Through my work as a Global Advocate for the United Nations, I had the opportunity to address the attendees of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry I can’t be with you today in Geneva, but I am honored to be invited to record this message for the global dialogue on AI governance.
So, if we’re going to talk about AI governance, I think someone has to say it out loud. The very idea of governance is not very popular right now. You look at poll after poll and people all over the world have less and less trust in our institutions that are supposed to govern. They’re supposed to establish rules and enforce those rules fairly. And let’s be honest, that lack of trust is understandable. Too many governments are so corrupt, they only seem to serve the ultra rich and powerful. My home country, the United States, is no exception. So, you can see why a lot of people throw up their hands and they think, well, maybe we’d be better off without any governance.
But the question is, who really benefits most from a world without governance? It’s the ultra rich and powerful. Without any rules in place to protect public good, money and power just get leverage to capture more money and power and the cycle continues from there. And this has been true throughout history, but today it’s perhaps even more true than ever before in the context of AI.
As without good governance, the development and deployment of this incredible new technology will be guided by nothing but profit incentives. And we know from history that profit incentives need to be balanced with guard rails that prioritize the public good. Now, I’ve always been a pretty optimistic person when it comes to new technology, and I really do believe we have the potential to use AI in all kinds of extremely positive ways, but it’s going to require governance. They’re going to have to be rules, and those rules are going to have to be enforced.
When it comes to the economy, AI could be used to help everyone live better, or it could just funnel more and more money into a small handful of mega corporations. What will make the difference? Good governance.
In education, students could use AI as a tool to build mental muscle or be allowed to use it as a crutch to avoid hard work. Again, it’ll come down to good governance.
And when it comes to creativity, AI tools could help more people be more creative than ever before, or AI could drastically undermine human creativity altogether. Personally, I tend to think that technological innovation and human creativity can both flourish together. But what’s it going to take? Good governance.
And yes, of course, not all governance is good. But that’s no reason to throw up our hands. Designing policies that are effective and enforceable and fair around this new tech that’s moving so fast. You all have your work cut out for you.
But I take it as a great sign that good faith gatherings like this are happening. So thanks to the UN for facilitating this dialogue and thanks to all of you for being here. Thanks again.
