The AIWS Leadership Program, held from August 18-22, 2024, at Harvard University Faculty Club, was a resounding success under the guidance of Harvard Professor Thomas Patterson, Co-Founder and Research Director of Boston Global Forum (BGF) and Michael Dukakis Institute. The program empowered young leaders to dedicate themselves to building an AI World Society (AIWS) and contributing to the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative for Peace and Security.
Participants had the honor of visiting Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-founder and Chair of BGF, at his home. Governor Dukakis inspired the young leaders to contribute to a humanity-centered, innovative, and prosperous world with AI, based on the concepts of AIWS. The young leaders expressed deep admiration, respect, and appreciation for Governor Dukakis’s lifetime dedication and historical achievements in public service.
The graduates of the AIWS Leadership Program are now committed to fostering AI-driven advancements for global peace and security, as envisioned by the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative.
In lieu of a full analysis article, here are some interesting issues and topics in the Four Pillars space in the past week, some articles are long-form, some just news worth keeping an eye on:
Minh Nguyen is the Chief Editor of the Boston Global Forum and a Shinzo Abe Initiative Fellow. She writes the Four Pillars column in the BGF Weekly newsletter.
The AIWS Leadership Program August 2024 will take place at Harvard University Faculty Club, August 18-22, 2024, led by Harvard professor Thomas Patterson, Co-Founder and Research Director of Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute.
Other speakers include BGF CEO and Co-Founder Nguyen Anh Tuan; Harvard professors Mark Esposito and Sharad Goel; MIT professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland, BGF Board Member; Jeevan Ramapriya, Executive Director, Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment; Emilian Papadopoulos, President, Good Harbor.
This program entails the following themes and topics:
Communication & Persuasion in the AI Age
Building Advocacy in Times of Thinking Machines
AI for Companies
Building Global Brand Names in the AI Age
Global Trade Opportunities – the Case of Massachusetts
The Science and Implications of Generative AI
Cyber Security: Emerging Risks and What to Do About Them
More than ever, there is a need for collective global action to ensure that AI benefits humanity. While many are deliberating about smaller-scale AI policies or issues, BGF is developing the Knowledge Platform for AI, which is built on the foundational concepts of the Social Contract for the AI Age and AI World Society. This platform will serve as the basis for Boston Areti AI, an AI virtue assistant designed to assist leaders in making ethical and effective decisions across various sectors, including politics, economy, public policy, and social governance.
BAI is not just an AI tool; it represents a significant practical application of AIWS principles, aiming to create a moral and ethical framework that guides AI development and usage. BAI is a critical component of the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative, which explores a potential robust network in the Indo-Pacific region, independent from authoritarian actors like China and Russia, with a focus on innovation, peace, security and ethical AI integration.
The Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative, in collaboration with the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, aims to explore collaboration across the US, Japan, India, Vietnam, and the broader Indo-Pacific region. By leveraging BAI, this initiative can help foster collaboration, innovation, and ethical AI practices among like-minded countries, thereby setting a standard for global AI governance.
The BGF and I ask that anyone with a stake in the future of AI join this groundbreaking project. The collaboration and participation of various stakeholders will be crucial in ensuring that BAI and the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative achieve their goals of promoting peace, security innovation, and prosperity in the AI Age.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, BGF CEO
For more information or to get involved, please contact Tuan at [email protected].
The “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” concept, envisioned and advocated by the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, remains one of the most critical strategic frameworks in geopolitics today. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Mr. Abe Shinzo’s birth, and the Friends of Abe Shinzo Association in Taiwan will host a memorial event and a book launch of “Memoirs of Abe Shinzo” on September 20. This occasion Friends of Abe Shinzo Association in Taiwan will honor Mr. Abe’s contributions to the friendship between Taiwan and Japan, and his influence on regional peace.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, BGF CEO and co-founder of Shinzo Abe Initiative, will attend this event.
Venue: Taipei Grand Hotel, Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan
Alondra Nelson, the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and the 2024 World Leader in AIWS Award Recipient, spoke at the Black Women & Allies in Tech for Harris Zoom call on August 18, 2024. Dr. Nelson had served as Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She shared: “I am excited to be a speaker as we Black Women and Allies in Tech 4 Harris champion Kamala Harris’ historic candidacy to be our next President.”
Despite all the reporting of Ukraine’s shortages in munitions and manpower, the besieged country continues to create surprises on the battlefield. Rather than just continue duking it out on the static fronts in the south and east of Ukraine, they have opted for an incursion into Russian territory itself. Kursk oblast, which played host to the infamous tank battle in the namesake city in WWII, now sees battle between two conventional armies yet again 80 years later. Although the final results of the offensive are not yet clear, the fact that Ukraine was able to capture Russian territory with few difficulties (definitely fewer than the current trench warfare in Donbas) demonstrates that there’s still a way for Ukraine to win this war: it is not a matter of will, but a matter of way – aid and support. Thus, not to sound like a broken record, but it is important that the Four Pillars continue to support Ukraine’s struggle, even if apathy continues to set in amongst domestic audiences. “First Ukraine, then the Baltics and Poland,” this mantra reveals the potential calamity for Europe, a Pillar, and also global security more broadly. Conviction and firmness in backing Ukraine, rather than piecemeal aid to merely slow-bleed Russia, can show both Russia and China about the graveness of the Pillars in opposing global authoritarianism and bad-faith actors that threaten the rules-based order.
Articles of interest for this week include (chronological by most recent):
A makeshift memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers is seen in Kyiv on July 23. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
Minh Nguyen is the Chief Editor of the Boston Global Forum and a Shinzo Abe Initiative Fellow. She writes the Four Pillars column in the BGF Weekly newsletter.
On September 2, 2024, Mark Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, and Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of Boston Global Forum, will co-moderate a Roundtable of the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative. Titled “Indo-Pacific for Peace, Love, and Innovation in the AI Age,” this event will foster collaboration between key cities—Boston, Nha Trang, Tokyo, and Bengaluru—to explore how these regions can collectively drive innovation and contribute to global peace and prosperity in the AI Age. Distinguished figures from the US, Japan, India, and Vietnam will participate, sharing insights and strategies to enhance economic, technological, and social cooperation.
This Roundtable is part of the broader partnership between Boston Global Forum and the Wilson Center, seeking to explore and push avenues of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific between the US, Japan, India, and Vietnam, for a more peaceful and secure region and world. Topics of importance include AI development, tech ecosystems, and trade.
For more information or to express interest in joining the Roundtable, please contact the Chief of Staff of BGF-Wilson Center joint team at [email protected].
At the Boston Global Forum conference “Governing the Future: AI, Democracy and Humanity” on April 30, 2024, Harvard University’s Loeb House, MIT Professor Nazli Choucri, BGF Board Member, emphasized the growing importance of knowledge in the era of Artificial Intelligence. In her presentation, Professor Choucri highlighted how AI is not just a technological advancement but a driving force behind the transition to a knowledge-based economy. She pointed out that AI’s capacity to enhance value-added activities, particularly in knowledge-intensive sectors such as law and medicine, is transforming how we approach economic development and sustainability.
Prof. Choucri stressed that the shift toward a knowledge economy, supported by AI, can significantly accelerate sustainable development. Unlike previous industrial transitions that often involved disruptive or destructive processes, she advocated for “creative instruction” rather than “creative destruction.” This approach suggests that AI should be harnessed not merely for efficiency but for fostering innovation and intellectual growth.
A significant portion of her address focused on the Knowledge Platform for AI, a new initiative launched by the BGF and AI World Society. Professor Choucri discussed how this platform is designed to be a core component in nurturing a knowledge-based economy. The platform aims to leverage AI to promote innovation and sustainable practices across various sectors, including law, medicine, and governance. By doing so, it seeks to align technological advancements with societal needs, ensuring that AI serves as a tool for the public good.
