The United Nations is trying to map out the frontiers of artificial intelligence and to harness its potential for empowering humanity.
The UN hopes to lay out a clear blueprint on the way forward for handling AI, as development of the technology races ahead the capacity to set its boundaries. The global body is convening a summit this week.
The "AI for Good Global Summit", being held in Geneva on Thursday and Friday, will bring together around 3,000 experts from companies like Microsoft and Amazon as well as from universities and international organisations to try to sculpt frameworks for handling AI.
"This technology is moving fast," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the International Telecommunication Union, the UN's information and communications technology agency that convened the summit.
Charting course
"It's a real opportunity for the world's leading voices on AI to come together on the global stage and to address governance issues," she told reporters. Bogdan-Martin said AI must not exacerbate social inequalities or introduce bi ases on race, gender, politics, culture, religion or wealth.
"Doing nothing is not an option. Humanity is dependent upon it. So we have to engage and try and ensure a responsible future with AI," Bogdan-Martina dds. She said the summit would examine possible frameworks and guardrails to support safe AI use.
The summit which will bring experts and people in governance and business wants to identify ways of using AI to advance the UN's lagging sustainable development goals on issues such as health, the climate, poverty, hunger and clean water.
People's fate
"This summit can help ensure that AI charts the course that benefits humanity," UN chief Antonio Guterres said.
However, while AI proponents hail the technology for how it can transform society, including work, healthcare and creative pursuits, others are worried by its potential to undermine democracy.
"We're kind of in a perfect storm of suddenly having this powerful new technology -- I don't think it's super-intelligent -- being spread very widely and empowered in our lives, and we're really not prepared," said serial AI entrepreneur Gary Marcus.
"We're at a critical moment in history when we can either get this right and build the global governance we need, or get it wrong and not succeed and wind up in a bad place where a few companies control the fates of many, many people without sufficient forethought," he said.
