Artificial Intelligence Requires Imminent Global Governance

Mohamed H. Aziz
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Artificial Intelligence is expected to do wonders for the global economy — market estimates hint at a 38% profit margin gain by 2035. It will also be used to fix social problems as well, and as a powerful tool to spur smart cities, urban planning, more efficient business methods, and a streamlined approach to practically everything from healthcare to communication, and so much more.

However, AI means bringing the world closer to a techno-capitalist dystopia in which wholly controlling stakeholders seek to promote profitability and strategic business avenues.

Combining usual business perspective with a future that is impossible to predict, and complex technologies that are becoming increasingly difficult for authorities to control, the world may be heading down a path of AI uncertainty. The emergence of social media, smart phones, and the commercialization of the Internet has already brought about positive and negative outcomes — economic prosperity (good) and cyber crimes (bad), for example. Add AI to the mix, and the need for robust governance of these techonologies for legal, ethical and social reasons will become ever-more imminent.

Yet, there is not enough being done on the policy front to combat the uncertainty that AI will bring. Effective policy is dependent on research, implementation and serious attention needed to influence a robust infrastructure to help steer this new and advancing technology. The world seems to lack a united front, not to mention, cash and intellectual prowess necessary to controlling AI. While there are individuals thinking about legal, policy and civic considerations, industry already seems positioned to use AI to turn a profit — and understandably so — it is within their interest to do so.

So what is the solution? — Our commitment to promoting safe and controlled AI means technological, legal, and policy research on its public and private uses. Civic society is also necessary to ensure advocacy and engagement with industry and business leaders to further a system in which stakeholders share a responsible ethos to utilizing AI technologies. Public and private research and engagement, government-led research, and most importantly, an adaptation of our legal and political institutions to meet the challenges of technological advancements are paramount.

The good news is that such institutions have remained effective in facing earlier technological advancements (i.e., computers, cars, planes, and corporate liability), but the challenge of AI presents perhaps the most considerable challenge of the 21st century. To adapt our institutions to new challenges, we must equip them to be premised on evidence, not paranoia, and certainly not private interest influence. This starts at the intersection of law, policy and tech working in unison to promote common sense initiatives to govern the uncertain world of AI.

Additionally, given that AI governance is a global matter, it is important for policy and industry leaders to especially press governments and international institutions such as the United Nations to tackle AI head on. Recently, 116 AI and robotics leaders, including Elon Musk and Google DeepMind’s Mustafa Suleyman, signed a letter calling on the UN to ban lethal autonomous weapons, or “killer robots”, which they believe would be catastrophic to innocents and empowering to terrorists. This is a positive step forward. The high alarm and caution these leaders are expressing demonstrate the heightened scale and potentially undesirable consequences of new warfare technologies.

With international cooperation and a united front of the world’s best and brightest in tech, policy, law and business, we must ensure that AI is ethically and responsibly guided. New technologies must be embraced, but they must be realistically addressed by our institutions — who must be equipped and ready to face them.

ProtoSpace

National Security, Cyber Security & International Law Blog

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Mohamed H. Aziz

Written by

International Law & National Security Writer

ProtoSpace

National Security, Cyber Security & International Law Blog

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