Artificial Intelligence ‘Tool to Close Developmental, Digital, Gender Gaps’, Deputy Secretary-General Tells High-Level Meeting
Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s message, as prepared for delivery, to the High-level Meeting on International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence, in New York today:
I thank the Governments of China and Zambia for organizing this High-level Meeting on International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence.
We stand at a truly pivotal moment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing at an unprecedented rate, transforming our world in ways we are only beginning to comprehend.
It has the potential to help rescue the SDGs and usher in a more durable and equitable future. Recent studies show us that AI can help accelerate nearly 80 per cent of the SDGs. Yet, we face a stark reality: AI opportunities are not evenly shared.
Today, AI capacities are concentrated in a handful of powerful companies — and even fewer countries. The leaders of these companies are exclusively men, and the algorithms they are building risk reinforcing gender and geographic biases.
Meanwhile, too many countries face significant challenges in accessing AI tools, and too many women and girls lack access to education that could be a platform for careers in this emerging field.
To truly harness AI’s potential, we need international cooperation — and solidarity. We must urgently bridge the AI capacity gap for developing countries and for women and girls. The risks posed by AI are equally uneven.
Without adequate guardrails, AI could further exacerbate inequalities and digital divides – once again disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable. Technology should benefit everyone. AI should be a tool for closing the developmental divide, the digital divide and the gender divide.
As we build AI capacity, we must also develop shared knowledge and digital public goods. This can be achieved through networks where expertise and AI training data are pooled and made available to everyone who needs them.
Interconnected AI centres across different countries and continents can accelerate the advancement of AI, promote data diversity and inclusivity, and foster cooperation rather than competition.
Last week, the Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on AI issued its final report, with a series of recommendations including:
Creating an AI Capacity Development Network to connect AI centres and provide expertise and training data especially for developing countries; establishing a Global Fund on AI for the Sustainable Development Goals; and developing a Global Data Framework, so that local AI ecosystems can flourish.
Many of the recommendations from this body have been integrated into the recently agreed Global Digital Compact — a landmark agreement that will advance global digital cooperation.
The Compact includes the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of Artificial Intelligence. It also supports networks and partnerships to build capacity on AI in developing countries; commits governments to establish an independent international Scientific Panel on AI; and it represents the first collective effort to reach agreed interoperability standards.
The United Nations is uniquely placed to promote digital cooperation and support the global exchange of best practices for AI capacity-building. I urge you all to promote a collaborative AI, and to engage in flourishing partnerships — in line with the Global Digital Compact.
Together, let us develop innovative and inclusive tools for AI governance and cooperation — and build a more sustainable and equitable future for all, where no one is left behind.