The Boston Global Forum honored President Vaira Vike-Freiberga with the World Leader for Peace and Security Award 2019. She also is a member of the Boston Global Forum’s Board of Thinkers.
Australian Senator Kimberley Kitching, co-chair of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), had a very impressive speech at Democratic Alliance on Digital Governance Conference – Protecting and Strengthening Democracy in the aftermath of COVID-19 July 1, 2020, organized by the Boston Global Forum.
She criticized Chinese leaders for using sanctions and other economic attacks as weapons to attack countries that criticize China in the pandemic, such as making economy of Australia difficult after the Australian government asked to investigate COVID-19. She also shared unfair responses of Chinese leaders when Australian leaders asked for dialog.
China is a real peril and danger to peace and security around the world.
Political messaging can have a huge impact on public responses to crises. In the US, academics warn that divisions between Republican and Democratic lawmakers are wrecking efforts to contain the virus. Now, a new AI tool has shown just how fractured their rhetoric has been.
Researchers from Ohio State University trained the algorithm to guess which political party members of Congress belonged to by analyzing their tweets about the pandemic. It correctly identified their party 76% of the time, according to their study.
The AI scanned all 30,887 tweets that current members of Congress wrote about COVID-19, from the first one on January 17 to March 31. Notably, the polarization wasn’t evident at the start of the outbreak.
In the week following the first mention of COVID-19, the algorithm struggled to determine whether a Republican or a Democrat had written the tweets. But its accuracy rapidly improved as the parties diverged in their responses to the pandemic.
“We found that once the parties started to figure out the political implications of the issue, polarization was evident in the tweets pretty quickly,” said study co-author Jon Green.
The AI found that Democrats discussed the crisis more frequently than GOP politicians. In total, they sent 19,803 tweets about COVID-19, while Republicans only sent out 11,084. This gap widened as the pandemic engulfed the US.
The two parties also used vastly different language to discuss the pandemic. Democrats placed greater emphasis on threats to public health and workers, whereas Republicans were more focused on China and businesses — and often framed the pandemic as a war.
According to Artificial Intelligence World Society Innovation Network (AIWS.net), AI can be an important tool to serve and strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. In this effort, AIWS.net invites participation and collaboration with think tanks, universities, non-profits, companies, and other entities that share its commitment to the constructive and development of AI, especially in Covid-19 pandemic.
Press Release, Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation
Boston, July 1, 2020
Technology policy expert Marc Rotenberg will join the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation to launch a new Center on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy.
“We are thrilled that Marc Rotenberg is joining us,” said Governor Michael Dukakis. “We have worked with Marc over the last several years. We are all very impressed by his breadth of knowledge and his passionate commitment to fundamental rights and democratic governance.”
In 2018, Governor Dukakis called for a Global Accord on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and co-founded the AI World Society. Governor Dukakis also coauthored, “The concepts of AI-Government” and “Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security.” Governor Dukakis works closely with many international organizations.
The Center on AI and Digital Policy, directed by Marc Rotenberg, will promote the new Democratic Alliance on Digital Governance and assess country practices for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy. Marc recently led global campaigns to establish a human rights framework for AI and to seek a moratorium on face surveillance.
“Marc’s global leadership on AI policy is widely admired,” said Dukakis Institute co-founder and Director Nguyen Anh Tuan. “We share a common commitment to safeguard democracy as new technologies emerge.”
Tuan is recognized globally for his pivotal role as a Vietnam Government reformer. He successfully fostered freedom-of-expression, vigorous open debate and private enterprise in Vietnam. Tuan launched the first Internet Service Provider in Vietnam and founded Vietnam’s preeminent online newspaper.
“It is an honor to work with Governor Dukakis, Tuan, and the fellows and scholars at the Institute,” said Marc Rotenberg. “We have a lot of work ahead. We must ensure that new technologies — and AI in particular — promote a better world.”
The formal announcement of the Center on AI and Digital Policy will be made at the Institute’s event on July 1st, 2020 – “Democratic Alliance on Digital Governance – Protecting and Strengthening Democracy in the Aftermath of COVID-19.” The event will feature political leaders, scholars, and thinkers from around the world.
About the Michael Dukakis Institute
The Michael Dukakis Institute 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. Led by Chairman Michael Dukakis and Director Nguyen Anh Tuan, the Institute has emerged as a powerful voice in global policy, bringing together world leaders, scientists, thinkers, and innovators. A top priority now for the Institute is the development of a Social Contract that ensures that AI and other technological innovations advance the goals of democratic governance.
Co-founders and Mentors of AIWS.net – Governor Michael Dukakis, Professor Thomaas Patterson (Harvard), Professor Nazli Choucri (MIT), Professor Alex Sandy Pentland (MIT), Professor David Silberweig (Harvard), and Nguyen Anh Tuan – spoke and dialogued at the United Nations Charter Day Roundtable, organized by the United Nations Academic Impact to celebrate the 75-year anniversary of UN Charter Day. The roundtable was moderated by Ramu Damodaran, Chief of UN Academic Impact and Editor in Chief of UN Chronicle Magazine. Panelists presented the Social Contract 2020, A New Social Contract in the Age of AI and Intellectual Society.
This is a good foundation for a better world with peace, security, intelligence, and effectiveness in 2045 when the United Nations turns 100.
There were experts and journalists that attend and dialog, such as Ms. Ta Bich Loan, Chief of Vietnam National Television 3 (VTV3), Allan Cytryn, former CTO of Goldman Sachs, Barry Nolan 6 times Emmy Awards, Mariko Gakiya, Llewellyn King (White House Chronicle), Pham Trong Nghia, Vietnam National Assembly, Miyuki Inoue (Asahi), Anh Nguyen (VietNamNet), and others.
Ramu Damodaran wrote on his Twitter: “a fascinating event”.
