Professor Pentland is the keynote speaker for Building the New Economy: Data as Capital at Stanford University

by Editor | Nov 13, 2022 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance

MIT Professor Sandy Pentland, Board Members of Michael Dukakis Institute and Distinguished Contributor of the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment” will present Keynote “Building the New Economy: What We Need and How to Get There” on Day “Building the New Economy: Data as Capital” in Stanford Digital Assets Week.

To support a world with billions of data owners, producers, and consumers, governed by digital data and AI, we need to build infrastructure that enables interoperability across company and national boundaries. This infrastructure will determine the future of finance and money, civic engagement, and factors that contribute to human flourishing. This panel discussion explores the opportunities and challenges of designing ecosystems of trusted data and AI that provide safe, secure, and human-centered services for everyone.

Read more about the event here.

The Global Alliance for Digital Governance supports this idea, and add requirements of respecting the standards of the Social Contract for the AI Age.

Draft of the Manifesto “Technology for Peace in the Age of Global Enlightenment”

by Editor | Oct 30, 2022 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance

1. Introduction

Technology has changed everything.

We are all technologists, as we use devices that help us receive and process information throughout our daily lives. Every interaction with the outside world, related to health, well-being, learning, finance, economics, relationships, involves technology in some way.

While technology has improved life and made many things more convenience and effective, it has had negative consequences that must the addressed and remedied. In politics especially, there are new threats and real dangers to world peace driven by technological tools and strategies: religious extremism, racism and ethnic divisions, authoritarianism and totalitarianism, extreme nationalism. The most powerful countries suffer from these problems and grapple with solutions.

2. The Global Enlightenment Age

There are existing structures and networks that are serving to guide us to a better place. The United Nations Academic Impact and Boston Global Forum founded the United Nations Centennial Initiative and published the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment” in May 2021. Numerous forums, non-profit groups, conferences and high-level discussions have begun to counter the rise of technological malfeasance. The ‘Remaking the World” book outlines the potential for an Age of Global Enlightenment, potentially a much more peaceful, secure, and lawful age of humankind.

3. Models and concepts of “Tech for peace and security in the Global Enlightenment Age”

These high-level discussions among the world’s leading thinkers have developed concepts that can be used to deploy technology in the service of world peace and security, including cybersecurity:

• Technology helps people to access truth, justice, rationality, norms, standards, and
• Technology must support the reduction of threats and dangers to world peace;
• Technology must assist in building a just world, where truth and accurate perception is a fundamentally respected value;
• Political leaders who manipulate information and technology to spread lies, undermine respect for the Rule of Law and Freedom of the Press should be identified and discouraged from participating in civic life;
• Laws and regulations for digital technologies must be developed and implemented in an unbiased fashion to minimize the negative impacts of technology;
• Respect for privacy in the public and private spheres should be paramount in developing policies;
• Technology must be harnessed to assist in building an Innovative, Smart Economy, enabling opportunities for every person to become an innovator;

Technology must be directed to enable individuals to become more knowledgeable and active participants in local, national and international civic and political life;

Model for Discussion:

Two groundbreaking works outline the promise of AI in the future as a core strategy and tool for ensuring peace and security:

• The AIWS model and concepts of the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment,” including the Social Contract for the AI Age and the International Law Accord on AI and Digital (Global AI Bill of Rights) are fundamental for world peace and security in the Global Enlightenment Age.”
• Regulating Artificial Intelligence: Discouraging misuse without hampering innovation (Robert Mahari and Alex Pentland, MIT).

4. Potential Solutions for implementation

AIWS proposes the following steps to help resolve emerging issues

• Building the capacity of Pillar Countries as a paragon and practical model: Initially the Four Pillars are: United States, European Union countries, Japan, India
• South Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Canada, Singapore are the next tier of Pillar Countries;
• Encourage and assist other nations, such as South Africa, Chile and others, to join Pillars community;
• Strengthen and propagate the Global Alliance for Digital Governance (GADG) to coordinate in this mission. GADG can supervise the process, making sure data is not biased, and conducting campaigns to fight disinformation and misinformation;
• Building the capacity of AIWS.net, a global community of distinguished people, organizations and institutions to implement, help bring into practice the Manifesto under the guidance of the GADG.
• Encourage and respect all contributions from any people to apply and build the Global Enlightenment Age through AIWS.net. All meaningful contributions will be recognized and introduced on AIWS.net.
• Establishing a Group of Global Enlightenment Leaders to lead this mission.
• Help to build AIWS City, a digital city, to recognize, honor, hold and share information about achievements.
• AIWS City is a place to organize events and conferences to apply the Manifesto and build the Global Enlightenment Age;
• Building tech solutions in order to contribute, assist and help in bringing education to all people, especially in developing countries. This is a fundamental solution to reduce extreme nationalism and religion;
• We will assist in building a special education program (Innovation Education Program in the Global Enlightenment Age) to educate people in the world to have awareness and perceptions about the Global Enlightenment Age and their opportunities, obligations and responsibilities;
• We call for public-private cooperation to find tech solutions to manage threats, dangers to world peace from extreme nationalism from major countries and religious extremism;
• Every nation must help build the Innovation Community Economy: Every person can be an innovator;
• We call on the United Nations and all countries to support and implement this Program.

An AI Bill of Rights Must be Global

by Editor | Oct 16, 2022 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance

By Michael Dukakis, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Alex Pentland

Artificial intelligence (AI) and automated systems are increasingly affecting our daily lives. Banking algorithms decide who is eligible for housing or financial loans, healthcare algorithms are making decisions on coverage and standard of care. Companies are using hiring algorithms to sort resumes for potential employees. While all of these innovations make life more convenient, they pose risks to the public and are often rife with bias and discrimination.

Further, there has been substantial investment in the development and adoption of AI, but nowhere near as much money or energy has been put toward safeguards or protection, regulations or even a standard code of ethics.

Earlier this month, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” one that aims to ensure the use of AI is fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory. As members of the Boston Global Forum, we applaud President Biden and the OSTP for advancing this important measure which protects people from threats and defines guardrails on technology to reinforce civil rights, civil liberties and privacy, and equal opportunities ensuring access to critical resources and services.

The Blueprint outlines five common-sense protections with respect to AI to which all citizens should be entitled:

• AI should be safe and effective;
• It shouldn’t discriminate;
• It shouldn’t violate data privacy;
• We should know when AI is being used;
• We should be able to opt out and talk to a human when we encounter a problem.

It’s not binding legislation, but rather a set of recommendations for government agencies and technology companies using AI. It’s also a great tool to educate the public as well as organizations responsible for protecting and advancing our civil rights and civil liberties.

This is a necessary first step for our country, but the effort must be a global one.

On the world stage, bad actors in other nations are increasingly using AI to spread disinformation and propaganda through deep fakes and other manipulated media – all of which are in direct conflict to the values of democracy and freedom.

Last year, the Boston Global Forum and World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid brought prominent international leaders together to explore ideas and strategies and for a Global Law and Accord on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Rights.

The group established the Global Alliance for Digital Governance (GADG) to coordinate resources among governments, international organizations, corporations, think tanks, civil society and influencers for AI and a digital sphere for good, to make the resources more effective to synthesize and maximize their impact. It is not an organization, but rather, a network for sharing resources and cooperating among governments. At the core of this imperative is to establish a common understanding of policy and practice, anchored in general principles to help maximize the “good” and minimize the “bad” associated with AI:

1. Fairness and justice for all: The first principle is already agreed upon in the international community as a powerful aspiration. It is the expectation of all entities – private and public – to treat, and be treated, with fairness and justice.
2. Responsibility and accountability for policy and decision making —private and public: The second principle recognizes the power of the new global ecology that will increasingly span all entities worldwide—private and public, developing and developed.
3. Precautionary principle for innovations and applications: The third principle is well established internationally. It does not impede innovation but supports it. It does not push for regulation but supports initiatives to explore the unknown with care and caution.
4. Ethics-in-AI: Fourth is the principle of ethical integrity—for the present and the future. Different cultures and countries may have different ethical systems, but everyone, everywhere recognizes and adopts some basic ethical precepts. At issue is incorporating the commonalities into a global ethical system for all phases, innovations, and manifestations of artificial intelligence

At home and abroad, we must move toward a framework, an ecosystem, and a social contract for the AI age. Without adequate guidelines and useful directives, the undisciplined use of AI poses risks to the wellbeing of individuals and creates fertile ground for economic, political, social, and criminal exploitation. As we gain consensus on principles and practices among members of the global society, we will generate and enhance social benefits and wellbeing for all, shared by all.

The White House unveils the blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights

by Editor | Oct 9, 2022 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance

President Joe Biden on October 4 unveiled a new AI Bill of Rights, which outlines five protections Americans should have in the AI age, making automated systems work for the American people.

Boston Global Forum is pioneering by presenting a proposal and call for International Law and Accord in AI and Digital Rights at the Policy Lab: “FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN AI & DIGITAL SOCIETIES – TOWARDS AN INTERNATIONAL ACCORD,” co-organized by BGF and Club de Madrid on September 7-9, 2021. BGF also published “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment,” which includes these important chapters: “Framework for an AI International Accord” by MIT Professor Nazli Choucri, “An AI ‘Bill of Rights’ in the Digital Age” by Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, and “Fundamentals of International Law: AI and Digital” by Paul Nemitz; and the special report of BGF and Club de Madrid (CdM) in 2021 with highlights below:

CdM in partnership with BGF organized a Policy Lab on Fundamental Rights in AI & Digital Societies: Towards an International Accord in September 2021. Multistakeholder discussions aimed to build consensus around a rights-based agenda for the global governance of AI and digital societies, focusing on the following topics:

• Opportunities and threats for fundamental rights in AI & digital societies.
• Transatlantic approaches to protect fundamental rights in AI & digital spaces.
• The elements & processes for an international legal framework to protect fundamental rights in AI & digital spaces
• The Concept, Principle and Ecosystem for Digital and AI Society – “Remaking the World, Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment”.
• The Global Alliance for Digital Governance
• A framework for a global law and accord on AI and digital tools The Policy Lab followed the work initiated by both organizations on the implications of digital technologies and AI for democracy, global cooperation and multilateralism, with a particular focus on the Transatlantic space, and based on the progress of the AIWS Social Contract 2020 (Social Contract for the age of AI) and AIWS Innovation Network (AIWS.net).

Here is the link of the book “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment.”

Here is the link to the report.

Firstly, BGF will connect governments of the EU, US, Japan and India to discuss about International AI Bill of Rights, then expand to the UK, Australia, South Korea and Brazil.

Belfer Center releases the National Cyber Power Index 2022

by Editor | Oct 2, 2022 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance

Over the past two years, the National Cyber Power Index (NCPI) has catalysed conversations and debate between policymakers, academia, and industry on the concept of cyber power and how states are and can further harness their capabilities to enhance their overall ability to achieve national objectives.

Harnessing a state’s cyber power requires a whole-of-nation approach. National governments should not just be concerned about destructive operations, espionage, or enhancing its cyber resilience, but also other state’s efforts at surveillance, information control, technology competition, financial motivations, and shaping what is acceptable and possible through norms and standards.

The Global Alliance for Digital Governance (GADG) was established through a collaboration of the Boston Global Forum and World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid at the Policy Lab on September 7-9, 2021.

GADG do:
Coordinate resources: governments, international organizations, corporations, think tanks, civil society, and influencers for AI and a digital sphere for good, to make these resources more effective, to synthesize and maximize their impact, and to create more implementation-oriented conferences.
Protect fundamental values and standards proposed in Social Contract for the AI Age, in AI International Accord and in the book Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment.

https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/national-cyber-power-index-2022