The Future Society partnered with UNESCO to organize their Global Conference on “Principles for AI: Towards a Humanistic Approach?”

The Future Society and its various initiatives (AI Initiatives, Law & Society Initiative) were well represented at UNESCO’s Global Conference on “Principles for AI: Towards a Humanistic Approach?” organized in Paris on March 4. TFS Speakers included Nicolas Miailhe (watch the panel here) and Nicolas Economou (watch the panel video here) who shared insights on AI governance, and the role of standards, norms and institutions.

The Future Society is also very proud of Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs students from Nicolas Miailhe’s Class “Governing the Rise of AI: A Global Perspective” Mariane Piccinin Barbieri, Utsav Shah, Adriana Eufrasina-Bora, and Delfina Belli. They brilliantly moderated a panel on “New architectures of International Cooperation on AI” bringing into a frank conversation the top leaders from leading international organizations involved in the governance of AI including UNESCO, OECD, ITU, UN Secretary-General Office, World Bank, Council of Europe, European Commission, and the UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

UNESCO, as a standard-setter and laboratory of ideas, has a role to play in shaping international debate on the future of AI and its governance; its multidisciplinary mandate positions the Organization to address the ethical and social implications of AI and promote its development that takes into consideration human-centered values. How can multilateral cooperation on AI be ensured between relevant international, regional, and national bodies so that we are not reinventing the wheel as it concerns the development of norms and standards in this domain? What strategies, frameworks, and principles have been developed at the national or regional level in relation to AI and human-centered values? What remains to be done and what is the role of UNESCO?

Watch the panel video here.