by Editor | Nov 26, 2023 | News
On November 2, 2023, at Harvard University Loeb House, during the BGF Conference commemorating the 90th birthday of Governor Dukakis, Co-founder, and Chair of BGF, MIT Professor Nazli Choucri, BGF Board Member, shared her insights as a distinguished contributor to the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment.” Here are the keynotes from her speech:
I want to revisit Michael Dukakis and highlight his various qualities as a person, individual, statesman, manager, leader, collaborator, problem solver, and inspirer for a better future. Those who have worked with him recognize his calm and compassionate nature. He handles differences of views with equilibrium and balance, efficiently reviewing and assessing priorities brought to him. In his interactions, he steers with respect for others, earning their respect in return.
We live in three interconnected worlds: the social, geopolitical human society; the natural environment; and the cyber domain. Our dilemma at this point in time is that we haven’t connected strategically, intellectually, theoretically, or even computationally to those three realities where we live. These are not autonomous anymore; they’re interconnected, but very few of us can really pull together where the connections really are. So, we’re faced with technological change.
Technological change and advances that are moving very rapidly, perhaps faster than we are able to manage. I want to conclude with a noteworthy discovery that around 74 countries have formal AI policies according to the OECD Observatory. The common core among them raises questions about the governance of AI with ethical considerations. Assessing outliers is crucial – are they outrageous and should be ignored, or integrated? This corpus of policies requires closer analysis and is of great importance to the governor.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C0_AxieOtI
by Editor | Nov 26, 2023 | News
On November 2, 2023, at Harvard University Loeb House, during the BGF Conference commemorating the 90th birthday of Governor Dukakis, Co-founder and Chair of BGF, Northeastern Professor Beth Noveck, the first United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama, spoke. She was senior advisor for Open Government for UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and between 2018-2021, served on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Digital Council. Here are the keynotes from her speech:
Firstly, happy birthday Governor Michael Dukakis. I moved to Northeastern a year ago due to collaboration with the Dukakis Center, enabling me to lead the new Center for Social Change. I moved to Northeastern just a year ago, mainly due to a collaboration with the Dukakis Center and the values created as a legacy at various institutions. This enabled me to take up my new position as the Director of our new university-wide Center for Social Change. I’ll hide back here for a moment and say that this week, many of us interested in AI were faced with a 20,000-word, 111-page executive order from the White House. Surprisingly, there’s no mention of democracy or engaging the public in these documents.
I came today to express my concern about what this risk mindset does for us. There is a missed opportunity to fully realize the benefits of AI, particularly the distinctly human benefits, if we do not prioritize those opportunities. We need investment in policy research dollars and attention to using AI to strengthen our democracy. This is not a theoretical prescription; there is work ongoing that we can support, such as the Collective Intelligence Project, which uses AI for scalable conversations about AI benefits and risks.
This risk mindset is concerning, and we need to focus on realizing the benefits by incorporating the distributed wisdom of people. This involves innovative projects, like the one I’m involved in at Northeastern, called Policy Synth, and collaborations with institutions and tools like urbanist AI in Helsinki or the Dutch cycling lifestyle platform. In conclusion, while being wary of risks, we should resist fear-mongering that impedes our ability to ask and answer, “What can we do with these powerful technologies to realize the vision of AI for good?” If we fail to ask and answer how we can use AI to improve democracy, we will miss a crucial opportunity. We must focus on using AI to unlock artificial intelligence to enable collective intelligence.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C0_AxieOtI
by Editor | Nov 23, 2023 | News
Happy Thanksgiving!
As we express our gratitude on this special day, the Boston Global Forum extends heartfelt thanks to all contributors who have played a vital role in our endeavors. A special appreciation goes to the distinguished contributors of the book “From the Massachusetts Miracle to the Age of Global Enlightenment,” a tribute to the 90th birthday of Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-founder, and Chair of the Boston Global Forum. Your insights and dedication have enriched our collective journey. To explore the interactive version of the book, please visit:
Once again, thank you for your valuable contributions, and we wish you a joyous Thanksgiving!
by Editor | Nov 20, 2023 | News
Minh Nguyen is the Editor of the Boston Global Forum and a Shinzo Abe Initiative Fellow. She writes the Four Pillars column in the BGF Weekly newsletter.
US President Biden met with Xi Jinping this week at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Their four-hour discussion produced an agreement to restore military-to-military communications, open presidential hotlines, and work on curbing fentanyl. Some points of contention remained though, notably in regards to Taiwan. Plenty of Chinese state PR about friendliness between the two countries too, notably with the news that China will be sending two pandas to the US. It would not be surprising that even though it is all messages of goodwill and warm relations, tensions will return when some incidents occur in Asia-Pacific in two weeks. Towards the end of the summit, Biden did call Xi a ‘dictator’.
At the APEC summit, the US and Indonesia elevated their relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is another Southeast Asian state that has improved their relationship with the US this year, after Vietnam in September. This notes that the US is continuing to seek allies in the region to safeguard international maritime laws and to find ways to counter China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific. However, there was disappointment that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework trade deal fell through due to US domestic/party pressure, even if the deal was more of a symbolic one.
In APEC, Japan, a Pillar, and South Korea continue to improve their ties, this time in regard to startups. The two countries were floating methods to benefit innovation and technology for both regional and global solutions. This is another step in the growing ties between the two countries to counter China’s rise.
In Europe, there were some minor events. France (through its courts) has officially put out an arrest warrant for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. In the UK, somehow, David Cameron returned. Earlier in the week, PM Sunak sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman, but surprisingly brought former PM Cameron in to fill the position.
APEC family photo in San Francisco
by Editor | Nov 19, 2023 | Event Updates, News
On November 14, 2023, at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, Rome, Italy, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) in Boston, USA, and the Nkemnkia Community Development Empowerment International Foundation (NCDEIF) in Rome, Italy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the implementation and deployment of AI World Society (AIWS) in Africa. The initiative includes the following programs:
AI World Society Leadership Program
Empowering African leaders with AI (Artificial Intelligence) knowledge and skills to drive positive change in their communities and society.
Global Enlightenment Education for Africa
Promoting access to quality education on AI and AI Age and global issues to foster enlightenment in Africa
Africa TruthGuard: Combating Misinformation and Disinformation
Addressing the challenges of false information through technological and educational means.
AIWS Innovation for Africa Citizens aims at
Fostering innovation and technology solutions that benefit African citizens.
Professor Martin Nkafu Nkemnkia of the Pontifical Lateran University, President of NCDEIF and BGF CEO Nguyen Anh Tuan signed MOU
by Editor | Nov 19, 2023 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance
On November 15, 2024, the Institute of Future and Innovation Studies at John Cabot University, Rome, hosted a roundtable, “Global Challenges and the UN 2030 Sustainability Goals: Navigating a World in Crisis,” moderated by Francesco Lapenta, its director. This event marked the beginning of a series leading to a meeting at Harvard University Loeb House, hosted by the Boston Global Forum on the 30th of April, 2024.
The session commenced with a compelling presentation by Prof. Enrico Giovannini, the former Italian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, based on the #ASVIS UN Sustainability Goals Report. This presentation set the stage for a dynamic roundtable discussion with a diverse group of distinguished experts.
The conversation delved into the complex, interconnected challenges the world currently faces and their implications for achieving the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Against the backdrop of unprecedented geopolitical unrest, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the escalating conflict in Israel-Palestine with Hamas, and the lingering effects of the pandemic, we explored how these crises are reshaping global cooperation and stability.
A key focus area was the impact of these geopolitical tensions on economic, social, and technological progress, particularly in the green economic sector. Despite its potential to accelerate sustainable development, this sector is now grappling with numerous hurdles. We discussed the increasing risks associated with the gender and digital divide, privacy issues, labor and child labor, and AI development amid these growing global tensions.
Furthermore, the roundtable explored the social and economic ramifications of these crises, highlighting how financial strains are influencing resource allocation for sustainable development. With governments shifting focus to conflict resolution, critical questions emerged about the potential repercussions on efforts to combat poverty, ensure quality education, promote economic growth, and achieve gender equality.
In conclusion, the roundtable was a significant step towards understanding the multifaceted nature of the challenges at hand and exploring viable pathways to steer the world back towards achieving the vital objectives set by the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of the Boston Global Forum, introduced the BGF and Active Inference Institute Initiative: “Principled AI for Societal Well-Being: Informed by Neuroscience and Natural Systems” – Advancing Human-Centered AI through Integration with Natural Systems and Neuroscience: Toward Policy and Societal Well-Being. It is an AI Framework for SDG.
by Editor | Nov 19, 2023 | News
On November 17, 2023, the Boston Global Forum marked a significant occasion by officially publishing the book titled “From the Massachusetts Miracle to the Age of Global Enlightenment” in celebration of Governor Michael Dukakis’s 90th birthday. Governor Dukakis, the co-founder and Chair of the Boston Global Forum, received contributions from distinguished leaders and thinkers, including Former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Bosnia & Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdzija, former President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Japanese Minister Sanae Takaichi, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Father of the Internet Vint Cerf, MIT professor Nazli Choucri, and Harvard professors Thomas Patterson and David Silbersweig. The book’s completion and official publication on November 17, 2023, coincided with a meeting between Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of BGF, and Joseph Caristena at the Excelsior Palace Hotel in Taormina, Italy, a significant location as it hosted the G7 meeting in 2017. Notably, BGF contributed a special report, the BGF-G7 Summit Initiative Taormina Plan, to the G7-Summit in 2017, focusing on preventing cyber conflicts and addressing fake news. During meeting with Joseph Caristena, discussions were held regarding the AIWS City.
Please read or download the book at:
Interactive version: https://bostonglobalforum.org/books/dukakis/
Compress version: https://bostonglobalforum.org/books/dukakis/FROM_THE_MASSACHUSETTS_MIRACLE_TO_THE_AGE_OF_GLOBAL_ENLIGHTENMENT.pdf
Non-compress version: https://bostonglobalforum.org/books/dukakis/FROM_THE_MASSACHUSETTS_MIRACLE_TO_THE_AGE_OF_GLOBAL_ENLIGHTENMENT_HD.pdf
Cover of the book
A page of the book
by Editor | Nov 19, 2023 | News
AIWS City made its way to the Mediterranean Area on November 17 and 18, 2023. During this time, Joseph Caristena, the Founder of the Mediterranean Academy of Cultural Diplomacy, engaged in discussions with Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of BGF, at the iconic Excelsior Palace Hotel in Taormina, Italy. This historic hotel served as the venue for the G7 presidents during the G7 Summit in 2017. The meeting extended to locations in Catania and Syracuse. At the discussion, Mr. Joseph Caristena and the Mediterranean Academy of Cultural Diplomacy expressed their commitment to contributing to and collaborating with the AI World Society Initiative of BGF in the Mediterranean Area. The focus is on implementing and deploying AIWS City, including the Global Enlightenment Mountain, Peace and Security, Concert Hall, and Global Enlightenment Art and Music.
Nguyen Anh Tuan and Joseph Caristena at Excelsior Palace Hotel, Taormina, Italy, Nov 17, 2023
by Editor | Nov 13, 2023 | News
Minh Nguyen is the Editor of the Boston Global Forum and a Shinzo Abe Initiative Fellow. She writes the Four Pillars column in the BGF Weekly newsletter.
In the Israel-Hamas War, the IDF has encircled Gaza City and is seeking to breach al-Shifa Hospital, where Hamas’ military headquarters was assessed to be. The US has urged Israel to open a humanitarian corridor from Gaza to the south of the strip, leading to a daily 4-hour pause to allow civilians to evacuate. In the broader Middle East, the US has begun retaliating attacks from Iranian proxies with airstrikes.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a World Leader for Peace and Security Award recipient, outlined five principles for Gaza after the war: “No safe haven for terrorists, No Hamas-led government, No long-term Israeli security presence, No forced displacement of Palestinians, No sustained blockade.”
The EC in the past week also produced a report on EU enlargement. They recommended starting accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and candidate status for Georgia. This is additionally symbolic for Ukraine, whose Euromaidan Revolution (and its subsequent events) was started with then-President Yanukovych reneging on a trade deal with the EU ten years ago.
In the process of revamping and reevaluating its military bureaucracy, Germany has asserted that it needs to step up and become the “backbone of deterrence and collective defense in Europe,” in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and recent global upheavals. The report reflects Zeitenwende, the German policy shift in 2022.
In Asia-Pacific, tensions in the South China Sea continue to simmer between China and the Philippines. Chinese Coast Guard vessels harassed a Filipino resupplying mission near Ayungin Shoal. In response, the EU, Germany, and Five Eyes have voiced support for the Philippines and international maritime law.
John Thys/AFP/Getty Images | European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on November 8, 2023.
