PARIS, France – The Future Society, in partnership with Algora Lab (Mila) and the Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI , presented the AI Civic Forum as one of the 116 projects selected over 800 applications for the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum in November.
Anchored in robust collective intelligence methodologies, the AI Civic Forum is an international multi-stakeholder platform. Its mission is to empower people to co-shape the future of AI and co-design AI ethical principles and practices. The AI Civic Forum will be deployed through a combination of online deliberations, face-to-face workshops, and AI literacy programs unfolding around the world.
In the opening speech of the 2019 Paris Peace Forum, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres recognized AI’s capacity to improve the lives of millions of citizens around the world. Breakthroughs in healthcare, better personalization of products and services, and easier access to public goods can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Capturing these opportunities, however, requires to overcome daunting challenges such as increasing inequalities, technological unemployment, algorithmic bias, psychological well being, threats to privacy and security, and political or corporate manipulation. So far, decision-making around how these opportunities are distributed and how these challenges are mitigated have remained in the realm of experts.
The AI Civic Forum’s goal is to include citizens’ voices in discussions on AI ethics and governance. The AI Civic Forum will:
- Build literacy, knowledge and skills on AI;
- Crowdsource local perspectives on the rise of AI and its ethical dimensions;
- Co-design AI principles and practices.
The first consultation will directly feed into the development of UNESCO’s standard-setting instrument on the ethics of AI which was announced at the organization’s 40th General Conference held in Paris on November 12-27, 2019.
Thanks again to everyone who came by our booth during the Paris Peace Forum. It was wonderful to exchange with some of the 6000 participants and 65 Heads of State present.
If you would like to learn more on The AI Civic Forum and find ways to get involved, please contact aicivicforum@thefuturesociety.org.
You can download our AI Civic Forum poster here.
