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Global CyberPolitics

Social Contract for the AI Age

Developed by the Boston Global Forum—at invitation of the United Nations Academic Impact and associated with the UN Centennial—and presented in Remaking the World Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment, 2021. (Tuan, ed. 2021).

Below are edited selections from Chapter 1 on Social Contract for the AI, Standards for a Peaceful, Secure, and Prosperous World, authored by: Dukakis et al. (2021).

Context

Advances in AI have already altered conventional ways of seeing the world around us. This is creating new realities for everyone—as well as new possibilities. These advances in AI are powerful in many ways. They have created a new global ecology and yet remain opaque and need to be better understood.

We must now focus through dialogue, tolerance, learning and understanding on key principles and practices for an agreement among members of society for shared social benefit that we call the Social Contract for the AI Age.

Logic

Just as earlier social contracts helped shape societies for a common purpose, the Social Contract for the AI Age has a transformative vision, one that transcends the technological features of artificial intelligence and focuses on foundations for a new society. It is designed to create standards for a new international system.

The goal is to make the world a locus of responsible interaction—a place where every person’s contribution is recognized and everyone has a right to knowledge and access to information, where no one is above the law. And a place where money cannot be used to subvert political process, and where integrity, knowledge, creativity, honesty, and tolerance shape decisions and guide policy.

Objectives

The Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to build a multi-stakeholder, inclusive society in all aspects of life across politics, government, economics, business, and industry. The Social Contract for the AI Age values creation, innovation, philanthropy, and mutual respect. It seeks the right of freedom on, and access to, the Internet worldwide.

The Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to make the world a locus of responsible interaction—a place where every person’s contribution is recognized and everyone has a right to knowledge and access to information, where no one is above the law, where money cannot be used to subvert political process, and where integrity, knowledge, creativity, honesty, and tolerance shape decisions and guide policy.

Critical Imperative

The Social Contract for the AI Age is a solid basis upon which to pursue sustainable and inclusive development for the global community in a fair, equitable, and increasingly prosperous ways. It is designed to frame a people-centered economy and to create a trustworthy AI, data, and Internet ecosystem for all. As such, it must be a transparent and accountable, and develop standards driven by policies based on trustworthy data.

Given that data is the basis for self-determination, it provides the ability to measure the impact of actions and policy in the AI realm. Data literacy at all levels of society, together with open, trustworthy information, is the basis for an intelligent, thoughtful society.

In short, the Social Contract for the AI Age seeks to build a world where all are recognized and valued, and all forms of governance adhere to a set of values and are accountable and transparent. It is a world where global challenges are met by collective action and responsibility.

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