According to Cointelegraph, the United Nations (UN) and the Dutch government have announced plans to create a framework for the ethical supervision of artificial intelligence (AI). The Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure and the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially launched the project, called 'Supervising AI by Competent Authorities,' on October 5. The project aims to assemble data on how European countries supervise AI and has financial support from the European Commission's Technical Support Instrument (TSI). The information collected will result in a list of best practice-type recommendations.
Gabriela Ramos, the assistant director-general for social and human science of UNESCO, emphasized that the discussion is not about technology but rather about society. She stated that effective governance frameworks underpinned by ethical and moral values are needed to shape the technological development of AI. The information gathered will also assist in the creation of future training sessions to improve institutional capacity on the topic. UNESCO has already played a significant role in creating ethical guidelines for AI, which all of its member states adopted in November 2021.
These moves from UNESCO come after the EU's AI Act was passed in parliament in June 2022. The AI Act is a comprehensive set of rules for AI development within the EU. Since the passing of the bill, the EU has introduced an initiative for AI startups in the region, which will fast-track access to supercomputers. Individual European countries, such as Spain and Germany, have also been considering AI regulation and development strategies. Spain announced plans for a local AI regulation agency and a national strategy to ensure AI development in the country is inclusive, sustainable, and citizen-centered. In Germany, politicians and digital experts are divided on how to best manage and implement the technology.