Al and Global Challenges: Ethical Development and Responsible Deployment
CCIT / CAST | EC MEDICI Framework | ICT Watch – Indonesia | Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida | Kamusi Project International | Virtual Activism | Loughborough University
Session 199
Wednesday, 29 May 2024 ∼ in 7 days11:00–12:00 (UTC+02:00)Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participationRoom 9, CICG, 2nd FloorICTs and Emerging TechnologiesInteractive Session
The emergence of AI within the Global South is a pressing issue that has yet to come with the consent or participation of the vast majority of the population. Proponents of AI technology have the stage and the resources to press forward with few restrictions. However, most people remain voiceless about developments that affect their lives and livelihoods.
Recognising that a discussion at a high-level panel at a WSIS summit is many layers removed from the input and experiences of most people who stand to be affected by the implications of technologies in which they have no voice, the panel nevertheless seeks to promulgate consideration by those in positions of power and influence around these urgent thematic questions:
- To what extent is the pursuit of AI a correct or necessary approach to addressing SDGs in the Global South
- Who controls the pursuit of AI, and to what extent is that driven by altruism or the quest for power or profit
- To what extent is AI an imposition of the values and norms of the societies at the forefront of its development
- How can these technologies be steered toward the benefit of people without control over them, and who cannot opt-out?
- How can people be protected from extractive or coercive use of AI technologies?
- Are there opportunities for multistakeholders to steer the evolution of AI from below, or is it inherently determined by the people who control the levers?
Source person (alphabetical order):
- Alfredo M. Ronchi (EC MEDICI Framework, polimi.it)
- Anuja Shukla (Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida, jaipuria.ac.in)
- Donny B.U (ICT Watch – Indonesia, ictwatch.id)
- Marlyn Tadros (Virtual Activism, virtualactivism.org)
- Martin Benjamin (Kamusi Project International, kamusi.org)
- Waley Wang (CCIT / CAST, english.cast.org.cn)
- Nick Hajli (Professor of Digital Strategy at Loughborough Business School)
Prof. Alfredo RonchiSecretaryEC MEDICIModerator
Prof. Alfredo Ronchi, Secretary GeneralEC MEDICI framework.
Alfredo M. Ronchi is a professor at Politecnico di Milano (Engineering Faculty), an Expert/advisor in eServices, the Head of the JRC S2D2 (Safety, Security, Defence, Disaster Recovery and Management), the Secretary of the EC-MEDICI Framework of Cooperation, a delegate at UNESCO IFAP, and an active member of the WSIS since its establishment (2003-/).
Mr Ronchi is a member of the following Boards: Member of AI&Society board (Springer Nature), Board of Directors Global Forum (France), Member Emeritus World Summit Award Board of Directors (Austria), Board of Directors European Education New Society Association (ENSA France). Member of the Keio University NoE (Japan). Member of the Advisory Board of the School of Law under the aegis of GD Goenka University (New Delhi, India).
He has cooperated as an organizer or programme chair in W3C, ACM, IEEE, and ITU-WSIS conferences; for more than thirty-five years, he has organized and managed international projects, conferences, and workshops. He is the author/contributor of more than 400 papers and various books on e-culture, e-government, e-safety and security, and e-services.
Dr. Anuja ShuklaAssociate ProfessorJaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, IndiaRemote Panellist
Anuja Shukla is working as an Associate Professor at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida. She has over 12 years of teaching experience with over 24 paper publications. Her research articles have been published in journals of repute, such as the International Journal of Information Management, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, VISION, and FIIB. She has also won best research paper awards at FMS, Symbiosis, and Amity. Her areas of research interest include eWOM, Consumer Behavior, m-Commerce, AR/VR, and emerging technologies.
Mr. Donny UtoyoFounder / AdvisorICT Watch, Indonesia
Donny B.U. (Mr.) is co-founder of ICT Watch in 2002, the leading Indonesian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) civil society organisation (CSO) that laid the foundation for digital literacy through the nationwide campaign. He was awarded an Ashoka fellowship in 2012 for his social entrepreneur activities focusing on online freedom of expression and cyber activism. He is also a co-initiator of the Indonesia Internet Governance Forum (ID-IGF), a national platform for multistakeholder dialogue. He previously taught cyber journalism, digital media, e-business, and communication technology development at several reputable universities in Jakarta. He started his career as an ICT journalist at Detikcom in 1999, Indonesia’s most prominent online media. He finally served the company as Vice President (VP) until his resignation in 2010. He travels widely in Indonesia to share his ideas and experiences with various campus activists, civil societies and communities. He actively engaged in IGF and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) while holding a mandate as a Chairperson of Siberkreasi, the Indonesian Digital Literacy National Movement, and an expert staff to the Indonesian Vice Minister of Communication and Information Technology until now. He may be contacted via email at dbu [at] donnybu.id
Prof. Marlyn TadrosExecutive DirectorVirtual Activism, USA
Professor of Media Arts and Communication at Southern New Hampshire University and founder and executive director of Virtual Activism which deals with the intersection of technology and human rights and closing the digital divide. .
Tadros was a Research Affiliate at the Middle East Center at Northeastern University and was also a Visiting Scholar in their Women’s Department. She taught human rights and Middle East Studies at the Political Science Department. In addition, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program at Harvard University.
Dr. Martin BenjaminExecutive DirectorKamusi Project International, Switzerland
Trained as an anthropologist with a focus on international aid in Africa. Transitioned to computational linguistics, running Kamusi to develop language technology with a focus on marginalized languages and serving as a delegated emissary for the African Academy of Languages (African Union) for language technology. Side hustle as a content creator, especially regarding AI, language technology, and linguistic equity issues, at http://youtube.com/@pirateprofessor
Prof. Waley WangMember of CAST UN Consultative Committee on Information Technology (CCIT), Founder & Chairman of Wenge Tech. CorporationCCIT, China
Waley Wang is a researcher with over ten years of experience in AI engineering and decision intelligence, and he is now a founder and chairman of WengeTech.&D2 Intelligence abroad since 2017. Now Wenge Tech. The corporation has grown to one of the top cognitive and decision intelligence companies. He and his team are dedicated to developing enterprise AI products, including large language models, multimodal models and domain-specific AI platforms to improve operations efficiency and productivity, especially in media, finance, healthcare, and other industries. The company has about 800 employees, providing AI products and services for thousands of government and enterprise users.
Prof. Nick HajliProfessor of Digital Strategy at Loughborough Business SchoolLoughborough Business School Loughborough University, UKRemote Panellist
Professor Nick Hajli is an AI Strategist and a Professor of Digital Strategy at Loughborough Business School. He earned his PhD in Management from Birkbeck, University of London. With a notable presence in academic circles, Nick boasts a portfolio of 100 publications in esteemed journals. His research has garnered recognition in leading publications like the FT50 and ABS 4 journals. He has received prestigious accolades including recognition as one of the top 2% scientists globally by Stanford and as a highly cited author worldwide by Elsevier.
