in an efficient, inclusive and coordinated manner. I encourage all parties to leverage this opportunity to explore, discuss and assimilate the topics at hand. The challenges brought forth by the scalability and proliferation of these capabilities add to the load borne not only by the existing disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control machinery, but also by wider frameworks regulating government, commerce, manufacturing, labor, transport, and information technology. It is vital therefore that we keep the dialogue going forward inclusive and transparent, and remain mindful of continued developments in novel technologies. I stand ready and willing to work with all of you on the challenges ahead to ensure that emerging technologies play a beneficial role to humanity.”

End quote.

This was the message of the Director General, Mr. Michael Møller.

I wish you all a successful and transformative discussion.

Thank you