by Editor | Jul 7, 2024 | News
On July 8, 2022, the world was shocked and saddened by the tragic assassination of Japan’s former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. In the two years since this devastating event, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) has honored his legacy through the Shinzo Abe Initiative for Peace and Security. Launched on July 10, 2022, shortly after his untimely death, this initiative aims to advance global peace, security, and stability through collaborative efforts and innovative solutions.
The Shinzo Abe Initiative for Peace and Security was established to:
- Promote Global Peace: Foster dialogue and cooperation among nations to resolve conflicts and promote peace.
- Enhance Security: Develop strategies and frameworks to address global security challenges, including cyber threats and geopolitical tensions.
- Encourage Innovation: Support technological advancements that contribute to global stability and security.
Key Results and Impacts
In the two years since its inception, the Shinzo Abe Initiative has achieved significant milestones, including three Shinzo Abe Conferences held at Harvard University and in Tokyo in 2022, 2023, and 2024. These conferences produced Shinzo Abe Special Reports on Peace, Security, and new economic development strategies for Japan, emphasizing cooperation among the four pillars: the US, Japan, India, and the EU. Additionally, the initiative has focused on reinventing Silicon Valley for the Age of AI and the AI World Society.
On June 21, 2024, the Boston Global Forum, Shinzo Abe Initiative, and Wilson Center launched the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative, fostering special economic and political relations between the US, Japan, India, and Vietnam. This effort continues Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visionary Indo-Pacific strategy with the support of partners like the Boston Global Forum and Wilson Center. With contributions from distinguished leaders and thinkers, the Indo-Pacific Spark Initiative aims to make significant strides in promoting peace, security, and development.
The Boston Global Forum remains dedicated to advancing the ideals and vision of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, ensuring that his legacy continues to inspire efforts toward a more peaceful and secure world.
Shinzo Abe first talked of the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific region at the 2016 Tokyo International Conference on African Development. © Reuters
by Editor | Jul 7, 2024 | News
Amma will be visiting the United States from July 4 – August 11, in her first international tour since 2019. Amma will be conducting free public programmes in every city on her tour schedule. The programmes include a meditation guided by Amma, spiritual discourses by Amma and her disciples, bhajans (devotional singing) led by Amma in a call and response format, and the opportunity to meet Amma personally and receive her darshan (embrace).
Amma will also be holding spiritual retreats in a number of cities. The retreats offer a transformative opportunity to immerse oneself in Amma’s presence over three days, and include additional programs like a question-and-answer session with Amma, classes with Amma’s disciples and devotees on bhajans, meditation, yoga, and service opportunities.
https://amma.org/news/announcing-ammas-2024-us-tour/
https://us.amma.org/meeting-amma/ammas-north-america-tour
by Editor | Jul 1, 2024 | News
There were some “events” so to say that did happen this week… but we don’t cover electoral politics that aren’t end results, we will leave that to the analysts and experts in that field. Plus, there are still other Pillars to discuss.
The theme of US-India cooperation has been a recurring piecemeal theme in recent editions of Four Pillars, and it appears yet again this week. Rumor from the grapevines has it that the two Pillars are discussing cooperation on co-production of Javelin anti-tank missiles. In recent conflicts, this weapons system entered the popular consciousness through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ usage of it against the Russian invasion. I will not waste too many words since we have analyzed these kind of cooperation in recent editions, but it is great to see continued work between these two Pillars, as the Indo-Pacific region continue to slowly boil into live conflict with rising tensions,
The EU, one of the Pillars, held a summit over the week after the European Parliamentary elections, partially to confirm the next batch of the bloc’s top bureaucrats and leaders, and also to convene the 27 member states to discuss ongoing issues within Europe and abroad, from defense to the bloc’s competitiveness. Ursula von der Leyen, BGF Peace and Security Award 2020 Recipient and the incumbent European Commissioner, secured her second term in the position, and will be joined by Estonian PM Kaja Kallas as EU Foreign Policy chief and former Portuguese PM Antonio Costa as European Council President. Also confirmed but separate from the EU appointments was Dutch PM Mark Rutte set to become the next NATO Secretary General, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg.
This EU gathering also marked the beginning of accession talks for Moldova and Ukraine, as announced by the EU earlier in the month. Ukraine signed security agreements with Poland and the EU, similar to the one Zelenskyy signed with the US at the G7 Summit. This is good in ensuring support for Ukraine in their struggle against not just Russia, but the alliance of Russia-China-North Korea, and thus a struggle against the backslide into global authoritarianism and an international state of nature.
Article of the week – America falters in fighting the information war [Axios]
(AP Photo / Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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.
by Editor | Jul 1, 2024 | Event Updates, News
On June 26, the Nha Trang Government inaugurated the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club, marking a significant milestone for the city’s youth empowerment initiatives. The ceremony was graced by Mr. Ho Van Mung, Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Nha Trang City Party Committee, along with Mayor Nguyen Sy Khanh. Among the distinguished guests were Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of the Boston Global Forum, and Mr. Yasuhide Nakayama, Former Foreign State Minister of Japan and member of the Boston Global Forum’s Board of Executives. The Nha Trang City Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club aims to harness scientific research and foster innovative startup activities through collaboration with individuals and organizations. Central to its mission is the cultivation of creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation among union members, teenagers, pupils, and students. The club seeks to operationalize the “Creative Youth” movement and support the “Accompanying Young People in Business Startups” program, facilitated by the Central Youth Union. It also aims to provide a platform for city youth and union members to converge, learn, exchange ideas, and foster entrepreneurial endeavors. During the launch event, union members and young participants engaged in lively discussions with invited delegates, focusing on startup ventures and innovation initiatives. International delegates from the Boston Global Forum shared insights and experiences, enriching the dialogue with their perspectives on global entrepreneurship trends. At the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of BGF, delivered an inspiring message to the people of Nha Trang, emphasizing that every citizen is an innovator. He presented a symbolic Boston-Nha Trang picture, a gift from Governor Michael Dukakis, Chair of BGF, to the government and people of Nha Trang City, symbolizing the strong ties and shared aspirations between the two cities. Looking ahead, the Boston Global Forum and AI World Society have pledged their support to nurture youth innovators within the club, facilitating access to AIWS ideas and connections within the Boston innovation community. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to fostering innovation and empowering the next generation of leaders in Nha Trang City.
https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202406/ra-mat-cau-lac-bo-khoi-nghiep-va-sang-tao-tre-thanh-pho-nha-trang-e310116/
by Editor | Jul 1, 2024 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance
This article was originally published in The Hill.
There’s been a great deal of talk in Congress about regulating AI, but most of the legislative action is happening at the state level. If America is to lead the AI charge and create a stable environment for this tech to reach its enormous potential, Congress must think about something else: preemption.
Earlier this year, Tennessee passed the ELVIS Act to protect recording artists’ names, images and voices from AI-generated deepfakes. Colorado passed a law which will require businesses of all sizes in the state, as well as many AI model developers outside of the state, to conduct “algorithmic impact assessments” on racial, political, religious and other biases within their models.
But the most ambitious is California’s still-pending law, which would create a new administrative agency to oversee the development of the AI models themselves. Because the bill applies to any model “distributed” in California, and because any AI model generally available on the internet is distributed everywhere, this new agency would, in a practical sense, have jurisdiction over all AI models produced in the U.S.
Some who rightfully worry about the impact of AI on society might cheer on such forceful legislation, believing that the U.S. is “behind” the European Union in regulating it. But these people should think twice: AI regulation is not a race, and taking a few steps down the wrong regulatory path may leave us stuck there for a long time. It’s more important to regulate correctly than quickly.
Congress should therefore use preemption to put the brakes on misguided state attempts to regulate AI models.
Through preemption, the federal government reserves specific areas of lawmaking to itself. It already does this with many technologies, such as smartphones, because a patchwork of state laws for such products would create undue challenges in producing things we all rely upon.
While states should have a right to pass many AI laws — for example, policing AI-enabled deepfakes or fraud — the models themselves should be handled at the federal level, if they are regulated at all. Otherwise, the complexity of complying with as many as 50 model standards may deter investment in an important technology that China and other nations will fully exploit if we do not.
Congress has a few preemption options. It could simply restrict states from limiting the distribution of models on the internet. Many AI models are released as “open-weight,” meaning that the underlying numbers that define the model’s capabilities are freely available for download. Although it may sound crazy, this decades-old open-source model has produced trillions of dollars in economic value for the global economy.
Open-source undergirds the “permission-less” nature of software innovation. Because anyone can share ideas without permission from a regulator or other centralized body, innovation proceeds much faster and more flexibly. If Congress were to restrict states from impinging on this concept, many state-based model regulations — such as licensing regimes, agency preapprovals and similar approaches — would be preempted.
Another option would be to preempt state efforts to create novel liability regimes for AI.
California’s proposal, for example, assumes that any sufficiently damaging act enabled by an AI model — even if AI was only one tool among many — is the model developer’s responsibility, rather than the sole responsibility of the person who committed the act. This is the equivalent of holding Apple responsible for things people do with their MacBooks or iPhones.
Congress could create a much more reasonable nationwide liability standard: a rebuttable presumption that users rather than developers are responsible for misuse of AI models.
Finally, Congress could reserve the responsibility of setting technical standards to federal agencies such as the National Institute for Standards and Technology. NIST already houses the U.S. AI Safety Institute, which is dedicated to setting safety and evaluation standards for advanced AI models. No state could be expected to have similar technical expertise, so it would be logical for Congress to keep this duty with the federal government.
In all likelihood, the ideal preemption law would contain some combination of these three approaches. Some argue that bills like California’s are essential because Congress refuses to act. But the Senate’s bipartisan AI Roadmap rebuts this criticism. It explicitly downplays new regulatory regimes in favor of applying existing laws to specific applications of AI.
Furthermore, neither presidential candidate has made regulating AI models a campaign priority. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that federal policymakers have deliberately chosen not to pursue model-based regulations for fear that they would harm American innovation.
AI presents many unanswered and profound questions. Answering them will take time. As that process plays out, Congress should not let one state decide our technological future.
