Hosted by Ben Byford, The Machine Ethics Podcast brings together interviews with academics, authors, business leaders, designers and engineers on the subject of autonomous algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and technology's impact on society. In this episode we're chatting to Caitlin about gender and AI, that technology isn't neutral, using technology for good, diversity creation and exploitation, lived experience expertise, co-creating technologies and AI life cycle, importance of success metrics, international treaties on AI, and more… Alliance is a leader of the UN's Generation Equality Action Coalition Technology & Innovation for Gender Equality. Caitlin was co-chair of the Expert Group for the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) in 2023 with its first ever priority theme of Technology & Innovation. Caitlin leads the Human Rights Toolbox initiative, an educational platform that supports a global community working for a human rights-based approach to AI – with equity & inclusion at the core of the code. Women at the Table are a leader of the fr feminist AI research Network, with Hubs in Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East & North Africa, SouthEastAsia, and sister network in Africa, and serves as Civil Society lead for the World Benchmarking Alliance's Collective Impact Coalition for Ethical AI.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres unveiled Thursday a new advisory body dedicated to developing consensus around the risks posed by artificial intelligence and how international cooperation can help meet those challenges. While the body will have little power itself, its recommendations could decide the form and function of a U.N. agency for the governance of AI, an organization that many believe will be required as the world confronts the complex set of issues the technology will pose. "Without entering into a host of doomsday scenarios, it is already clear that the malicious use of AI could undermine trust in institutions, weaken social cohesion, and threaten democracy itself," said Guterres, speaking at the announcement press conference. "For all these reasons, I have called for a global multidisciplinary, multistakeholder conversation on the governance of AI, so that its benefits for all of humanity are maximized, and the risks contained are diminished." The new group is one of several international AI initiatives already underway, including the upcoming U.K. AI Safety Summit and G7 AI code of conduct.

The climate crisis is becoming more urgent and more serious, with increasingly extreme events happening more often. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, cited the example of the current heatwave driving record temperatures in Siberia (Russian Federation), the United States and Canada. Globally, climate change is driving conflict and refugee flows, while growing numbers of species are at risk of extinction as ecosystems collapse, he noted at an AI for Good webinar hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 7 July. Nearly 37 per cent of heat exposure around the world between 1991 and 2018 could be attributed to global warming caused by humans, Ban added, citing research published in Nature. Rising sea levels threaten the existence of many small island developing states, as well as some of world's largest and most important cities, both rich and poor.

Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His priorities have been to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. He has sought to be a bridge-builder, to give voice to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthen the Organization itself. "I grew up in war", the Secretary-General has said, "and saw the United Nations help my country to recover and rebuild. That experience was a big part of what led me to pursue a career in public service. As Secretary-General, I am determined to see this Organization deliver tangible, meaningful results that advance peace, development and human rights."

Just look at the reports on AI. When I asked one expert last week how many of these documents are out there, she said at least 120. The von der Leyen Commission's much anticipated White Paper dropped on February 19th. It follows the statement on AI in her own political guidelines, and the previous Commission's Communication on Artificial Intelligence for Europe from last spring. And it's accompanied by the Commission's Report on the safety and liability implications of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics.

"We suffer from a bad case of trust-deficit disorder," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his recent General Assembly speech. His diagnosis is right, and his focus on new technological developments underscores their crucial role shaping the future global political order. Indeed, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to deepen the trust-deficit across the world. The Secretary-General, echoing his recently released Strategy on New Technologies, repeatedly referenced rapidly developing fields of technology in his speech, rightly calling for greater cooperation between countries and among stakeholders, as well as for more diversity in the technology sector. His trust-deficit diagnosis reflects the urgent need to build a new social license and develop incentives to ensure that technological innovation, in particular AI, is deployed safely and aligned with the public interest.

Most technologies are dual use: take the case of digital technologies that are fundamentally transforming governance, markets and development for the better. Yet the malicious use of these same technologies also poses serious challenges to global stability. In the current international climate, the potential for miscalculation and destabilization is real. Online crime is already costing the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars a year and appears to be worsening. Meanwhile, the race is on to dominate and in some cases weaponize frontier technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI) – with implications that will undoubtedly shape the future direction of humanity.

In a video message to the summit, Mr. Guterres called AI "a new frontier" with "advances moving at warp speed." The opening session of the summit is expected to give voice to the leading minds in AI, with breakout sessions focusing on issues such as sustainable living and poverty reduction. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, said the event "will assist us in determining how the UN, ITU and other UN agencies can work together with industry and the academic community to promote AI innovation and create a good environment for the development of artificial intelligence." The summit will run through Friday, with a closing session on "applying AI for good."