Youth Voices and the Future of Artificial Intelligence: Towards a Human-Centered Approach

Given UNESCO’s universal mandate and specialized interdisciplinary knowledge, its 25-year history of work on the ethics of science and technology, and its operational strategy for Priority Africa, Member States have called on the Organization to enrich the global reflection on artificial intelligence (AI) by considering its ethical implications and impact across UNESCO’s areas of competence.

Organized by the intersectoral AI task team on 18 November 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters (Room IV, 1.30 p.m. to 2.55 p.m.), this General Conference side event will gather stakeholders working on developing principles, standards and frameworks in the field of AI, such as the African Union, the European Commission, the OECD, the ISESCO, the IEEE, the United Nations High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of AI, to discuss potential synergies with UNESCO’s work in the development of a possible standard-setting instrument.
AI has a particular impact on youth, and the ways in which they conceive their futures in a world shaped by the technology of tomorrow. This side event will also ensure dialogue between leaders and youth in the field of AI at the international and regional levels. Discussions will focus on how artificial intelligence is impacting human rights and sustainable development, notably in Africa, and specifically on how to ensure that young people are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to actively participate in an AI-powered world.

UNESCO’s Secretariat has established an intersectoral task team, lead and facilitated by the CI Sector, to coordinate the Organization’s work on AI. The task team has organized several high-level events to raise awareness among Member States, including the global conference held in March 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters. Two other major events have been organized: the High-Level Forum on AI in Africa, held in Morocco in December 2018, and the International Conference on AI and Education, held in China in May 2019. In addition, the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) prepared a preliminary study on the ethics of AI, including a specific section on the Organization’s Priority Africa, which was considered by the Executive Board at its 206th session. UNESCO’s General Conference will consider in November 2019 whether to develop a standard-setting instrument on the ethics of AI over the next two years.