As part of the decision of the UNESCO General Conference at its 40th session in November 2019, UNESCO has embarked on a two-year process to develop the first global normative instrument on the ethics of artificial intelligence. An online public consultation is open until 31 July 2020.

In 2020, UNESCO focused on the preparation of the draft text of the Recommendation with the assistance of an ad hoc Group of Experts. This phase will include inclusive and multidisciplinary consultations with a wide range of stakeholders. These broad consultations are extremely important to ensure that the draft text is as inclusive as possible.

Towards the end of 2020 and in 2021, the focus will be on an intergovernmental process and the negotiation of the draft text in order to produce a final version of the Recommendation for possible adoption by the General Conference of UNESCO at its 41st session at the end of 2021.

UNESCO’s work on the recommendation is based on the preliminary study of the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) of UNESCO. This study points out that, at present, no global instrument covers all the areas that guide the development and application of AI in a people-centred approach.

Online public consultation

The purpose of the online consultation is to gather feedback on the first draft recommendation. UNESCO indicates its wish to include as many voices as possible in order to develop a comprehensive, inclusive and pluralistic text.

This process aims to capture the interests, concerns and views of as many stakeholders involved in AI as possible around the world, including the general public, academia, the scientific and technical community, civil society, the private sector and government entities.

The participations will contribute to enrich the draft recommendation with different views on how AI could be beneficial or detrimental to society. Everyone and all regions of the world should take part in this debate. AI is everybody’s business!

Take part in this exchange! Answer the survey in English or French.

Deadline: July 31, 2020.

Translated from Ethique de l’intelligence artificielle : Participez à la consultation de l’UNESCO pour l’élaboration d’une recommandation