UN
(SDGTALKING) – By Bunyamin Surmeli – UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned that artificial intelligence systems carry the risk of reproducing existing discrimination rather than reducing inequalities. It was noted that if the Asia-Pacific region continues at its current pace, it will miss 88 percent of the measurable Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
As the influence of artificial intelligence in the global economy grows rapidly, the United Nations warned that the impact of technological transformation on sustainable development and inequalities must not be overlooked.
In a speech at the Regional Meeting on Artificial Intelligence and Human Development held in Xi’an, China, on August 24, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed highlighted the risk that AI systems could learn from and reproduce past social inequalities.
According to UN data, at the current rate of progress, the Asia-Pacific region will not be able to achieve 88 percent of the measurable Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Mohammed specifically noted that women are underrepresented in artificial intelligence research. He pointed out that the lack of sufficient female representation in teams developing artificial intelligence and in the datasets used to train algorithms increases the risk of existing inequalities being carried over into digital systems.
Mohammed also stressed that young people must have a greater say in shaping the future of AI, noting that the generation that will live with these technologies the longest is currently one of the groups with the least say in how AI is developed.
The UN will bring regional discussions on AI and human development to New York in September. The process is scheduled to continue with meetings at the national and community levels leading up to the 2027 SDG Summit.
