The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is calling for greater co-operation and “interoperability” across governments to rein in artificial intelligence, amid serious risks stemming from the technology's rapid growth and reach.
With users of AI tools set to grow more than sixfold through the decade, to almost three quarters of a billion, principles for trustworthy AI need to be developed and implemented, Lucia Rossi, an economist and policy analyst at the OECD's AI division, said on the sidelines of Samsung Unpacked in Paris on Thursday.
“We see that policymakers across the globe are issuing different regulatory frameworks … we encourage interoperability across jurisdictions and encourage co-operation across these players,” she said.
Paris-based OECD has been focusing on AI for nearly a decade, and in May 2019 its member countries adopted the OECD AI Principles, the first intergovernmental standard on AI.
Regulations should be designed to protect “human rights, privacy, transparency, safety and accountability”, and any principle should “set a guide, a blueprint for policymakers and all stakeholders to set a common ground that we all must find to foster a thriving AI ecosystem”, Ms Rossi added.
Among the biggest risks when it comes to AI are bias and threats to authenticity, especially with its growing user base, Don McGuire, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Qualcomm, said at the panel.
The emergence of generative AI, propelled to the forefront by OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2023, has accelerated its expansion.
Growing interest in the technology, due to its advanced conversational skills, led to a scramble by technology majors such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Oracle, and corporate leaders such as X owner Elon Musk to enter the space.
However, its sudden rise has also raised questions about how data is used in AI models and how the law applies to the output of those models, such as a paragraph of text or a computer-generated image.
Users of AI tools are projected to reach 729.11 million by 2030, a 132 per cent jump from an estimated 314.38 million this year and a 529 per cent surge from 2020, data from Statista shows.
“We can continue to develop the future of mobile AI based on consumer experience, the importance of reliable AI development and the critical role of collaboration in shaping AI for the humanities,” said Won-joon Choi, an executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, which on Wednesday launched its newest foldable and wearable line-ups in the French capital.
Bridging the gap
The use of mobile AI is increasing and also having an impact on users' quality of life, a survey by Samsung and the University of London found.
Those who use AI more frequently are about 1.4 timesmore likely to rate their quality of life as “good to very good” compared to those who rarely use it, the study found.
The report, which surveyed more than 5,000 individuals, also revealed that 46 per centwere most likely to use mobile AI on their smartphones, with PCs next at 32 per cent.
More than half of people surveyed also indicated they will continue to use mobile AI as the technology advances in the future.
The study is the first of its kind linking AI on quality of life and lifestyles, said Chris Brauer, director of innovation of the Institute of Management Studies at Goldsmiths in the University of London.
“We approached it from a perspective where we were trying to understand what people actually wanted to do with this technology and where the opportunities, risks and fears lie, and engaging with it.”
The study also claims that mobile AI is giving users a boost “where it matters most” – creativity, productivity, social relationships and physical health.
Chris Brauer, director of innovation at the University of London, Lucia Russo, economist at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, Don McGuire, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Qualcomm, Won-joon Choi, executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, Jenny Blackburn, vice president at Google, Daehyun Kim, executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, and Carolina Milanesi, president of Creative Strategies, during the Salon d'AI panel discussions on the sidelines of Samsung's Unpacked event in Paris. Alvin R Cabral / The National
It will also be useful in addressing attempts to bridge the digital divide, which adversely affects those without access to the latest technology, Mr McGuire said.
“You have to connect the underconnected and unconnected, and then bring the technology to them and the skill set to be able to utilise it,” he said.
“Some people might say they are better off not being connected because they don't have to deal with social media … but there's so many obviously positive aspects of being connected, such as for healthcare and education, and moving the socioeconomic status of people all around.”
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024. It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine. Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages]. The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts. With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians. Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved. Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world. The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit
As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films Director: Remo D’Souza Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem Rating: 2.5 stars
