By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin has called
for stronger global cooperation to ensure that the benefits of artificial
intelligence are shared broadly, warning that countries and communities being
left behind must be brought into the AI transformation urgently.
Bogdan-Martin made the call
following her participation in the TIME100 AI Impact Dinner, where she joined a
gathering of individuals working on artificial intelligence from different
perspectives and sectors.
She said discussions at the
event repeatedly returned to the importance of ensuring that AI’s benefits
reach all of humanity, amid growing debate about both the opportunities and
risks associated with the rapidly developing technology.
Bogdan-Martin was also
recognised on TIME’s TIME100 AI list this year, an acknowledgement she said was
particularly meaningful because of what it represents for the ITU and its work
on artificial intelligence.
According to the ITU
Secretary-General, much of the organisation’s work on AI takes place behind the
scenes, but its impact extends across borders and contributes to the
transformation of lives around the world.
She said the recognition on
a global platform such as TIME’s TIME100 AI list made the organisation’s work
and its broader impact particularly significant.
Bogdan-Martin stressed that
decisions being made about artificial intelligence today will have consequences
extending well beyond the present and could affect generations to come.
She therefore called for
urgent collective action as AI development accelerates, particularly to ensure
that countries and communities that risk being excluded from the benefits of
the technology are brought into the conversation and its opportunities.
