Inside Geneva: do we need rules for AI?

On Inside Geneva this week we take a deep dive into the pros and cons of artificial intelligence. Should the United Nations (UN) help to regulate it? Could it even do that? Across the UN there are different views. 

Tomas Lamanauskas, deputy secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says that “the technology in itself has a huge potential to help us resolve a lot of challenges of today, from climate change, to helping education to, helping in the health sector. It’s just that the question is that as with every technology, this technology has risks.” 

“There are real problems with its ability to accelerate disinformation, and enhance bias. We also have to look at those longer term consequences, in areas like lethal weapons and things where there really are real important, almost existential risks to some of these technologies,” adds Peggy Hicks from the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

But what about the tech industry? 

Lila Ibrahim, chief operation officer at Google DeepMind says that “from the very start of DeepMind, since 2010, we’ve been working on AI and thinking about how do we build this responsibly? It’s not something we just tag on at the end of all the research we’ve been doing.”

Is goodwill from the tech giants enough? 

“The malicious use of AI systems for terrorists, criminal, or state purposes could cause horrific levels of death and destruction, widespread trauma, and deep psychological damage on an unimaginable scale,” concludes  Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General.

Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva 

Join host Imogen Foulkes for a new episode of the Inside Geneva podcast and gear up for a journey into the world of AI to discover how we can responsibly leverage its power for a better tomorrow.

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