by Editor BGF | Oct 26, 2024 | World Leader for Peace and Security, News, World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates
President Volodymyr Zelensky, the 2022 World Leader for Peace and Security Award recipient, who has courageously led Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, has declined a visit from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres due to his recent participation in a summit in Russia, AFP reported on Oct. 25, citing an unnamed high-ranking source close to the Presidential Office.
Guterres attended the BRICS summit in Kazan on Oct. 23-24, despite criticism from Ukraine. Previously, the U.N. secretary-general had also declined an invitation from Kyiv to attend the global peace summit held in Switzerland this past summer. During the BRICS summit, Guterres called for peace in Ukraine, stating, “We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law, and General Assembly resolutions.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyd4xg70ejo.amp
https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-reportedly-rejects-un-secretarys-visit-to-ukraine-due-to-his-kazan-summit-participation/
by Editor BGF | Oct 26, 2024 | News
Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military sites near Tehran and in western Iran in response to recent attacks attributed to Iran. According to Israeli sources, scores of jets targeted missile factories and other military facilities, specifically avoiding energy and nuclear sites. The U.S. was notified in advance, and President Biden expressed hope that these strikes might bring an end to the confrontation.
Iran reported that its air defenses responded to the assault but confirmed four fatalities and limited damage.
David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector, said low resolution commercial satellite imagery appeared to show that one Israeli strike hit the sprawling Parchin military complex near Tehran, damaging three buildings, including two where solid fuel was mixed for ballistic missile engines.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/explosions-heard-iran-syria-middle-east-braces-israeli-retaliation-2024-10-25/
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-lebanon-hezbollah-iran-news-10-26-2024-9c9f366c71c508e6dd0ee74cff8400d2
by Editor BGF | Oct 26, 2024 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance
On October 24, 2024, President Biden issued the first-ever National Security Memorandum (NSM) on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The NSM’s fundamental premise is that advances at the frontier of AI will have significant implications for national security and foreign policy in the near future. The NSM builds on key steps the President and Vice President have taken to drive the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI, including President Biden’s landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of AI.
The NSM directs the U.S. Government to implement concrete and impactful steps to (1) ensure that the United States leads the world’s development of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI; (2) harness cutting-edge AI technologies to advance the U.S. Government’s national security mission; and (3) advance international consensus and governance around AI.
The NSM is designed to galvanize federal government adoption of AI to advance the national security mission, including by ensuring that such adoption reflects democratic values and protects human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy. In addition, the NSM seeks to shape international norms around AI use to reflect those same democratic values, and directs actions to track and counter adversary development and use of AI for national security purposes.
Please read full here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/10/24/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-outlines-coordinated-approach-to-harness-power-of-ai-for-u-s-national-security/
The Boston Global Forum welcomes the National Security Memorandum on AI issued by President Biden and Vice President Harris. We recognize this memorandum as a significant advancement in aligning with the principles of the AI World Society (AIWS) Model, fostering responsible AI development for national security and global benefit.
by Editor BGF | Oct 26, 2024 | Event Updates, News
The Boston Global Forum (BGF) will host the conference “AIWS for New Democracy: Strategies for Democracy to Win in the AI Battle” at Harvard University’s historic Loeb House on November 25, 2024. This significant event aims to convene eminent thinkers, policymakers, and business leaders to formulate actionable strategies that promote democratic principles within the framework of the Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS) and to build a new democracy empowered by AI technologies.
The conference will feature a keynote address by Audrey Tang, Cyber Ambassador-at-Large of Taiwan and former Minister of Digital Affairs. Two additional distinguished speakers will join:
- Mark Kennedy, Director of The Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition and Member of the BGF Board of Thinkers
- Elisabeth Moreno, former French Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities and BGF Representative in Africa, Knowledge Platform Coordinator – France
Other confirmed distinguished speakers include:
- Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, MIT
- E. Yi-Jing Lin, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs, Taiwan
This gathering promises to be a pivotal moment for discussions on how AI can be harnessed to strengthen democratic values and institutions worldwide
Hon. Elisabeth Moreno speaks at C20-G20 Summit India 2023
by Editor BGF | Oct 20, 2024 | News, Shaping Futures
First, Washington needs to start taking AGI seriously. The potential risks are too great to ignore. Even in a good scenario, AGI could upend economies and displace millions of jobs, requiring society to adapt. In a bad scenario, AGI could become uncontrollable.
Second, we must establish regulatory guardrails for powerful AI systems. Regulation should involve government transparency into what’s going on with the most powerful AI systems that are being created by tech companies. Government transparency will reduce the chances that society is caught flat-footed by a tech company developing AGI before anyone else is expecting. And mandated security measures are needed to prevent U.S. adversaries and other bad actors from stealing AGI systems from U.S. companies. These light-touch measures would be sensible even if AGI weren’t a possibility, but the prospect of AGI heightens their importance.
In a particularly concerning part of Saunders’ testimony, he said that during his time at OpenAI there were long stretches where he or hundreds of other employees would be able to “bypass access controls and steal the company’s most advanced AI systems, including GPT-4.” This lax attitude toward security is bad enough for U.S. competitiveness today, but it is an absolutely unacceptable way to treat systems on the path to AGI. The comments were another powerful reminder that tech companies cannot be trusted to self-regulate.
Finally, public engagement is essential. AGI isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a societal one. The public must be informed and involved in discussions about how AGI could impact all of our lives.
BGF has been pioneering the AI World Society (AIWS) since 2017.
Daniel Colson
https://time.com/7093792/ai-artificial-general-intelligence-risks/
