Thank you to the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid and Boston Global Forum for inviting me to deliver some introductory remarks to this timely and important event on the theme – Transatlantic Approaches on Digital Governance: A New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
I’m speaking to you from my home city of Melbourne, where more than 5 million people are living under a strict lockdown as we grapple with an outbreak of the COVID-19 infection.
At the moment we have a 9pm to 5am curfew.
We cannot go outdoors for more than one hour a day to exercise, one trip to do essential shopping, nor can we travel more than 5 kilometers from our homes.
Nearly all businesses and community facilities are closed.
I know many of you have had similar experiences in your home cities over the course of this extraordinary year.
The impact of this global pandemic has been felt by all of us, and all of our lives have been changed by it.
We have learned some very important lessons this year.
We have learned that community still matters.
We have learned that solidarity still matters.
We have learned, or been reminded, that individual freedom has to be balanced against the common good.
We have learned that government still matters, and that competent government matters a great deal.
We have learned that transparency is better than concealment.
We have learned to value our health-care workers, and that cutting spending on public health is a false economy.
Most of all, we have learned that facts matter; that truth matters; that accurate and timely information matters.
More concretely, we have learned that science matters.
Science holds the key to understanding the multiple challenges posed by COVID-19, to responding effectively to those challenges – and ultimately – to defeating COVID-19 and saving the lives of millions of people.
That’s why it’s so timely that you are meeting – thanks to the wonders of contact-free global conversation – to discuss the role of science and technology in responding to the challenges of our century, of which the COVID-19 pandemic will not be the last.
We have had transnational and even global pandemics before.
We had plague, smallpox and cholera.
A hundred years ago we had the so-called Spanish Flu.
Nearly forty years ago we saw the advent of HIV/AIDS.
But while this is not the first global pandemic, it is the first pandemic in a globalised world.
It is the first pandemic in the era of the smartphone, of social media, of instantaneous global information and disinformation.
When Mark Twain wrote that “a lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots” he could not have known how true that would be in the year 2020.
Perhaps the most important challenge we face is how to prevent the wonderful technologies we now possess being misused; being put at the service of lies and propaganda and the promotion of hate-filled conspiracy theories.
The pandemic will elicit an examination of the social contract – what is the volonté générale, or the mens una, or have the inputs for utilitarian outcomes shifted?
We may need to examine whether the freedoms and rights that the citizenry of a western liberal democracy has traditionally enjoyed and that have been given up by the citizenry during the last few months will be altered, and whether there will be a ceding of those rights and freedoms to governments, given the course of this pandemic and the fact that no society can guarantee that we can be free of another wave, or indeed, another pandemic.
And in this century we may also face an examination of innate human morality and the foundation that that provides in a society, balanced against an artificial intelligence.
But the post-COVID world will not be the pre-COVID world.
We can never go back to life as it was in 2019, as individuals, as communities or as nations.
The challenge facing all of us, as leaders, as legislators, as policy-makers, as shapers of public opinion, is to see that all these lessons are learned, that truth prevails over propaganda and science over mythology.
Science has given us the technology we need to defeat not only COVID-19, but all of the multiple challenges we face.
What we need now is the political will to use it effectively.
Thank you, and all the best for your discussion over the next two days.
Democratic former Heads of State and Government, Members of Club de Madrid, current Government representatives, experts and renowned scholars will analyse global challenges and offer actionable policy solutions at a transatlantic and multi-stakeholder Policy Lab on the Social Contract for the AIAge, a new social contract on digital technologies and artificial intelligence
Madrid, 10 September 2020. In the midst of the current COVID-19 global health emergency, has impacted all spheres of life, humanity has turned to digital technologies and artificial intelligence to face impending challenges. From remote working to financial services and medical equipment, the extent to which we now depend on technology is increasing at a staggering rate. Hospitals are using robots to disinfect rooms, governments have become reliant on complex databases to curb the virus’ spread, and programmers have designed phone apps from which we can remotely control outbreaks. Under the present circumstances, technology seems to be an ally rather than a foe. Still, increasing concern from governments, academics and civil society that this technological transformation may be outpacing policy, must not be overlooked.
To debate these challenges, this forthcoming Policy Lab will convene over 10 former democratic Heads of State and Government (all Members of Club de Madrid) Manuel Muñiz, Secretary of State for Global Spain, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, as well as world class experts like computer scientist and father of the Internet, Vint Cerf, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, MIT Professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, Governor Michael Dukakis, Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States (1988), professors of Harvard, MIT, and top universities. Together, participants will lend their experience-based critical judgement to pioneering discussions which seek, among other priorities, to identify ways of engaging different sectors of society in grounding policymaking while protecting the democratic mandate.
Safeguarding citizen rights has become imperative since technology grants substantial power to those who control it. For instance, the technology being used to track citizen movements could potentially pose a violation of privacy rights if misused or left at the hands of non-democratic governments. New communication channels have also been contributing to the rapid spread of fake news about COVID-19, which has generated disinformation and increased confusion.
All in all, the rapid rollout of digital technologies and AI beyond the control of states poses a global challenge never seen before, which is why we should not set global, regional and national standards of digital governance without the participation of all societal actors. In this sense, debates from this Policy Lab on “TheSocial Contract for the AI Age”, the first social contract in the digital, Internet and AI era, a platform for connection among governments, stakeholders, and private and public institutions, and for balancing centers of power, initiated by the Boston Global Forum, will pay particular attention to insights presented by government representatives, academic institutions, think tanks, tech companies and civil society.
By comparing American and European approaches in the creation of a new social contract on digitalisation, with the foresight of former democratic presidents and prime ministers, this discussion will generate a space to encourage and strengthen transatlantic cooperation around digital governance, in the framework of much needed multilateral reforms and urgent global responses to global challenges like the COVID-19 crisis. The dialogue will also serve as a platform to establish a Transatlantic Alliance for Digital Governance and the AIWS City, an all-digital virtual city based on the standards and norms of “the Social Contract for the AI Age”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy” and “Intellectual Society”. Lastly, the policy discussion aims to discuss the creation of an initiative to monitor governments as well as companies in using AI and to generate an AI Ethics Index at all levels.
REGISTRATION AND FURTHER INFORMATION
Join us in this Policy Lab “Transatlantic Approaches to Digital Governance: A New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” to be held between 16-18 September.
World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid (WLA-CdM) is the largest assembly of political leaders working to strengthen democratic values, good governance and the well-being of citizens across the globe. As a non-profit, non-partisan, international organization, its network is composed of more than 100 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from over 70 countries, together with a global body of advisors and expert practitioners, who offer their voice and agency on a pro bono basis, to today’s political, civil society leaders and policymakers. WLA-CdM responds to a growing demand for trusted advice in addressing the challenges involved in achieving ‘democracy that delivers’, building bridges, bringing down silos and promoting dialogue for the design of better policies for all. This alliance, providing the experience, access and convening power of its Members, represents an independent effort towards sustainable development, inclusion and peace, not bound by the interest or pressures of institutions and governments.
In 2019 the WLA-CdM launched a ‘Call to Action’ to promote a democratic approach to Digital Transformation and the Future of Democracy, developed during its 2019 Annual Policy Dialogue, whereby it invites world leaders to take proactive action to frame the development of digital technologies in an inclusive, fair and rights-based legal, political and social framework.
The Boston Global Forum (BGF) is a not-for-profit think tank based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is to bring together, in an open and accessible public forum, an eclectic and engaging spectrum of esteemed academic leaders, real-world experts, thought leaders, media experts and promising young leaders, who are dedicated to seeking peaceful solutions to the most contentious issues of our times. An offshoot of The Boston Global Forum, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) was born in 2015. Its mission is to generate ideas, create solutions, and deploy initiatives to solve global issues, especially initiatives in Cybersecurity and AI World Society Innovation Network (AIWS-IN)
The Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS) is a set of values, ideas, concepts and protocols for standards and norms whose goal is to advance the peaceful development of AI to improve the quality of life for all humanity. It was conceived by the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) and established on November 22, 2017. Read more here.
CONTACT
Further details of WLA-CdM are available by contacting Agustina Briano, Outreach and Development Coordinator of WLA-CdM: [email protected]
Further details of BGF and AIWS are available by contacting Tuan Anh Nguyen, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Boston Global Forum, and Director of The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation: [email protected]
For press credentials please contact Dick Pirozzolo: [email protected] / +16179594613
For press inquiries and/or interview requests of WLA-CdM Members, please reach Alejandro Hita, Communications Manager of WLA-CdM: [email protected] / +34607694354
President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Latvia and World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid
Additional Signatories
Vint Cerf, Father of Internet, Google, Nazli Choucri, MIT,
Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Tuan Anh Nguyen, Boston Global Forum, Thomas Patterson, Harvard University,
Alex Pentland, MIT, Marc Rotenberg, CAIDP, David Silbersweig, Harvard University
I. A New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The term “artificial intelligence” refers to the development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, language translation, and self-driving cars. Advances in AI have already altered conventional ways of seeing the world around us. This is creating new realities for everyone – as well as new possibilities.
These advances in AI are powerful in many ways. They have created a new global ecology and yet remain opaque and need to be better understood. Advances in AI raise policy issues that must be assessed. We must now focus through dialogue, tolerance, learning and understanding on key principles and practices for an agreement among members of society for shared social benefit that we call the Social Contract for the AI Age.
The expansion of Artificial Intelligence is widely recognized and could change our lives in ways yet unimagined. At the same time, without guidelines or directives, the undisciplined use of AI poses risks to the wellbeing of individuals and creates possibilities for economic, political, social, and criminal exploitation.
The international community recognizes the challenges and opportunities, as well as the problems and perils, of AI. Many countries have announced national strategies to promote the proper use and development of AI. These strategies set out common goals such as:
Scientific research, funding and culture,
Sustainable development, and inclusive growth
Skills, education, and talent development
Public and private sector adoption,
Fairness, transparency, and accountability
Ethics, values and inclusion,
Reliability, security and privacy,
Science-policy links,
Standards, human control and regulations
Data and digital infrastructure.
AI is also the focus of foreign policy and international cooperation. There is a shared view that no country will be able to compete or meet the needs of its citizens without increasing its AI capacity. As well, many countries are now engaged in technology leapfrogging. It is no longer expected, nor necessary, to replicate the stages of economic development of the West—one phase at a time.
In a world as diverse as the one today, there are few mechanisms for responding to such possibilities on a global scale. Social Contract for the AI Age is designed to establish a common understanding for policy and practices, anchored in general principles to help maximise the “good” and minimise the “bad” associated with AI. Derived from the 18th century concept of a social contract—an agreement among the members of society to cooperate for social benefits—Social Contract for the AI Age is focuses on the conditions of the 21st century. It is a response to artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and high-speed computation.
Foundations
Just as earlier social contracts helped shape societies for a common purpose, the Social Contract for the AI Age has a transformative vision, one that transcends the technological features of artificial intelligence and seeks to provide foundations for a new society. Consider, for example, how the Covid-19 pandemic urgently requires a new society with new structure and order, approach — new ways to share data and coordinate action, accelerated social reliance on digital service across businesses, education, and government services. The Social Contract for the AI Age would create standards for a new international system. It focuses on the conduct of each nation, relations with international business and not for profit entities, and the cooperation of nations. Just as TCP / IP is the platform for communication among internet users, the Social Contract for AI Age is a platform for connection among governments, stakeholders, and private and public institutions.
Objectives
The Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to build a multi-stakeholder, inclusive society in all aspects of life across politics, government, economics, business, and industry. The Social Contract for the AI Age values creation, innovation, philanthropy, and mutual respect. It seeks the right of freedom on, and access to, the Internet worldwide. The Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to make the world a locus of responsible interaction—a place where every person’s contribution is recognized and everyone has a right to knowledge and access to information, where no one is above the law, where money cannot be used to subvert political process, and where integrity, knowledge, creativity, honesty, and tolerance shape decisions and guide policy.
In short, the Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to build a world where all are recognized and valued, and all forms of governance adhere to a set of values and are accountable and transparent. It is a world where global challenges are met by collective action and responsibility.
II. Principles
Extensive and appropriate AI application to politics, governments, society, and businesses can create a Smart Democracy. The Social Contract for the AI Age creates a platform for a Smart Democracy society, and a new global supply chain, named Supply Chain 2020. As a framework for society in the AI age, the Social Contract 2020 is based on balancing power among governments, businesses, civil society, individuals, and AI assistants. The Social Contract for the AI Age is a commitment to protect property, common values, and collective norms.
(1) AI must respect fundamental human rights such as human dignity, rule of law, and privacy protection.
(2) AI systems must be considered from a multi-stakeholder perspective — for the individual and for society as a whole
(3) The Social Contract for the AI Age is a basis to achieve sustainable and inclusive development for a global community that is fair, equitable, and prosperous. It is designed to apply the concept of a people-centered economy and to create a trustworthy AI, data, and Internet ecosystem for work and life.
(4) The Social Contract for the AI Age should be transparent and accountable, and follow standards based on policies driven by trustworthy data. The UN Sustainable Development Goals data metrics and the World Economic Forum Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics, should provide citizens and organizations with reliable data that enables well-informed policy choices.
(5) Communities must have control over their data. Data is the basis of self-determination and provides the ability to measure the impact of actions and policy in the AI realm.
(6) Data literacy at all levels of society, together with open, trustworthy information, is the basis for an intelligent, thoughtful society.
III. Commitments of Stakeholders/ Power Centers
(1) Individuals, Citizens, Groups:
Everyone is entitled to basic rights and dignity that are enhanced/promoted by AI.
Data Rights and Responsibilities:
Each individual has the right to privacy and is entitled to access and control over their own data. Individuals have a right to manage their data, individually or collectively, and the right to withhold their data from businesses.
Each individual and each community must have access to a trustworthy AI, data, and Internet ecosystem to create an inclusive, fair, people-centered economy, and society.
Internet Rights:
Each individual has the right to access the Internet and any website or news system without restriction.
Freedom of expression on the Internet is guaranteed.
Secure digital identity allows the individual to know about, and control access to their data.
Education and Political Participation:
Each individual has the right to education through best available venues.
Each individual must have access to education/knowledge/training about the use and impact of AI.
Each individual has the right to unimpeded political participation.
Everyone must have access to due process and fair trial, as well as remediation for injustice.
Responsibility:
Individuals is prohibited from exercising socially disruptive behaviors, such as hacking, disseminating disinformation or online hate.
Individuals must contribute to the common good through appropriate taxes and provision of critical personal information (with appropriate data protection) as, for example, in the collection of census data and voting for public officials
(2) Governments. Governments have a leading role in the Social Contract for the AI Age.
All government should behave responsibly in the management of AI for governance and for interactions with individuals and such behavior must be easily auditable.
All governments implement AI governance policies that respect honesty, transparency, fairness, and accountability. These standards and norms apply in every area of governance and are the basis for collaboration with international communities.
All governments create incentives for citizens to use AI in ways that benefit society (for example each person does good work for society that will be recognized as value, and this value can be exchanged with other values such as financial value, products, services, etc.).
All governments construct a secure, stable, and trustworthy AI, data, and Internet ecosystem for work and life to support the people-centered economy.
All governments ensure that communities are able take control of their data and use AI with their data so that they can manage their community to suit their needs and to create prosperity for themselves and their family.
All governments establish norms, rules and pass laws to ensure AI benefits society.
All governments create secure safety net for citizens in a trustworthy AI, data, and Internet ecosystem for work and life.
All governments protect intellectual property rights without undermining free access to the information commons.
Collaborations between governments:
Norms, values and standards of the Social Contract for theAI Age are designed as connections among governments. To maintain the Social Contract for the AI Age, it is essential for countries to establish a Democratic Alliance for Digital Governance. All governments should work to promote the Democratic Alliance for Digital Governance.
United Nations and International Organizations:
The United Nations should extend international human rights standards for AI, and create a UN Convention on AI and establish a specialized UN Agency on AI
(3)Business Entities. Business operations and related rights come with accountability and responsibility – nationally and internationally. Business must:
Enable independent audits for transparency, fairness, accountability, and cybersecurity.
Adopt common AI values, standards, norms, and data ownership rules with penalties for noncompliance.
Companies will be incentivized to do business only with companies and countries that uphold the Social Contract for the AI Age and endorse Supply Chain 2020.
Collaborate with governments and civil society to help create a people-centered AI, data, and Internet ecosystem, to create trustworthy and relevant data, and to use AI to share wealth with individuals and communities.
(4) Civil Society Organizations & Community. Rights and responsibilities of civil society organizations include:
Monitor governments and firms with respect to common values.
Promote common values, norms, standards, and laws.
Support AI users and assist them to serve the broad interests of society.
Collaborate with governments, business entities, and others to create a people-centered AI, data, and Internet ecosystem for work and life, enabling all people can create meaningful data, value, and create value-based wealth for their community.
Enable data cooperatives—the voluntary collaborative pooling by individuals of their personal data for the benefit of the group or community.
Participate in the making of AI rules and norms.
Enhance civil society become an intelligent, thoughtful civil society based on knowledge, smart data, critical thinking and social responsibility; and through the achievement of data literacy, to become a trusted open-data system, with validated, predictive AI tools that communities to plan their future.
(5) AI Assistants. AI assistants provide an interface to facilitate compliance with established standards.
Support AI users and assist them to serve the broad interests of society.
Engage with other power centers for mutual support and supervision.
Community control: AI assistants should be governed by communities of users.
IV. Implementation. The Social Contract for the AI Age will be implemented as follows:
The promulgation of a Code of Ethics for AI Developers and AI Users.
The creation of a system to monitor and evaluate governments, companies, and individuals (based on their contribution to maintaining norms, standards, common values, and international laws for honesty, transparency, accountability, and responsibility).
The recognition of the Social Contract for the AI Age by the United Nations, governments, companies, civil society and the international AI community.
The establishment of a United Nations Convention on Artificial Intelligence to obligate governments and others to comply with international rules and norms to protect rights in AI age.
The development of the Democratic Alliance for Digital Governance as the global authority to enforce the Social Contract for the AI Age.
The creation of the “AIWS City”—an all-digital virtual city based on the standards and norms of “the Social Contract for the AI Age”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy”, “AI-Government”, and “Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society”.
The Social Contract 2020, A New Social Contract in the Age of AI, sets the foundation for a new
historical chapter: the emergence of AI societies. Governor Michael Dukakis stressed the importance
of studying history to prevent past mistakes from repeating in the present and the future. I value his
insight and would like to add that looking back at history is a way to shape and invent the future. We
should not content ourselves with merely predicting the future; with AI as our tools, we can strive to
innovate and organize it.
With that idea in mind, AIWS.net announced May 5, 2020, a new project—The History of AI—as a
companion to the Social Contract 2020, A New Social Contract in the Age of AI. While many
individuals and organizations study the history of AI already, AIWS will study the field from a
different angle and with a different approach. Our approach will be cross-sectional with the
following structure:
1. Principles, concepts, motivating ideas, methodology, model, and solutions in AI.
2. AI inventions in science and technology
3. AI applications, initiatives in politics, government, economics, and society.
Today June 6, 2020, The History of AI, a part of Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and
Innovation, starts post content of the AI Chronicle on AI World Society Network (AIWS.net). This
content is the AI Chronicle – Open to Feedback: we encourage to receive comments, feedbacks from
today June 6, 2020 to June 27, 2020, then the History of AI Board will review, approve and the AI
Chronicle – Official will be posted on July 1, 2020. The History of AI Board will review the AI
Chronicle biannual. Our approach is open-ended: based on our findings, we will develop research on
the History of AI’s criteria, and we are open to invite individuals and organizations to contribute,
comment to the project by gathering documents, stories and participating in analysis.
As a part of the History of AI, the AIWS House organizes talks, seminars about pioneering ideas,
concepts, methodologies, products, historical figures, events, achievements in AI, and presents them
in the AIWS House Online, and physics.
Today, as an event of AIWS House, the History of AI, Cheryl Misak, a University Professor and
Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto will talk “Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of
Powers”. The History of AI at AIWS.net sees Frank Ramsey as an AI figure in history, who has
indirect influence on AI, especially in causal inference.
Nazli Choucri, Michael Dukakis, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Thomas Patterson, Alex Pentland, Nghia Trong Pham, David Silbersweig
I. A New Social Contract in the age of Artificial Intelligence
The term “artificial intelligence” refers to the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, translation between languages, self-driving cars, and so forth. Almost everyone recognizes that advances in AI have already altered conventional ways of viewing the world around us. This is creating new realities for everyone – as well as new possibilities.
These advances are powerful in many ways. They have created a new global ecology; yet they remain opaque and must be better understood. We have created new tradeoffs that must be assessed. We must now focus on critical principles and essential supporting practices for the new and emerging Social Contract 2020.
We must now re-think and consolidate the best practices for human development, recognizing the power and value of the individual and of society.
The expansion of innovations in and uses of Artificial Intelligence in almost all segments of human activity is well recognized, and it is evident that these will continue to change our lives in ways that we are yet able to imagine. At the same time, without some broad contours of guidelines or directives, undisciplined use of AI entails a number of significant risks to the health and wellbeing of individuals – damages to life-supporting properties, opaque decision-making, gender-based or other kinds of discrimination, control over private lives, and exploitation for criminal purposes – and seriously threatens the stability and security of all societies everywhere.
There is a clear awareness in the international community of the challenges and opportunities, as well as the problems and perils, of AI and many are seeking ways of managing their approach to AI. At least 20 countries have announced formal strategies to promote the use and development of AI. No two strategies are alike; however, there are common themes even among countries who focus on different aspects of AI policy. The most common themes addressed pertain to:
Scientific research,
Talent development,
Skills and education,
Public and private sector adoption,
Ethics and inclusion,
Standards and regulations, and
Data and digital infrastructure.
Concurrently, AI is becoming a focus of foreign policy and international cooperation – for both developed and developing states. There is a shared view that no country will be able to compete or meet the needs of its citizens without substantial AI capability.
More important, many countries are now involved in technology leapfrogging rather than in replicating known trajectories of the past century. It is no longer expected, nor is it necessary, to replicate the stages of economic development of the West—one phase at a time. Countries now frame their own priorities and strategies.
In sum, all countries are going through a common experience of adapting to and managing unknowns. This commonality of shared elements results in a welcoming international atmosphere for a Social Contract 2020.
In a world as diverse as the one today, there are few mechanisms for responding to such possibilities on a global scale. Social Contract 2020 is designed to frame a common understanding anchored in general principles to help maximise the “good” and minimise the “bad” associated with AI. Derived from the general concept of social contract in the 18th century—and its various manifestations and formulations—Social Contract 2020 is framed in response to the new conditions of the 21st Century. The fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by artificial intelligence, big data, IoT, and high-speed computation – and the innovations thereof.
Foundations
Just as the Social Contract of the 18th Century helped shape a new world, Social Contract 2020 also has a transformative vision: It transcends the technological features of artificial intelligence per se, and seeks to provide foundations for a new society — one based on the profound, widespread, ethical and just application of AI. (Note, for example, how the Covid-19 pandemic urgently requires a new society with new structure and order). Social Contract 2020 lays the foundation and standards for a new international system; it focuses on the conduct of each nation, relations with non-state actors (such as international business and not for profit entities), and the interconnection of nations (and their relations with organized entities) on a worldwide basis. While TCP / IP is the platform for communication among internet users, Social Contract 2020 can be seen as a platform for connection between governments, stakeholders, and private and public institutions.
Objective
The overall objective of Social Contract 2020 is to help build a multi-stakeholder AI- intensive society in all aspects of life from politics, governments, economics, business, and industry, all the way to the social order and the life of each individual. Social Contract 2020 eencourages everyone to value the acts of creation, innovation, philanthropy, and mutual respect. It seeks the respect and right to have freedom on, and access to, the Internet worldwide. The vision of Social Contract 2020 is to make our world a place of honest and responsible interaction. That means, a place where everyone’s contribution is recognized and everyone has a right to knowledge and access to information, where no one is above the law, where money cannot be used to subvert political process, and were integrity, knowledge, creativity, honesty and kindness are seen as key values in shaping decision and policy.
In short, Social Contract 2020 is for shaping a world where all stakeholders are recognized, and all forms of governance adhere these values and are accountable and transparent. It is a world where only by working together it is possible to address and resolve global challenges.
II. Principles
Extensive and appropriate AI application to politics, governments, society, and businesses can create a Smart Democracy supporting a global supply chain. The Smart Democracy Social Contract 2020 creates a platform for a new global supply chain, named Supply Chain 2020. As a critically important framework for society in the AI age, the Social Contract 2020 is based on balancing power among all stakeholders and among governments, businesses, civil society, individuals, and AI assistants. Being an important contract, the Social Contract 2020 is a commitment of main stakeholders to protect property, common values, and norms for good between nations.
a. AI is grounded in and must serve fundamental human rights such as human dignity and privacy protection.
b. AI systems must be considered from a multi-stakeholder perspective — for an individual and for society as a whole
c. Social Contract 2020 is an important tool to achieve sustainable and inclusive development for a global community that is fair, equitable, effective and prosperous.
d. It will also enhance prospects for Smart Democracy.
III. Commitments of Stakeholders/ Power Centers
(1) Individuals, Citizens, Groups:
· Everyone is entitled to basic rights and dignity that are enhanced/promoted by AI and the Internet Age and entail greater responsibilities.
Data Rights and Responsibilities:
· Each individual has the right to privacy and is entitled to access and control over their own data. Individuals have a right to organize ways of managing their data, individually or collectively, and the right not to hand in their data to businesses.
Internet Rights:
· Each individual has the right to access the Internet and any website or news system (recognized by governments of countries or not).
· Freedom of expression on the Internet.
· Secure digital identity, which allows the individual to know about and control access to trustworthy data about themselves.
Education and Political Participation:
· Each individual has the right to education through available venues.
· Each individual has access to education/knowledge/vocational training pertaining to the use and impact of AI.
· Each individual has the right to political participation.
Responsibility:
· Each individual is prohibited from exercising socially disruptive behaviors, such as hacking and disseminating disinformation.
· Each individual must contribute to the common health of society, through appropriate taxes and provide critical personal information (with appropriate safety guarantees) as is familiar in the collection of census data
(2) Governments:
· All government are expected to behave responsibly in the management of AI for governance and for interactions with individuals and such behavior must be easily auditable.
· Respect and implement AI governance of honesty, transparency, accountability to effect collaboration with international communities. These standards and norms are also to be applied in every area of governance.
· Create incentives for citizens to use AI in ways that benefit society (each person can do good work for society that will be recognized as value, and this value can be exchanged with other values such as financial value, products, services, etc.).
· Create norms/laws/rules to ensure AI benefits society.
· Create secure safety net for citizens affected by AI.
· Protect and promote IP rights without undermining movements toward free access of knowledge commons.
Connect between governments:
· Norms, values and standards of Social Contract 2020 are designed as connections among governments. To maintain the Social Contract 2020, it is essential to establish a Democratic Alliance for Digital Governance. The first countries of the Alliance should include US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, India, Australia, Japan.
United Nations and International Organizations:
· Extend the spheres of international organizations to include AI and extend the upholding of international standards/norms/practices pertaining thereto — UN Convention on AI, a Specialized UN Agency on AI.
(3) Business Entities. Business operations and related rights come with accountability and responsibility – nationally and internationally:
· Enable independent audits for honest transparency, fairness, accountability, and cybersecurity.
· Adopt common AI values, standards, norms, and data ownership rules, and expect penalties for noncompliance.
· Companies will be incentivized to do business only with companies and countries that respect, apply the Social Contract 2020, and Supply Chain 2020.
(4) Civil Society Organizations & Community. Rights and responsibilities of civil society organizations include;
· Monitoring governments and firms with respect to common values.
· Compliance with common values/norms/standards/laws.
· Support AI users and assist them to serve the broad interests of society.
· Create multi-stakeholder AI support and protection plans.
· Participate in the making of AI rules and norms.
(5) AI Assistants. AI assistants provide an interface to facilitate compliance with established standards.
· Support AI users and assist them to serve the broad interests of society.
· Engage with other power centers for mutual support and supervision.
· Community control: Behavior of assistants should be governed by communities of users.
IV. Implementation
· Ethics code for AI makers and AI users.
· A system to monitor and evaluate governments, companies, and individuals in the world (based on their contribution to maintaining norms, standards, common values, and international laws, for honesty, transparency, accountability, and responsibility with the world and in their nations and communities).
· This system is recognized by the United Nations and the international AI community.
· A New United Nations AI Convention established to obligate all stakeholders, including governments, to comply with international rules and norms to protect other stakeholder’s rights in AI age.
· Link compliance with AI rules and norms to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
· Build and develop Democratic Alliance for Digital Governance as global power to enforce the Social Contract 2020.
BOSTON, MA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / May 05, 2020 / Today, May 5, 2020, the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation officially launches the History of Artificial Intelligence project.
Topics for the History of Artificial Intelligence Project:
Historical events, achievements, and figures in AI technology are some of the topics of this project. These topics below will be included as well:Ideology, Ideas, Initiatives, Solutions, Norms, Standards, Laws, Regulations, Conventions, Accords, Political Decisions of AI by nations.
International Ideology, Ideas, Initiatives, Solutions, Norms, Standards, Laws, Regulations, Conventions, Accords, and Political Decisions of AI.
How AI change, innovate, and reform politics, societies, and economics.
Activities, campaigns related to AI.
“The History of AI” at AIWS.net has the subsections:
+ The AI Chronicle: updated monthly.
+ The AIWS House: (both online and physical AIWS House at Boston, Riga, Saint Petersburg, and at Dalat University).
The History of Artificial Intelligence will be updated monthly and posted on AIWS.net (“The AI Chronicle” of the section “the History of AI”). In addition, there will also be books, papers, and the AIWS House. HAI will contain historical documents and stories about historical figures, events, and achievements in AI.
The HAI Board is chaired by Governor Michael Dukakis, with Professor Nazli Choucri (MIT), Historian Chien Minh Le, President of Dalat University, Professor Ole Molvig (Vanderbilt University), Tuan Anh Nguyen (Michael Dukakis Institute), Professor Thomas Patterson (Harvard University), Professor Judea Pearl (UCLA), Professor Alex Pentland (MIT), Professor David Silbersweig (Harvard University), and President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia as members.
Governor Michael Dukakis said on March 10, 2020 at UCLA: “study history to avoid mistakes from the past, learn great lessons from history for today and tomorrow”. The mission of HAI is to do so, in addition to shaping a better future and encouraging people to contribute to it. Anyone can make history with their helpful, pioneering, or influential contributions. HAI encourages those who lack good conditions or environment, who are not get benefit of official works in this, but are passionate and contribute and have pioneering results, works.
About Us
Founded in 2012, The Boston Global Forum (BGF) is a not-for-profit think tank based in Boston, Massachusetts. Our mission is to bring together, in an open and accessible public forum, an eclectic and engaging spectrum of esteemed academic leaders, real-world experts, thought leaders, media experts and promising young leaders, who are dedicated to seeking peaceful solutions to the most contentious issues of our times.
As an offshoot of The Boston Global Forum, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) 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.
Further details are available by contacting Mr. Tuan Anh Nguyen, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of the Boston Global Forum, and Director of the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation.
AIWS Summit 2020: Speech by Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament
April 28, 2020
Anf. Andreas Norlén, AI World Society Summit 2020, the Boston Global Forum and World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid
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Governor Dukakis,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen
As the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today. I can only regret that I cannot be with you in person, but given the current circumstances, that is obviously not an option. And let me on behalf of the Swedish Parliament express my sympathy to the people of the United States and to all other countries represented at the conference for all the hardship and the suffering that this corona crisis has caused.
Today, some 3 billion people use social media. That is in itself a good thing; the advantages of more and more people going online, learning new things, exchanging ideas, criticizing political policies or interacting is something the world as a whole will greatly benefit from.
The problem of course is that everyone online is not honest and everyone is not our friend. There are many attempts to hack our systems and also to hack people’s minds. Thera are strong players who are very interested in what we do on the internet, and algorithms can track people’s actions online and then offer tailor made news that they think you want and provide you with either fake news or very biased news in order to make you think or vote or act in a certain way. Often the aim is to question our common values such as democracy, rule of law or personal freedom.
We have all heard about how elections in democratic countries have been exposed to this. For this reason, the awareness was quite high in Sweden when we had our last parliamentary elections in 2018.
Much to our surprise, no significant external organized hostile influence operations were detected. Maybe the most important advice on how to protect oneself from cyber-attacks, disinformation and organized hostile influence is: public awareness. As long as the public is aware that they run the risk of falling victim to those kinds of attacks, I think much has been won.
Do some news items seem too good to be true? Or maybe too bad to be true? Think again before you share them on social media. That is a very good advice.
I know it isn’t always easy to apply these virtues, but slowly but surely, I think the Swedes are getting better at this. Since 2016, it is mandatory for government agencies to report serious IT incidents. There are also many different agencies closely cooperating to detect cyber-attacks and hostile disinformation campaigns.
The role the parliament can play in this respect would be to facilitate the cooperation as much as possible, to stay alert and to also engage the public on how to behave on social media and on how to handle hostile disinformation campaigns. Even weak signals that something is going on are important. We must stay vigilante so that we can counter and handle hostile attacks.
There is also the strictly technological part – and I may not be the right person to elaborate on that in detail – but there are systems based on artificial intelligence that can expose influence operations. They include the use of algorithms to detect automated behaviour and hijacked user accounts. With this technology, you can detect potential deceptions in the large amount of data that is produced in social media every day.
It is hard to find a subject that is of greater importance to our democracies than safeguarding elections and making them legitimate, including safeguarding the public discourse and trying to keep it sound and balanced.
I think that the greatest challenge to any election is public trust. As politicians in democracies, we are all in the so-called confidence business. If the voter confidence is lost or even weakened, we are on a slippery slope. As we all know, confidence is something that takes quite a while to build, but it can be lost very easily.
In Sweden we have traditionally taken pride in having a society with comparatively high confidence between people and for the institutions. According to a recent survey, the Swedish Parliament enjoys higher confidence than many other actors and organizations in the Swedish society and I think that is a very good thing for our democracy. We also have a high voter turnout, 87 percent voted in the last parliamentary elections in 2018. That also indicates that people trust the institutions. Thanks to this trust, it is easier to have meaningful conversations also online and I believe it is harder to manipulate people’s minds.
By raising awareness both among the public and among civil servants, we managed to conduct our last elections in relative peace and protect our democracy and our common values, such as free and fair elections, human rights and the rule of law.
Increased awareness demands education. The more educated we are, the better we can, hopefully, detect fake news and biased information.
Education also applies to the new social contract in the age of artificial intelligence. New technology means automation in the workplace and that workers risk losing their jobs. Again, education and retraining are key. In Sweden, we talk more and more about “lifelong learning” – meaning that you are never really fully trained. In a society dependent on high technology you just have to accept that technology develops so fast, you will always lag behind – if you are not offered the proper training. For this reason, I believe that education must play a vital role for us to handle the new challenges in the new era.
Ladies and gentlemen,
For me as the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament it is a priority to follow developments in the scientific field. That task is probably more crucial today than ever before. For this reason, I am looking forward to your World Society Summit and the conclusions that will be drawn. I am also looking forward also to following the discussion that will take place after this summit.
Let us all engage in this important dialogue about how best to handle technology in this new world.
Please, ladies and gentlemen, your excellencies, stay safe and I hope we will meet in person in the future.
Summary: Digital identity that allows certification of the user’s health status, similar to today’s payment acceptance mechanism, can create safe working environments and consumer experiences (restaurants, hotels, meetings) while protecting personal privacy.
A New Economic Resource to help Restart the Economy
Soon we expect to have more than 30% unemployment, and repeated waves of infection for at least two years, preventing normal economic recovery. Finance, government, travel, hospitality, and manufacturing will be devastated, with widespread bankruptcies and business closings. We are going to have to restart the economy starting from a depression-level situation. But how?
One economically significant consequence of these waves of infection is creation a “safe worker” workforce. This workforce consists of people who have been infected and then recovered, so that they can be certified as less likely to become re-infected. This disease-resistant workforce will generally young, but also generally from the poorer communities that are being disproportionally affected.
Can we use these “safe workers” to help restart the economy? To make use of this resource we need to certify who is recovered (or, eventually, who is vaccinated). As testing become common, fast, and inexpensive we could also certify people who recently tested negative. All this also makes early detection of infection and contact tracing much, much easier, eventually preventing successive waves of infection.
A crude, brute-force version of this idea has been behind the most successful efforts at suppressing the disease (Taiwan, Korea, Singapore). They relied on “big brother” use of personal data, and authoritarian enforcement of quarantine and isolation. As the disease and recovery progresses, these countries now have a certified group of safe workers and can being restarting the economy.
In democratic countries the use of “big brother” data methods are feared because of the danger that it will continued to be used by government after the immediate emergency. Consequently, sophisticated institutions are turning to more sophisticated methods of computing that preserve privacy and data ownership[i]. Some countries and companies already use these sorts of methods, and the EU government has committed to migrate to such technology.
A Plan: Start By Making Safety Easy
Imagine a society where banks serve as repositories for citizens’ health data, much as they already do for their financial data. This personal form the basis of each citizen’s digital identity very much like bank data currently provides citizens with their financial identity. In this society a citizen can certify their health status to a participating merchant or employer in the same way their credit card charges are certified. They can also see where it is probably safe to go, and where the risk is higher, and even get immediate notice if they have been exposed to infection, all without endangering their personal privacy.
Moreover, with such certification available government could offer financial incentives for employment of safe workers, and to motivate safe workers to take jobs that require customer contact. They could also provide incentives for uninfected workers to take jobs that have less exposure to infection, and help make sure they stay safe. Similarly, merchants could (for instance) certify that their business has only safe employees in customer-facing positions.
This health certification also allows for extremely fast and accurate infection contact tracing and individual-level infection avoidance information without threatening personal privacy. Individuals with health certification can have their mobile phone automatically check the status of people around them without sending personal data off of their phone or identifying the people around them. This is accomplished by use of either sophisticated methods such as Secure Multiparty Computation (already nearly universally deployed for some types of updates on mobile phones) or simple “risk maps” aggregated from anonymized data and appropriately sanitized using differential privacy methods (such as employed by the U.S. Census Office).
The major hurdle to implement this vision is sharing of health data certifications to citizens, which are then their bank. Mobile certification is similar to current digital payments, digital identity infrastructure that is already being deployed by (for instance) MasterCard, and we at MIT are releasing a USA-wide “safe paths” and contact tracing facilities this week. This system helps people stay safe, and can help restart our economy in multiple ways. To help kick-start use of this process government or large employers can provide financial incentives to, for instance, visit newly open merchants, to employ “safe workers” in customer-facing positions, and for merchants to obtain “safe environment” certification.
[i][i][i] An illustrative example is our Open Algorithms platform and employing Secure Multi-Party Computation, which provably maintains privacy and audit-ability of fairness and fraud.
Message from Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong, Founder and Chairman of Tram Huong Khanh Hoa Company
Nha Trang, February 22, 2020
Trầm Hương or Agarwood in English, is the most precious product from Vietnamese forests.
Since ancient times, it has been called the Wood of Gods and the Scent from Heaven. Only emperors, royalty, senior officials, and noble lords got access to agarwood.
This dark wood, considered a national treasure, is used to produce medicines, fragrances from its essential oil that are more valuable than pure gold, and jewelry
Agarwood harvested in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam is popular all over the world, and has been traded as the most expensive product from Vietnam to all corners of the world along the Incense Route and the Silk Road, by land and sea, connecting Vietnam to other nations, and becoming a symbol of peace and prosperity in a harmonious world.
The world’s religions use agarwood as offerings in solemn ceremonies. When burnt, it releases aromatic smoke that clears the mind, increases wisdom, and stimulates pure, righteous thoughts. Agarwood is also believed to have a special quality that connects us with our ancestors and our gods in heaven. The wood itself is an expression of the human desire to be protected and blessed with favorable weather for abundant harvests and a happy, prosperous life.
Nghệ thuật Thưởng Trầm Vietnam or Vietnam Agarwood Pleasure Art, has been appreciated as a quintessential artform for all mankind. It has been scientifically proven, as well, that agarwood releases a gaseous nutrient that helps regenerate the body, cure many diseases, and provide a miraculous source of spiritual energy.
Agarwood is a messenger of peace that supports both romantic feelings and intellectual, sacred, and noble emotions, thus directing the human soul to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. The presence of Agarwood in our lives bring more empathy to our modern industrial society, which is making extensive use of artificial intelligence, thus making AI more humane and compassionate. In this regard, Tram Huong Khanh Hoa Company (ATC) is honored to join the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid and the Boston Global Forum and to hold the Tram Huong Agarwood-offering Ceremony honoring the World Leader in the Artificial Intelligence World Society, the April 27 to 29, 2020 at Harvard University Policy Dialogue “Transatlantic Approaches on Digital Governance: A New Social Contract in Artificial Intelligence.”
