2023全球数字契约

OurCommonAgendaPolicyBrief5

AGlobalDigitalCompact—

anOpen,FreeandSecureDigitalFutureforAll

MAY2023

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OURCOMMONAGENDAPOLICYBRIEF5:AGLOBALDIGITALCOMPACT–ANOPEN,FREEANDSECUREDIGITALFUTUREFORALL

OURCOMMONAGENDAPOLICYBRIEF5:AGLOBALDIGITALCOMPACT–ANOPEN,FREEANDSECUREDIGITALFUTUREFORALL

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Introduction

CHAPEAU

Thechallengesthatwefacecanbeaddressedonlythroughstrongerinternationalcooperation.TheSummitoftheFuturein2024isanopportu-nitytoagreeonmultilateralsolutionsforabet-tertomorrow,strengtheningglobalgovernanceforbothpresentandfuturegenerations(GeneralAssemblyresolution

76/307

).InmycapacityasSecretary-General,IhavebeeninvitedtoprovideinputstothepreparationsfortheSummitintheformofaction-orientedrecommendations,build-ingontheproposalscontainedinmyreportenti-tled“OurCommonAgenda”(

A/75/982

),whichwasitselfaresponsetothedeclarationonthecom-memorationoftheseventy-fifthanniversaryoftheUnitedNations(GeneralAssemblyresolution

75/1

).Thepresentpolicybriefisonesuchinput.ItelaboratesontheideasfirstproposedinOurCommonAgenda,takingintoaccountsubse-quentguidancefromMemberStatesandoveroneyearofintergovernmentalandmulti-stakeholderconsultations,androotedinthepurposesandtheprinciplesoftheCharteroftheUnitedNations,theUniversalDeclarationofHumanRightsandotherinternationalinstruments.

PURPOSEOFTHISPOLICYBRIEF

ThepresentbriefproposesthedevelopmentofaGlobalDigitalCompactthatwouldsetoutprinciples,objectivesandactionsforadvancinganopen,free,secureandhuman-centreddigitalfuture,onethatisanchoredinuniversalhumanrightsandthatenablestheattainmentoftheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.Itoutlinesareasinwhichtheneedformulti-stakeholderdigitalcooperationisurgentandsetsouthowaGlobalDigitalCompactcanhelptorealizethecommit-mentinthedeclarationonthecommemorationoftheseventy-fifthanniversaryoftheUnitedNations(GeneralAssemblyresolution

75/1

)to“shapingasharedvisionondigitalcooperation”byprovid-inganinclusiveglobalframework.Suchaframe-workisessentialforthemulti-stakeholderactionrequiredtoovercomedigital,dataandinnovationdividesandtoachievethegovernancerequiredforasustainabledigitalfuture.

Ourdigitalworldisoneofdivides.In2002,whengovernmentsfirstrecognizedthechallengeofthedigitaldivide,1billionpeoplehadaccesstotheInternet.Today,5.3billionpeoplearedigitallyconnected,yetthedividepersistsacrossregions,gender,income,language,andagegroups.Some89percentofpeopleinEuropeareonline,butonly21percentofwomeninlow-incomecoun-triesusetheInternet.1Whiledigitallydeliverableservicesnowaccountforalmosttwothirdsofglobalservicestrade,accessisunaffordableinsomepartsoftheworld.Thecostofasmart-phoneinSouthAsiaandsub-SaharanAfricais

morethan40percentoftheaveragemonthlyincome,andAfricanuserspaymorethanthreetimestheglobalaverageformobiledata.2Fewerthanhalfoftheworld’scountriestrackdigitalskills,andthedatathatexisthighlightthedepthofdigitallearninggaps.3TwodecadesaftertheWorldSummitontheInformationSociety,thedig-italdivideisstillagulf.

Datadividesarealsogrowing.Asdataarecol-lectedandusedindigitalapplications,theygen-eratehugecommercialandsocialvalue.Whilemonthlyglobaldatatrafficisforecasttogrowbymorethan400percentby2026,activityiscon-centratedamongafewglobalplayers.4Manydevelopingcountriesareatriskofbecomingmereprovidersofrawdatawhilehavingtopayfortheservicesthattheirdatahelptoproduce.

Theinnovationdivideisevenmorestark.DigitaltechnologieshavemovedbeyondtheInternetandmobiledevicesintoautonomousintelligentsystemsandnetworks,generativeartificialintel-ligence(AI),virtualandmixedreality,distributedledgertechnologies(suchasblockchain),digi-talcurrenciesandquantumtechnologies.Thewealthgeneratedbytheseinnovationsishighlyunequal,dominatedbyahandfulofbigplatformsandStates.5

Inequalityisrising.Enormousinvestmentsintechnologyhavenotbeenaccompaniedbyspend-ingonpubliceducationandinfrastructure.Digitaltechnologyhasledtomassivegainsinproductiv-ityandvalue,butthesebenefitsarenotresultinginsharedprosperity.6Thewealthofthoseinthetop1percentisgrowingexponentially:between1995and2021,theyaccountedfor38percentoftheincreaseinglobalwealth,whilethebottom50percentaccountedforonly2percent.7Digital

technologiesareacceleratingtheconcentrationofeconomicpowerinaneversmallergroupofelitesandcompanies:thecombinedwealthoftechnologybillionaires,$2.1trillionin2022,isgreaterthantheannualgrossdomesticproductofmorethanhalfoftheGroupof20economies.8

Behindthesedividesisamassivegovernancegap.Newtechnologiesarelackingevenbasicguardrails.ItishardertobringasofttoythananAIchatbottomarkettoday.Becausesuchdigitaltechnologiesareprivatelydeveloped,Governmentsareconstantlylaggingbehindinregulatingtheminthepublicinterest.AsaresultofdecadesofunderinvestmentinStatecapaci-ties,publicinstitutionsinmostcountriesareill-equippedtoassessandrespondtodigitalchal-lenges.Veryfewcancompetewithprivateactorstoharnesstalentandofferincentivestodigitallyskilledpeopletoworkinthepublicsector.Publicadministrationsarebeinghollowedoutatthetimethattheyaremostneededtosupportsafeandequitabledigitaltransformations.

Aswasobservedduringthecoronavirusdisease(COVID-19)pandemic,theuseofdigitaltechnol-ogieshasbroughtunparalleledopportunitiesforhowwelive,learn,workandcommunicate.Ithasalsobroughtgreatharmthroughirresponsibleandmalicioususeandcriminalabuses,aswellasnegativeunintendedconsequencesandenvi-ronmentalimpacts.WithStatesvyingforpoliti-calandmilitaryadvantagethroughtechnologicaldominance,therisksofdestabilizingcompeti-tion,escalation,andaccidentsmount.Evenassocietiesgrapplewiththesethreats,newertech-nologiesareraisingfundamentalquestionscon-cerningthefeaturesthatmakehumansunique.

FIGUREI

DISPARITIESINAFFORDABILITYOFINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONSTECHNOLOGYSERVICESWORLDWIDE(2022)

Data-onlymobilebroadband(2GB)basketpricesaspercentageofgrossnationalincomepercapita,2021-2022.

World

1.9%

1.5%

2021

2022

Africa

Americas

Arabregion

Asia-Pacific

CommonwealthofIndependentStates

Europe

1.2%

1.0%

1.5%

1.4%

1.1%

0.9%

0.5%

0.4%

2.6%

2.4%

5.0%

6.5%

AffordabilitytargetoftheBroadbandCommissionforSustainableDevelopment(2percent)

Low-income

Lower-middle-income

Upper-middle-income

High-income

0.5%

0.4%

1.5%

2.1%

3.2%

2.8%

9.3%

11.4%

Leastdevelopedcountries

Landlockeddevelopingcountries

SmallislanddevelopingStates

2.4%

3.3%

3.0%

4.6%

5.7%

7.4%

Source:InternationalTelecommunicationUnion,affordabilityofICTservices.Availableat

/itu-d/reports/statistics/2022/11/24/

ff22-affordability-of-ict-services

.

Weurgentlyneedtofindwaystoharnessdigi-taltechnologiesforthebenefitofall.Weneednationalandinternationalgovernancearrange-mentsthatpreventtheirmisuse.Wemustshapeinnovationinwaysthatreflectuniversalhumanvaluesandprotecttheplanet.Unilateralregional,nationalorindustryactionsareinsuf-ficient:thiscooperationmustbeglobalandmulti-stakeholdertopreventdigitalinequalitiesbecomingirreversibleglobalchasms.

IproposethedevelopmentofaGlobalDigitalCompactthatwouldsetoutprinciples,objec-tivesandactionstoadvanceanopen,free,secureandhuman-centreddigitalfuture,one

thatisanchoredinuniversalhumanrightsandthatenablestheattainmentoftheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.

Ioutlinethreeareasinwhichtheneedformulti-stakeholderdigitalcooperationisurgent.IsetouthowaGlobalDigitalCompactcanhelptorealizethecommitmentinthedeclarationonthecommemorationoftheseventy-fifthanniversaryoftheUnitedNations(GeneralAssemblyreso-lution

75/1

)toshapingasharedvisionondigi-talcooperationbyprovidinganinclusiveglobalframework.Suchaframeworkisessentialforthemulti-stakeholderactionrequiredtoovercomedigital,dataandinnovationdividesandtoachievethegovernancerequiredforasustainabledigitalfuture.

Whatdoesasharedvisionondigitalcooperationinvolve?

Asharedvisionondigitalcooperationrequirescollectivelysettinggoalsandpursuingactiontosafeguardandadvanceourdigitalfuture.

CLOSINGTHEDIGITALDIVIDEANDADVANCINGTHESUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENTGOALS

Wehavealreadysetambitiousgoalsforuni-versalandmeaningfulconnectivity.TheKigaliDeclarationof2022,agreedattheWorldTelecommunicationDevelopmentConference,detailswhatthatinvolves:available,interopera-ble,high-qualityandsustainableinfrastructure;inclusive,affordableandsecurecoverage;andthecapacityandskillsforpeopletomakefullandsafeuseofconnectivity.AttheTransformingEducationSummitheldinSeptember2022,

90percentofthe133nationalcommitmentscontainedreferencestodigitallearningandskills.Follow-upactionsincludeinitiativestoexpandpublicdigitallearningopportunitiesformakingfreeandopeneducationresourcesaccessibletoteachers,learnersandfamiliesinruralaswellasurbancommunities.9

Whatisneedednowisconcertedactiontocon-necttheremaining2.7billionpeople,morethan1billionofwhomarechildrenandmostofwhomliveinleastdevelopedcountries;policyandfinan-cialinvestmentstomakebroadbandandmobiledevicesaffordableandreliable;andaglobaleffort

tostrengthendigitallearningandskills,withtar-getedeffortsforwomen,girlsandyoungpeople,sothateveryonecantakefulladvantageoftheopportunitiesofconnectivityandemployersandworkerscanadapttodigitaltransformation.

Supply-sideinitiativesarenotenoughforahuman-centreddigitaltransformation.Ademandpullisalsoneededthroughtheprovisionofdigi-talpublicgoodsandservicesthataremeaning-fulforpeopleandcommunities.Governments,includinginthecontextoftheGroupof20,andmulti-stakeholderpartnerships,suchastheDigitalPublicGoodsAlliance,areexploringoptionsfordevelopingdigitalpublicinfrastructure.Thesepublicgoodsharnesshugeamountsofdatathat,ifsafelygovernedandeffectivelyused,canhelpcountriestoacceleratetheirdevelopmentandadvancetheachievementofthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment.Toenableschools,medicalfacilities,businessesandculturalinsti-tutionstopoolresourcesanddrawuponpublicdata,digitalpublicinfrastructuremustbeopen,inclusive,secureandinteroperable.Thecapaci-tiesofpublicadministrationstomanageandpro-videdigitalservicesmustbeurgentlybuilt.

Associetiesinvestinthesegoods,awealthofknowledge,bestpracticesandexperienceisbeinggathered.Thetaskbeforeusnowistocreatecommonframeworksandstandardsfordigitalpublicinfrastructureandservices,buildmulti-stakeholderpartnershipsforscalinguptheirprovisionandensurethatpeopleandpublicservantshavetheskillsandopportunitiestouseandcreatevaluefromdigitaltechnologies.

DIGITALPUBLICSERVICESFORFORCIBLYDISPLACEDPEOPLE

Leavingnoonebehindalsomeansputtinginplacerobustandaccessiblearrange-mentsforpeoplewhohavebeenforciblydisplaced,currentlynumbering103mil-lion.TheOfficeoftheUnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugeesiscreatinganaccessibleentrypointforsafelycommuni-catingtheirneedsandaccessinghuman-itarianservicesandisworkingwithhostcommunitiesandGovernmentstoensurethatforciblydisplacedcommunitiesareincludedinthedevelopmentandimple-mentationofdigitalpublicservices.

Wemustalsonurtureinnovationfordevelopmentinareasinwhichwearefallingbehind.Weknowthecross-cuttingpotentialofdigitaltechnolo-giestoadvanceprogressacrosstheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsbeyondqualityeducation(Goal4)andindustry,innovationandinfrastruc-ture(Goal9).

Whatwehavenotyetdoneisharnessdataatscale,makethemgloballyaccessibleandusethemtoinformnationalandinternationaldevelopmentplansandprogrammesaswellaspublic-privatepartnerships,e-commerce,tech-nologicalentrepreneurshipandcapitalinvest-ments.Progresstowardsachieving41percentofthe92environmentalSustainableDevelopmentGoalsindicators,forexample,cannotcurrentlybegloballymeasuredowingtoalackofinteroperabledataandstandardizedreporting.Overcomingthisfragmentationandadoptingglobalenvironmen-taldatastandardsarecriticaltoenablingactiontoaddressthetripleplanetarycrisis.Networks,suchastheCoalitionforDigitalEnvironmentalSustainabilityfacilitatedbytheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme,canhelptopromotecommonsustainabilitystandardsandaccesstoenvironmentaldataandtoalignincentivesforacceleratinggreentransitions.

Urgentinvestmentsareneededin“datacom-mons”,whichpooldataanddigitalinfrastruc-tureacrossborders,buildflagshipdatasetsandstandardsforinteroperabilityandbringtogetherdataandAIexpertisefrompublicandprivateinstitutionstobuildinsightsandapplicationsfortheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.

FIGUREII

GLOBALDIGITALCOOPERATIONANDTHESUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTGOALS

DigitalIDslinkedwithbankormobilemoneyaccountscanimprovethedeliveryofsocialprotectioncoverageandservetobetterreacheligiblebeneficiaries.Digitaltechnologiesmayhelptoreduceleakage,errorsandcostsinthedesignofsocialprotectionprogrammes.

Dronetechnologycanmonitorcropsandprovideinformationonhowmuchwaterisneeded.Softwaresystemsavailablethroughmobileappscanmonitorandanalysedatatohelpfarmerstodecidewhentoplant,fertilize,irrigateandharvesttheircrops.

Novelplatform-basedvaccinetechnologiesandsmartvaccinemanufacturingtechniqueshelptoproducegreaternumbersofhigher-qualityvaccines.Open-sourceplatformscanhelpaccelerateandscaleupvaccinedelivery.

Accessibleandaffordableconnectivityallowsyoungpeopletouseopen,freeandhigh-qualitydigitalskillsandtrainingplatforms.Smartdigitalplatformscanbemadeaccessibleinlocallanguagesandusedtoaligncurriculawithinternationallyrecognizedstandardsandcertification.

Connectivityenableswomenandgirlstoaccessinformationandcommunicatefortheirsafetyanddevelopment.Itcanallowgirlstoaccesssupportservices,learnaboutsexualandreproductivehealthandexpresstheirvoices.

Internetofthings-basedprecisionirrigationandleakagemanagementsystemsenablethemonitoringandmanagementofwaterresources.Inurbanareas,artificialintelligencesystemsdrawupondatasuchasrainforecastsandthenumberofrooftopstodeterminerainfallrun-off.

Next-generationdigitalnetworkshavelowerenergyconsump-tion,andsmartgridscansupportelectrificationandmoreaffordableconnectivity.Artificialintelligencetechnologycanbeusedforpredictivemaintenanceofelectricalutilities,enablingautomaticbackupsandlimitingdowntime.

Internetavailabilityleadstomorejobs.LabourforceparticipationandwageemploymentincreaseinareaswithInternetavailability.Useoflocal-languagevideosanddecisionsupportapplicationsonsmartphonessupportspersonalizedadviceresultinginbetterjobs.

Mobiledigitaltechnologiesareenablinghigh-qualitycommunicationsinfrastructureandnetworkstoexpandintounderservedremoteandruralareas.Dataandartificialintelligencetechnologiescanaccelerateinnovationandproductivityinkeysectorssuchasagricultureandmanufacturing.

Digitalpublicgoodsandapplicationssuchasmobilemoneyareenablingaccesstofinancialandotherservicesforallmembersofsocieties,includingwomenandgirls,ruralcommunitiesanddisplacedpeople.

Intelligentsystemsdeployinformationfromremotesensorstoguidetrafficsignalsandmaximizetheefficientflowofcommutersinurbanareas.Theycanbeusedtodesignsafetransportationforvulnerableandunderservedcommunities

Digitaltechnologiessuchas3Dprinting,theInternetofthings,bigdata,cloudcomputingandblockchaincansupportacirculareconomyandsupplychainresilience,inparticularinmanufacturingindustries.

Informationandcommunicationstechnologysolutionscanhelptocutnearly10timesmorecarbondioxidethantheyemit.Digitaltechnologiescombinedwithecologicaldesigncanhelptoreducenaturalresourcesandothermaterialsusedinproductsbyupto90percent,lesseningtheimpactofmaterialextraction.

Satelliteimagingandmachinelearningcanhelpfindandcollectthe5trillionpiecesofoceanplastictrash.Onlineportalsandmobile-basedtoolscanconnecttheplasticssupplychain,tracktheflowofwastematerials,andhelpcreatetransparentdigitalmarketplacesforplasticwaste.

SensorsandmonitorsconnectedtotheInternetofthings,cloud-baseddataplatforms,blockchain-enabledtrackingsystemsanddigitalproductpassportsunlocknewcapabilitiesforthemeasurementandtrackingofenvironmentalandsocialimpactsacrossvaluechains.

Publictechnologiesande-governmentservices,wherewelldesignedandapplied,enablepeopletoaccesspublicservices,reducewasteandcorruptionandcreatedatathatallowpublicinstitutionstotargetneedsmoreeffectively.

PartnershipsbetweenStates,privatesectorandcivilsocietyleveragethecapacityofdigitaltoolstoprovidesolutionsfordevelopmentacrosstheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.ExamplesincludetheDigitalPublicInfrastructureAlliance,theCoalitionforDigitalEnvironmentalSustainabilityandpublic-privatepartnershipsfordisasterresponse.

MAKINGTHEONLINESPACEOPENANDSAFEFOREVERYONE

Wehavecommittedtoapplyinghumanrightsonlineandtoputtinginplacespecificmeasurestoprotectpeopleandcommunities,inparticularwomen,chil-dren,youngpeopleandolderpersons,personswithdisabilities,Indigenouspeoplesandethnic,religiousandlinguisticminorities.However,ineverysocietyaroundtheworld,harmisrampant.Open,safeandsecureuseoftheInternetisslippingawayfromus–potentiallypermanently.

GovernmentshutdownsoftheInternet,data-fuelledStatesurveillanceandpredatorybusinessmodelsposeseriousriskstohumanrights.Disinformation,hatespeechandmaliciousandcriminalactivityincyberspaceraisetherisksandcostsforeveryoneonline.

UnitedNationsprocessesaddressingcybersecurityhaveidentifiednormsofresponsibleStatebehav-iourtohelpsafeguardpeaceandsecurityonlineandareexploringconfidenceandcapacity-buildingmeasurestoadvancethem.Statesarealsoexplor-inglegallybindingarrangementstotacklecriminalthreatsaswellascapacityforGovernmentsandjudiciariestocounter,investigate,prosecuteandadjudicateoncybercrime.RegionsandStatesareputtinginplacelegislationforonlinesafety.Somedigitalplatformsareinvestingresourcesinbetterdetectingandrespondingtoonlineabuse,andcur-riculaarebeingintroducedtodevelopdigitallyliter-atecitizenscapableofthinkingcriticallyandtakingprotectiveaction.

However,theseapproachesareprovinginsufficienttoaddressharms.Theonusforsafetyshouldnotliewithusers.Profitingfromanonlinepresenceandaccesstousers’datamustnotbecomearacetothebottomintermsofcorporateresponsibility.Weneedtransparency,accountability,oversightandcapacitytomaketheonlinespaceopen,safeandsecure.AstheHigh-levelAdvisoryBoardon

EffectiveMultilateralismhasalsoemphasized,thismustbeacollectiveefforttoensurethatregional,nationalorindustryinitiatives,howeverwell-mean-ing,donotfurtherfragmenttheInternet.

Actioninfourareasisessential.First,wemustbal-ancetheincentiveforgovernmentsandindustrytomaximizedatacollectionwithprinciplesandstand-ardsforpoliciesandpracticesthatprotectdataandtherighttoprivacy.Personaldatashouldonlybecol-lectedforspecified,explicitandlegitimatepurposes,andtheirprocessingmustberelevantandlimitedtowhatisnecessaryforthosepurposes.Peopleneedtobeabletocontroltheirpersonaldataandhowthedataareused.Publicandcommercialdigitalplat-formsneedtoenablemeaningfulchoicesforoptinginandout,andpeopleneedtheknowledgeandskillstoavailofthosechoices.

Second,wemustapplythesamesafedesignapproachesandstandardsthatweuseacrossphysicalindustries–cars,food,pharmaceuticalsandtoys–todigitaltechnologiesandplatforms.Developingasharedunderstandingofwhatconsti-tutesphysicalandmentalharmbasedonuniversalhumanrights,andaligningsafetystandardsacrossregions,countriesandindustries,canhelptobuildaglobalcultureofdigitaltrustandsecurity.Ethicsandsafetyteamscannotbeoptional:technologycompaniesmustinvestinstandingcapacitiesforresponsibledevelopmentandriskmanagement.

Third,wemuststrengthenaccountabilityforharm-fulandmaliciousactsonline.TheGuidingPrinciplesonBusinessandHumanRightsprovideaframe-workforassessingrisksandmitigating,andprovidingremediesfor,harmwhennecessary.Ashighlightedinmyforthcomingpolicybriefoninformationintegrityondigitalplatforms,giventhetransnationalnatureofdigitalplatforms,transpar-encyandsafetymeasuresmustbeinteroperable,andpromptredressalshouldnotbereservedforaprivilegedfew.

Fourth,wemustprotecttheglobalnatureoftheInternetandthephysicalinfrastructurethatunder-pinsit.10TheInternetisgovernedbylong-estab-lishedmulti-stakeholderinstitutions.Whilelegalandregulatoryapproachesmaydifferamongjurisdic-tions,concertedeffortsmustbemadetomaintainactivepolicycompatibilityandtheinteroperabilityoftheInternet.

GOVERNINGARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCEFORHUMANITY

Thepaceofdigitaltechnologydevelopmentischal-lengingourgovernancesystems.Toolsthatworkedwellinthepast–publicpolicyprocessesandlegis-lation–aretoosiloedtoanticipateandtooslowtorespondtothemultiplewaysinwhichinnovationsaffectus.

Artificialintelligencedevelopmentsshowhowdangerousthisgovernancegaphasbecome.CompaniesareracingtobringAItechnologytothemarketplacebeforeoutputsareexplainableandreli-ableandbeforetheirconsequenceshavebeencom-prehensivelyassessed.Educationisbeingtrans-formedovernight.Theabilitytocreatebelievablecontentatscaleandlowcostisintensifyingmisin-formationanddisinformationthreats.Thefutureofworkmaychangewithoutsufficienttimeforinstitu-tionstoadapt.StatesmaybeincentivizedtodevelopanddeployAI-enabledsystemsfordatacollection,judicialproceedings,surveillanceandwarfarewith-outtheguardrailsinplacetoensurethatsuchusesarelawful.Introducingautonomyintoweaponsys-temswithouthumanaccountabilityandcontrolmayleadusintounchartedwatersintermsofinterna-tionalsecurity.Thepotentialforescalationandforglobalharmsthatwecannotmitigateisalarming.

Artificialintelligenceholdsimmensepotentialforoureconomies,societiesandtheplanet.Appliedwell,AIcanincreaseefficiency,andsupportresourcemanagment,climatemitigation,disaster

responseandproductiveeconomictransformation.Wearebeginningtorealizethescaleofitsdisruptivepotential,bothpositiveandnegative,butwehaveyettocometogethertoconsidertheissues,muchlesstocollaborateonidentifyingrisksandagilewaysofmitigatingthem.

IwelcomethegrowinginterestamongAIexpertsonhowbesttogovernthedevelopmentanduseofAI.Weneedaglobal,multidisciplinaryconversationinordertoexamine,assessandaligntheapplicationofAIandotheremergingtechnologies.Over100setsofethicalAIprincipleshavebeendevelopedbydif-ferentstakeholders,andtheysharemanycommonideas,includingtheneedforAIapplicationstobereliable,transparent,accountable,overseenbyhumansandcapableofbeingshutdown.11Differentstakeholdersareadaptingexistingframeworksordevelopingnewonesforriskmanagementandredress.Theyneedtobeharmonizedandeffec-tiveacrossborders.Industryself-regulationisnotenough.Weneedtobringstakeholderstogetherinameaningfulefforttoconsidertheimplicationsofemergingtechnologiesandensurethattheyalignwithuniversalhumanrightsandvaluesbeforetheirwidespreadapplicationinoursocieties,economies,militariesandpolitics.

Wealsoneedtobendthearcofdigitalinvestmentmoretowardssolvingsocietalproblemsandsharedglobalchallenges.Digitalinnovations,ifconsciouslyapplied,canhelptoovercomeobstaclestoprogressontheSustainableDevelopmentGoals,butonlyiftheyrestonadiverseglobalfoundation.Withoutengagingglobaltalentanddiverseandrepresent-ativedatasets,theapplicationofdigitalsolutionswillnotbesufficienttoachievethescaleneededtoadvancetheGoals.Andwithoutinvolvingpublicadministrations,smallandmedium-sizedenter-prisesandcommunitiesincraftinglocallyrelevantapplications,theywillnothavetheimpactthatweseek.

AGlobalDigitalCompact

Digitaltechnologiestodayaresimilartonaturalresourcessuchasairandwater.Ourwell-beinganddevelopmentdependontheirglobalavailabil-ity.Theirpotentialcanbeoptimizedonlythroughsharedaccessanduse.Asmuchweareadapt-ingourstewardshipofenergyandwaterintheclimatecrisis,wemustcollectivelyaddresstheriskofdigitalharmsandmaximizethepotentialforcommongood.

Someofthemostcrucialpartsofthedigitalspacealreadyfunctioninthisway.Internetprotocolsaremanagedthroughinternationalframeworksandopenstandards.Muchoftheopen-sourcesoftwarethatenablestheseiscommunity-