Session
Organizer 1: Elina Noor, Initiate Digital Rights in Society / Paris Peace Forum / Asia Society
Organizer 2: Merih Angin, Initiate: Digital Rights in Society / Paris Peace Forum
Organizer 3: Jack Loveridge, Paris Peace Forum
Speaker 1: Abhishek Gupta, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Chioma Agwuegbo, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Peggy Hicks, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 4: Nandini Chami, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 5: Virgilio Almeida, Technical Community, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Elina Noor, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Merih Angin, Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Jack Loveridge, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Round Table - Circle - 90 Min
1. What effective policy approaches, processes, or proposals in digital regulation can serve as reference points for pursuing concrete measures in AI governance that account for the interests, priorities, and histories of countries across the Global South?
2. Recognizing Global South-North power imbalances, what are the essential requirements and conditions for informed and constructive policy formation exchange between NGOs, advocacy organizations, and academic institutions on the one hand and corporations and governments on the other?
3. What novel instruments or processes might be needed to achieve fair value distribution within the AI economy, North and South, and aid in the realization of relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs) for the whole world?
Connection with previous Messages:
8.1
Targets: [The multi-select function above does not work.]
1. End Poverty (1.3, 1.4, 1.a)
4. Inclusive and Equitable Education (4.4, 4.5, 4.b)
5. Gender Equality (5.5, 5.a, 5.b)
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth (8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.6)
10. Reduced Inequalities (10.5, 10.6, 10.a)
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (16.8, 16.9, 16.10, 16.a)
If applied equitably and governed fairly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and systems have the power to transform the global economy and greatly reduce poverty, promoting more efficient and sustainable approaches to economic growth that enable communities to reap the full rewards of their work (SDG 1.3, 1.4, 1.a; 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.6). The central focus of this workshop and the individual efforts of our speakers is ensure that these transformations are equitable and just, countering exploitative practices that approach developing countries as vast data sets ready to be used without compensation by powerful international corporations and states, generally located in the Global North (SDG 5, 8, 10). Strong international institutions and adaptable regulatory frameworks are essential to that objective, as has been argued by the Paris Peace Forums working group on AI governance (SDG 16). Further, nations of the Global South – notably majority developing countries – require special attention if they are to economically benefit from these new technologies, share equitably in their rewards, and be protected from potential harms and abuses should AI platforms remain disproportionately by states and corporations of the Global North (SDG 10.6, 10.a). The speakers invited to this workshop are notably interested in engaging directly with global financial institutions to help build frameworks and protections that prioritize economic, social, and sustainable outcomes in developing countries (SDG 10.5). Several of the speakers (including Chioma Agwuegbo, Nandini Chami) have also dedicated their careers toward pursuing equity for women and protections against gender discrimination and abuse across the digital economy (SDG 5; 5.5). To that end, a core concern of this workshop is how technology can be applied to accomplish that equity and how regulations can be employed to prevent exacerbating existing gender inequities in how data is used to distribute economic resources, perform surveillance, and educate and provided essential services to populations (SDG 5.a, 5.b). A further issue area that this workshop will engage is the AI economy's effects upon "brain drain" phenomena across the Global South, the need to invest in advanced educational programming to keep the benefits of innovation and experimentation at the local level, and to expand higher education opportunities in science, technology, and engineering (SDG 4.4, 4.5, 4.b).
Description:
The object of this workshop is to outline and discuss the most important areas of convergence and divergence between the communities of the Global South and North in their experience of and regulatory approaches toward artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools and systems. The discussion will build upon the recommendations of the Paris Peace Forum’s expert working group on algorithmic governance, identifying pathways toward a meaningful international digital rights framework and synergizing artificial intelligence and human rights compliance efforts within the multilateral system. Specifically, the workshop will outline concrete policy tools and standards to: 1.) reduce counterproductive fragmentation across the global AI policy landscape, 2.) pursue a fair and just value distribution that strengthens global development priorities, and 3.) promote a notion of AI constitutionalism to advance cooperation in international data governance and halt the erosion of the civic-public space.
The primary expected outcome of this session will be a rights-focused roadmap for developing concrete policy measures and standards in AI governance that can be adopted across the Global South and North, precisely to counter the highlighted economic and political divides, which can also feed into upcoming policy consultations for the Global Digital Compact. Such policy proposals must balance concerns of Global South and North stakeholders and be both influential and practical, sparking not only discussion but also outlining paths toward practical adoption by governments and corporations.
This roadmap will be informed by three elements: 1.) the recommendations of the Paris Peace Forum's working group on AI governance along the Global South-North divide; 2.) regional-level consultations held through 2022 with civil society, corporate, and policy making stakeholders; and, finally, 3.) the IGF workshop itself, which will serve as culmination of the first phase of the Paris Peace Forum's Initiate: Digital Rights in Society process and launch of a second phase focused on developing concrete policy measures that will be discussed and publicized through the Paris Peace Forum-hosted consultations with policy makers and subsequent events during 2023. This second phased launched within the IGF workshop will be supervised by steering committee of high-profile civil society leaders, academics, and policy makers, equitably representative of sector, region, and gender.
Further outputs of the workshop will include a detailed report on the proceedings, including written comments from each of the five speakers, which will be published and disseminated by the Paris Peace Forum and promoted digitally across its stakeholder network and media outlets via a dedicated communications strategy. A scheduled follow-up event to "check in" on the process will also be planned for the Paris Peace Forum's annual convening in November 2023.
Hybrid Format: -How will you facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees?
We anticipate having at least one speaker, a moderator, and rapporteur onsite. The onsite moderator with direct equal time and questions to online as well as onsite participants. Questions will be solicited in a balanced way from onsite and online attendees, shifting back and forth from one to the other, ensuring equal time for both types of participant. Questions from online participants will be read aloud to both the speakers and attendees to ensure all involved understand the query and response.
-How will you design the session to ensure the best possible experience for online and onsite participants?
The first third of the session will feature brief presentations regarding specific regional or thematic concerns from each of the speakers, including at least three polls of online and onsite audience members on relevant policy topics using both a Zoom poll and a show of hands. The second portion of the session will involve a moderated discussion between onsite and online speakers, attending to each of the central questions examined by the workshop. The final half hour of the session will be a balanced question and answer session, rotating between onsite and online attendees and featuring responses from relevant speakers.
-Please note any complementary online tools/platforms you plan to use to increase participation and interaction during the session.
The Paris Peace Forum commits to broadcast the session live on its YouTube channel and feature the recorded proceeding on its organizational website. The event will be promoted in advance through media outreach, the Forum’s mailing list and social media accounts, and 4,000+ member stakeholder network.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.