Former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, current President of the World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid and member of both the Boston Global Forum’s and AIWS’s board of thinkers, recently gave an inspiring speech to honors students at Arizona State University. In her speech, she encouraged students to look into careers in politics and international affairs, and to look at issues in a more global context. Her speech marked the beginning of a scholarship-in-residence program at ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College.
President Vike-Freiberga was recently awarded a Certificate of Honor by Boston Global Forum – Michael Dukakis Institute for her leadership and significant contributions to the work of both organizations.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a recipient of Boston Global Forum – Michael Dukakis Institute’s World Leader in Cybersecurity Award, gave a speech to mark the new year and 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration. In his speech, he addressed the problems of declining birthrates and economic stagnation in Japan, calling for diplomatic and innovative solutions.
“We will secure the lives and peaceful daily lives of the Japanese people under any circumstances as we advance resolute diplomacy,” Prime Minister Abe said.
The Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute are proud to work with and recognize the accomplishments of leaders like Prime Minister Abe. Watch his acceptance speech here.
In April, the Artificial Intelligence World Society will recognize and announce our first two World Leaders in AI.
Michael Dukakis, former Massachusetts governor, and cofounder and chairman of the Boston Global Forum (BGF) announced the awards for leadership in Artificial Intelligence saying, “Few elements in technology offer both the promise and peril of Artificial Intelligence,” adding, “Thus, the World Leader in AI World Society Award series was created to recognize those who foster the development of AI within an ethical framework that aligns with human values.” BGF is calling for suggested nominees.
Boston, MA, February 12, 2018 –(PR.com)– The Boston Global Forum has announced that, as part of its year-long focus on issues surrounding the promise and perils of Artificial Intelligence, it has created a World Leader in AI World Society Award series to be presented in April of 2018 to leaders who have fostered the development of AI within an ethical framework that aligns with human values.
“There are few elements in technology, economics, and medicine that offer both the promise and peril of Artificial Intelligence,” said Michael Dukakis, cofounder and chairman of the Boston Global Forum, in making the announcement. He added, “AI, or machine learning, is all around us. Complex algorithms, seeking to model human intelligence and abilities, land our commercial airliners, trade our pension funds on Wall Street, determine who is creditworthy and whose email traffic might mark them as a threat.”
Cofounder and CEO of Boston Global Forum Tuan Anh Nguyen, cited numerous examples of the expanding role of Artificial Intelligence in medicine, “AI has been shown to be better than highly trained oncologists in scanning x-rays to diagnose breast cancer, better than psychiatrists at reading interview transcripts with at-risk patients to predict future psychotic breaks.”
Nguyen also said, “In the very near future, AI may drive our cars more safely, deliver our goods more cheaply, and grade our homework more quickly.”
Former Massachusetts Governor Dukakis continued, “As technology struggles to wipe out the simple scourge of paper jams in printers, there is a clear future peril in the development of autonomous drones, combat capable killer robots and autonomous Twitter bots running off the rails or being hacked for evil purposes.”
As a recent story in The Washington Post noted, the imagination easily offers up dark visions of the future where such machines run amok: It’s a scenario outlined in countless science fiction films such as “The Terminator,” “The Matrix” and “I, Robot,” in which machines defy their programming, kill humans and take over the world.
Or, as Professor Pieter Abbeel of UC Berkley put it in a far more measured way, during his keynote address at the 2017 Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems: “Once you build really good AI contraptions, how do you make sure they align their value system with our value system? Because at some point, they might be smarter than us, and it might be important that they actually care about what we care about.”
Nguyen explained, “It is for this reason that the Boston Global Forum’s World Leader in AI Awards will be presented to outstanding thought leaders in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. The awards will honor those who are making significant contributions to our understanding of the ethical implications of innovations and advances in AI and who are helping to promote a global consensus on the best ways to make sure that the artificial Intelligence systems we create align their value systems with our human values. We must maximize the promise of AI and minimize its peril.”
Barry Nolan, Editorial Board member of The Boston Global Forum put it this way, “The ultimate aim is to create a global consensus on an idea nicely summed by Rule Number One of what came to be call Asimov’s Laws, created in 1942 by the great science fiction author and former professor of biochemistry at Boston University Isaac Asimov, ‘A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’”
The Boston Global Forum, a think tank with ties to Harvard University faculty, includes scholars, business leaders and journalists, and is chaired by former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, a national and international civic leader and BGF’s cofounder As an offshoot of The Boston Global Forum, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) was born in 2015 with the mission of generating ideas, creating solutions, and deploying initiatives to solve global issues, especially focused on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.
Silicon Valley researchers and technologists are beginning to consider the issue of ethics in computer science with renewed interest. MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and other top universities are offering new courses on the subject of computer ethics and policy, some even requiring it for computer science programs. In the past, ethics in the tech industry have taken a back seat to innovation, but with technologies such as self-driving cars, AI, and the rapid rise of social media, educators are taking ethics more seriously.
The Artificial Intelligence World Society was founded to bring together thinkers, researchers, and scholars to create norms and policy concepts for the benevolent uses of AI and related technologies. To that end, we have published the Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security, which contributes to the growing scholarship and teaching of digital ethics.
This coming April, AIWS will discuss Ethical Frameworks for AI at our annual BGF-G7 Summit Conference at Harvard University. Follow us here and on social media to stay updated.
Last week, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket ever launched by a private company – with 27 engines. The Falcon Heavy is an upgraded version of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which for years has been shuttling supplies to the International Space Station. This time the Falcon Heavy launched into space a Tesla Roadster, built by Musk’s other company, with a mannequin strapped into the driver’s seat. According to the New York Times, both are expected to remain in orbit for “hundreds of millions of years.”
Musk and SpaceX are using this milestone to launch a series of even bigger rockets known as the B.F.R. “We want a new space race,” said Elon Musk. SpaceX is one of several emerging companies entering the new sector of private space travel, and the Heavy is expected to make it far more competitive for government contracts. SpaceX was able to recover the first-stage rocket after launch, and the mannequin is now driving into an orbit that extends beyond mars.
We live in an age of rapid technological innovation. Just as companies like SpaceX are considering all the possibilities and consequences of a rocket launch, AIWS is considering the consequences of artificial intelligence. To that end, we’ve published the Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security, and in April 2018 Boston Global Forum, Michael Dukakis Institute, and AIWS will host the BGF-G7 Summit conference to discuss ethics for AI.
On behalf of the Boston Global Forum and the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan presented a Certificate of Honor to Vaira Vike Freiberga, former president of Latvia, for her wisdom, leadership, and dedication as a valued member of the Boston Global Forum and the Artificial Intelligence World Society – AIWS’s Board of Thinkers. The AIWS is a new Boston Global Forum/Michael Dukakis Institute effort aimed at establishing an ethical framework for the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence worldwide, and to create new societal models through the application of AI.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, who serves as CEO of Boston Global Forum and Director of the Michael Dukakis Institute, conferred the honor upon President Freiberga, who also serves as President of World Leadership Alliance Club de Madrid, the largest organization of former democratic presidents and prime ministers in the world. The presentation took place on January 28, 2018.
This week, world leaders are convening in Davos for the 2018 World Economic Forum to discuss the foremost issues facing our world today. Among these are new technology, cybersecurity, and the impact AI will soon have on global society. With the expansion of AI, states and IGOs are increasingly preparing for the future. Self-driving cars are taking to the streets. Automation is transforming jobs in a wide range of economic sectors. Will this technology truly change our lives for the better? Or will we actually soon face the “robot uprising” science fiction has warned us about?
This past November, the MDI announced the AI World Society to bring together top thinkers and leaders in AI, in order to create frameworks and norms for a better and safer AI future. 2018 is slated to be an exciting year for these emerging technologies, and the need for better laws and cyber governance are ever-pressing. Follow us for more updates about our work in these constantly evolving fields.
On December 12, 2017, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves was honored with the World Leader in Cybersecurity Award by the Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute. Estonia, nicknamed the “Digital Republic,” became a world leader of digital innovation under the leadership of President Ilves.
President Ilves being presented the award by Governor Dukakis and Nguyen Anh Tuan.
Estonia has been nicknamed the “Digital Republic” for its technological innovations and cyber-governance. Their X-Road system allots each citizen a digital ID that streamlines information-sharing across government agencies and strengthens cybersecurity. Estonians can even vote online, and foreign nationals can apply for e-residency. Several states have begun to adopt X-Road and similar systems for their own use, and thousands to date have applied for e-residency.
This week, Microsoft published “The Future Computed,” a book about AI ethics and governance. It discusses the future of AI in society and gives scenarios about the future benefits and harm it could pose. AI will even be a central topic at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos. The Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute are also considering the implications of an AI future.
The Artificial Intelligence World Society, founded by the Michael Dukakis Institute on November 22, 2017, is creating its own Ethical Frameworks and Standards for AI. In April 2018, MDI will officially announceAn Ethical Framework for Artificial Intelligence. Read more about the AIWS and its goals here and follow Michael Dukakis Institute and Boston Global Forum on social media to stay up-to-date.
