{"id":265736,"date":"2021-06-03T17:11:05","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T14:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai\/"},"modified":"2021-06-03T17:11:05","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T14:11:05","slug":"why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why the United Nations urgently needs its own regulation for AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eaefc8c8a5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eaefc8c8a5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai\/#AI_in_the_United_Nations\" >AI in the United Nations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai\/#No_oversight_regulation\" >No oversight, regulation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-the-united-nations-urgently-needs-its-own-regulation-for-ai\/#Building_trust\" >Building trust<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Why the United Nations urgently needs its own regulation for AI<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><span>The European Commission recently published a\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/library\/proposal-regulation-laying-down-harmonised-rules-artificial-intelligence\"><span>proposal for a regulation on artificial intelligence (AI)<\/span><\/a><span>. This is the first document of its kind to attempt to tame the multi-tentacled beast that is artificial intelligence<\/span><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2021\/04\/27\/the-sun-is-setting-on-a-i-s-wild-west\/\"><span>The sun is starting to set on the Wild West days of artificial intelligence<\/span><\/a><span>,\u201d writes Jeremy Kahn. He may have a point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When this regulation comes into effect, it will change the way that we conduct AI research and development. In the last few years of AI, there were few rules or regulations: if you could think it, you could build it. That is no longer the case, at least in the European Union.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There is, however, a notable exception in the regulation, which is that it does not <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly to international organizations like the United Nations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Naturally, the European Union does not have jurisdiction over the United Nations, which is\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/our-work\/uphold-international-law\"><span>governed by international law<\/span><\/a><span>. The exclusion, therefore, does not come as a surprise but does point to a gap in AI regulation. The United Nations, therefore, needs its own regulation for artificial intelligence, and urgently so.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AI_in_the_United_Nations\"><\/span><span>AI in the United Nations<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Artificial intelligence technologies have been used increasingly by the United Nations. Several research and development labs, including the\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unglobalpulse.org\/\"><span>Global Pulse Lab<\/span><\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/jetson.unhcr.org\/\"><span>the Jetson initiative by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees<\/span><\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/innovation\/topics\/innovation-labs\"><span>UNICEF\u2019s Innovation Labs<\/span><\/a><span>, and\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/centre.humdata.org\/\"><span>the Centre for Humanitarian Data<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0have focused their work on developing artificial intelligence solutions that would support the UN\u2019s mission, notably in terms of anticipating and responding to humanitarian crises.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>United Nations agencies have also used biometric identification to manage humanitarian logistics and refugee claims. The UNHCR developed a biometrics database that\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/blogs\/data-millions-refugees-securely-hosted-primes\/\"><span>contained the information of 7.1 million refugees<\/span><\/a><span>. The World Food Program has also used biometric identification in aid distribution to refugees,\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewhumanitarian.org\/opinion\/2019\/07\/17\/head-head-biometrics-and-aid\"><span>coming under some criticism in 2019 for its use of this technology in Yemen<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In parallel, the United Nations has partnered with private companies that provide analytical services. A notable example is the World Food Programme, which in 2019 signed a\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/technology\/2019\/02\/palantir-un-world-food-programme-data-humanitarians.html\"><span>contract worth US$45 million with Palantir<\/span><\/a><span>, an American firm specializing in data collection and artificial intelligence modeling.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Human Centred Artificial Intelligence The Role of UNESCO\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FDOptbuz_fg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A UNESCO video on its applications of AI.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"No_oversight_regulation\"><\/span>No oversight, regulation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2014, the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded a US$20 billion-dollar contract to Palantir to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/03\/02\/palantir-provides-the-engine-for-donald-trumps-deportation-machine\/\">track undocumented immigrants in the U.S.<\/a>, especially family members of children who had crossed the border alone. Several human rights watchdogs, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/documents\/amr51\/3124\/2020\/en\/\">including Amnesty International<\/a>, have raised concerns about Palantir for human rights violations.<\/p>\n<p>Like most AI initiatives developed in recent years, this work has happened largely without regulatory oversight. There have been many attempts to set up ethical modes of operation, such as the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs\u2019 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/data.humdata.org\/dataset\/2048a947-5714-4220-905b-e662cbcd14c8\/resource\/76e488d9-b69d-41bd-927c-116d633bac7b\/download\/peer-review-framework-2020.pdf\">Peer Review Framework<\/a>, which sets out a method for overseeing the technical development and implementation of AI models.<\/p>\n<p>In the absence of regulation, however, tools such as these, without legal backing, are merely best practices with no means of enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>In the European Commission\u2019s AI regulation proposal, developers of high-risk systems must go through an authorization process before going to market, just like a new drug or car. They are required to put together a detailed package before the AI is available for use, involving a description of the models and data used, along with an explanation of how accuracy, privacy and discriminatory impacts will be addressed.<\/p>\n<p>The AI applications in question include biometric identification, categorization and evaluation of the eligibility of people for public assistance benefits and services. They may also be used to dispatch of emergency first response services \u2014 all of these are current uses of AI by the United Nations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><figcaption>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1355659 js-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-280x187.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-405x270.jpg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-202x135.jpg 202w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fneural%2F2021%2F06%2F03%2Fwhy-united-nations-urgently-needs-own-regulation-ai%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: United Nations Headquarters.\" data-title=\"Share United Nations Headquarters. on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share United Nations Headquarters. on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>United Nations Headquarters.<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1355659\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-280x187.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-405x270.jpg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/matthew-tenbruggencate-0HJWobhGhJs-unsplash-202x135.jpg 202w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Building_trust\"><\/span>Building trust<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Conversely, the lack of regulation at the United Nations can be considered a challenge for agencies seeking to adopt more effective and novel technologies. As such, many systems seem to have been developed and later abandoned without being integrated into actual decision-making systems.<\/p>\n<p>An example of this is the Jetson tool, which was developed by UNHCR to predict the arrival of internally displaced persons to refugee camps in Somalia. The tool <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jetson.unhcr.org\/\">does not appear to have been updated<\/a> since 2019, and seems unlikely to transition into the humanitarian organization\u2019s operations. Unless, that is, it can be properly certified by a new regulatory system.<\/p>\n<p>Trust in AI is difficult to obtain, particularly in United Nations work, which is highly political and affects very vulnerable populations. The onus has largely been on data scientists to develop the credibility of their tools.<\/p>\n<p>A regulatory framework like the one proposed by the European Commission would take the pressure off data scientists in the humanitarian sector to individually justify their activities. Instead, agencies or research labs who wanted to develop an AI solution would work within a regulated system with built-in accountability. This would produce more effective, safer and more just applications and uses of AI <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/161257\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/161257\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>Article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/eleonore-fournier-tombs-1167550\">Eleonore Fournier-Tombs<\/a>, Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa; Senior Consultant, World Bank, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/mcgill-university-827\">McGill University<\/a>\u00a0This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-united-nations-needs-to-start-regulating-the-wild-west-of-artificial-intelligence-161257\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/why-united-nations-urgently-needs-own-regulation-ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Why the United Nations urgently needs its own regulation for AI&#8221; The European Commission recently published a\u00a0proposal for a regulation on artificial intelligence (AI). This is the first document of its kind to attempt to tame the multi-tentacled beast that is artificial intelligence. \u201cThe sun is starting to set on the Wild West days of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/neural?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/cyber-4062449_1280-e1622729428242.jpg&signature=6b3a71a408d4023c116fbff2889165f5","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}