AI pledges to build more ethical systems says UN

Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 6th Feb. World’s leading tech companies on Monday have signed a ground-breaking agreement with the UN to build more ethical Artificial Intelligence systems, in a press release issued in New York.

It stated that Lenovo Group, LG AI Research, Mastercard, Microsoft, Salesforce, Telefonica, GSMA network of mobile phone operators, and INNIT have pledged to “integrate the values and principles” of UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI when designing and deploying AI systems.

The announcement made at the UNESCO Global Forum on AI, taking place in Slovenia thois week.

UNESCO forged a consensus between all member States in November 2021 to adopt the first global ethical framework for the use of AI.

UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay said “Today, we are taking another major step by obtaining the same concrete commitment from global tech companies”.

“I call on all tech stakeholders to follow the example of these first eight companies. This alliance of the public and private sectors is critical to building AI for the common good.”

The agreement compels companies to fully guarantee human rights in the design, development, purchase, sale, and use of AI in the first commitment of its kind to the UN.

UNESCO said in a press release that due diligence, must be carried out to meet safety standards, to identify the adverse effects of AI, and timely measures taken to prevent, mitigate, or remedy them in line with domestic legislation.

The agreement noted that testing before a new AI system is released onto the market is essential but given the fast evolution of systems already on the market.

It called for the development of post-deployment risk assessments and mitigation practices.