Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, presented last week the first-ever global standard on the ethics of artificial intelligence, adopted by UNESCO's 193 Member States at the international organization's General Conference. UNESCO had highlighted back in November 2019 the need for regulatory frameworks at the national but also international level to ensure that innovative AI technologies can benefit all humanity. This recommendation, the result of the work of 24 international experts appointed on March 11, 2020, sets a global normative framework and gives its member states the responsibility to translate this framework at their level. Over the past decade, AI has experienced a considerable boom. Experts agree that humanity is on the threshold of a new era and that artificial intelligence will transform our lives in ways we cannot imagine.

The United Nations organization said developments in artificial intelligence should abide by the rule of law, avoid harm, and ensure that when harm happens, accountability and redress mechanisms are available for those affected. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, presented Thursday the first ever global standard on the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) adopted by the member states of UNESCO at the General Conference. This historical text defines the common values and principles which will guide the construction of the necessary legal infrastructure to ensure the healthy development of AI. AI is pervasive, and enables many of our daily routines: booking flights, steering driverless cars, and personalising our morning news feeds. AI also supports the decision-making of governments and the private sector. AI technologies are delivering remarkable results in highly specialized fields such as cancer screening and building inclusive environments for people with disabilities.

LIKU baby humanoid robots are demonstrated on the Torooc Inc. stand on the opening day of the MWC... [ ] Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. At the wireless industry's biggest conference, over 100,000 people are set to see the latest innovations in smartphones, artificial intelligence devices and autonomous drones exhibited by more than 2,400 companies. On February 11, 2019, President Trump signed an executive order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence and in February 2019, a survey by Protiviti called Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning indicated that only 16% of business leaders surveyed are getting significant value from advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in their companies. The report also found that companies of all sizes and across industries are investing heavily in advanced AI with an average of $36M spent in the fiscal year 2018. Of those same companies surveyed, 10% plan to increase their budgets over the next two years.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has a problem, it collects too much data and might miss something. "That's the problem we are dealing with right now, given the threats are at the unprecedented level," recently installed Director-General of Security Mike Burgess said during his 38th day on the job. "There is the potential to miss something, the application of data analytics helps us to reduce the possibility of that being an event." ASIO is currently undertaking an enterprise-wide transformation that it believes will place it "at the forefront of agencies" using artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to its recent annual report. Providing an update on the project, Burgess said the organisation has so far put a new operating structure and model in place, as well as other foundational work subject to further government approvals.

UNESCO has published the Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education, the first ever document to offer guidance and recommendations on how best to harness AI technologies for achieving the Education 2030 Agenda. It was adopted during the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education, held in Beijing from 16 – 18 May 2019, by over 50 government ministers, international representatives from over 105 Member States and almost 100 representatives from UN agencies, academic institutions, civil society and the private sector. The Beijing Consensus comes after the Qingdao Declaration of 2015, in which UNESCO Member States committed to efficiently harness emerging technologies for the achievement of SDG 4. Ms Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, stated that ''we need to renew this commitment as we move towards an era in which artificial intelligence – a convergence of emerging technologies – is transforming every aspect of our lives (…) we need to steer this revolution in the right direction, to improve livelihoods, to reduce inequalities and promote a fair and inclusive globalization.'' The Consensus affirms that the deployment of AI technologies in education should be purposed to enhance human capacities and to protect human rights for effective human-machine collaboration in life, learning and work, and for sustainable development. The Consensus states that the systematic integration of AI in education has the potential to address some of the biggest challenges in education today, innovate teaching and learning practices, and ultimately accelerate the progress towards SDG 4. In summary, the Beijing Consensus recommends governments and other stakeholders in UNESCO's Member States to: The Consensus also details its ambitions for UNESCO to act as a support system for the capacity building of education policy-makers to implement the recommended measures, and to act as a convener for financing, partnership and international cooperation together with other international organizations and partners active in the field of AI in education.

Europe is gearing up to launch an Artificial Intelligence Public Private Partnership (AI PPP) that brings together AI, data, and robotics. At its core is a drive to lead the world in the development and deployment of trustworthy AI based on EU fundamental rights, principles and values. The effort is being led by two well-established associations representing over 400 European organisations from Industry and Research: the Big Data Value Association and euRobotics. A first step in this process saw the launch of a consultation document in Brussels last week entitled "Strategic Research, Innovation and Deployment Agenda for an AI PPP". The strategy document comes on the backdrop of international competition, with every country vying to take the lead in AI.

LIKU baby humanoid robots are demonstrated on the Torooc Inc. stand on the opening day of the MWC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. At the wireless industry's biggest conference, over 100,000 people are set to see the latest innovations in smartphones, artificial intelligence devices and autonomous drones exhibited by more than 2,400 companies. On February 11, 2019, President Trump signed an executive order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence and in February 2019, a survey by Protiviti called Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning indicated that only 16% of business leaders surveyed are getting significant value from advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in their companies. The report also found that companies of all sizes and across industries are investing heavily in advanced AI with an average of $36M spent in the fiscal year 2018. Of those same companies surveyed, 10% plan to increase their budgets over the next two years.

The Cabinet has adopted the formation of the'UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence' to ensure the implementation of these technologies in various sectors. The move aims to serve the UAE Government's objectives, and improve the quality of life of citizens and residents in order to achieve the vision of the UAE 2021 and make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2071. The council's formation is a reaffirmation of the UAE Government's keenness to move forward in the use of artificial intelligence and its applications in various fields to improve government performance and create innovative work environments to accelerate the development projects. The formation of the council follows the appointment of a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in the recent formation of the UAE Cabinet, the launch of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence and the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The council will study and identify the government sectors where artificial intelligence technology can be incorporated and make recommendations for the development of related infrastructure, in addition to the integration of artificial intelligence in different stages of education.