Session
Organizer 1: Parvina Ibodova, Public organization "Civil Internet Policy Initiative"
Organizer 2: Muhamadi Ibodulloev, Public Fund Civil Internet Policy Initiative
Organizer 3: Asomudin Atoev, The SecDev Foundation
Organizer 4: Mavzuna Abdurakhmanova, Open Society Institute in Tajikistan
Speaker 1: Zuhra Halimova, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Arsen Aubakirov, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Parvina Ibodova, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Asomudin Atoev, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 5: Talant Sultanov, Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Asomudin Atoev, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Muhamadi Ibodulloev, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Mavzuna Abdurakhmanova, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Round Table - Circle - 60 Min
What is the current state of access of CA countries to knowledge, tools, data and best practices for AI policy and practices development? Language barriers, legacy, interests of power holders, etc.
How to improve the partnership and bring in place multistakeholderism to ensure the protection of human rights and democratic values while promoting domestic AI products and advanced technologies based solutions?
To what extent CA countries can count on multilateral advisory support from global initiatives to improve its legal frameworks and practices for responsible development of AI?
What International legal framework is currently more reliable for the CA countries and be able to protect and promote human rights, and can also become an ethical compass to ensure respect of rule of law in the digital world.
Connection with previous Messages: The representatives of NGO Civil Internet Policy Initiative from Tajikistan have been attended the IGF 2021 in Kracov, Poland. During 5-day-mega-event covering over 300 sessions on various topics relevant to use and applications of Internet and other digital technologies enabled through the Internet we observed the following trends we highlighted for ourselves equally important to be tackled in the local context:
● digital sovereignty: two opposites concepts of this term that can be summed up as (1) state-centric based on geographical jurisdiction, and (2) exterritorial citizen-centric data sovereignty
● search for a new model of internet governance to address the challenges emerging in artificial intelligence (AI) ethics so that an important source for developing AI ethical principles are human rights principles.
● cyber security and digital safety. Security and Privacy. We can have both security and privacy with no trade-off.
● digital technologies regulation without slowing down innovation.
Based on the knowledge we have received from the IGF 2021 matched to our local context and trends we designed and submitting the concept of this Workshop.
10. Reduced Inequalities
Targets: Inclusive and human centric approaches in the processes of development of AI and advanced technologies might be ensured by participation of all parties including civil society and academia. The role of civil society would be align with the SDG targets from 10.1 to 10.6 to keep balance of interests and reduce inequalities while introducing AI, to eliminate adopting of discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
Description:
Nowadays, along with the global trends the AI Academies as well advanced technology based as technical solutions (https://www.tajrupt.org/, https://zypl.ai/ https://e-zerde.kz/ ) have been enthusiastically developing in the Central Asia region. AI based solutions are being actively introduced in "safe city", the banking sector, healthcare, employee and student control via face and biometric IDs Tajikistan in 2021 has established an AI Council under the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies, and is developing a National Strategy for introducing AI in all sectors of the Republic of Tajikistan. In Kazakhstan, it is planned to create a National Cluster of Artificial Intelligence. AI specialties have been introduced in universities of Uzbekistan. Thus, we can state that AI is being introduced with great enthusiasm in the majority of Central Asian countries. Along with this, risks are growing, the human centric approaches while deploying advanced technologies as AI remain less covered and analyzed in the society as well as among professionals. In particular, the risks we are concerned about are associated with fundamental human rights, ethical standards that might be violated, accidentally or purposely during the digitalization processes.
Meanwhile, encouraging steps are being taken globally to manage these risks. For example, all 193 UNESCO countries have signed an agreement on Artificial Intelligence , and the EU AI Act is being discussed. However, at the national and regional levels, there are no noticeable initiatives in this path. In addition, the AI-oriented legislative bases of the Central Asian countries is formed mainly with a bias towards private IT giants or state owned enterprises, where the norms and realities of the countries producing AI solutions (both hardware and software) dominate, which do not always take into account international law or do not take into account the norms and rights of consumer countries.
In general, AI is good for society, for health, for climate change, etc.. But, certainly, it bears risks too while deploying in way of unbalanced interests of power holders. Particularly, the role of civil society and academia as partners is crucial to follow up the issues of protection of fundamental human rights, including privacy and personal data, inclusion and equity on interests in development of AI and advanced technologies integration processes.
We are expected to discuss the policy and practices developing towards introducing the AI and other advanced technologies in the Central Asia countries. The civil society and the academia will be more aware of developments in this path and encouraged to monitor and analyze the human rights and ethical standards not to be violated in the digitalization processes. The network of civil society and academia of the Central Asia countries will be strengthened to ensure the protection of human rights and democratic values while promoting domestic AI products and advanced technologies based solutions. The last, but most important one is to create a room for opportunity for activists from Central Asia countries to receive multilateral advisory support from global initiatives to improve its legal frameworks and practices for responsible development of AI.
Hybrid Format: This networking session will use a round table discussion format for creating a dialog by speakers representing different countries of the CA region on policy specifics and sharing knowledge practices. The session will start with a brief introduction of each speaker at the beginning by the organizer about the purpose of the session and explaining the policy questions and invite speakers for dialog in a relay race format. For each speaker up to 7 minutes will be allocated and then 15 minutes for Q&A. During the last 10 minutes of the session, organizers of the session will wrap up the session and invite others to share any potential areas of collaboration. In case if this Workshop will find support of the IGF selection committee there are opportunities to receive funding from OSCE and Internews for speakers and key organizers to travel to Ethiopia and attend the event offline. If someone our of suggested organizers and/or speakers can't travel and would prefer online participation then moderators and organizers we have relay on are well experienced to conduct events in hybrid format.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.