UNESCO’s Global Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and Academic Network on AI Ethics and Policy is a collaborative initiative that aims to facilitate advocacy, knowledge exchange, and collaboration to widen civil society participation in the global AI governance landscape.
The 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of AI affirms the essential role of CSOs in shaping responsible, inclusive AI development by safeguarding human rights, raising public awareness of AI’s societal challenges and benefits—including socio-economic and psychological impacts—and emphasizes ensuring civil society’s legitimacy and participation in inclusive AI governance, a commitment reflected by the Network in advancing these objectives to foster resilient, inclusive civil societies globally.
The launch took place during a high-level plenary, “Amplifying the Voices of CSOs and Academic Institutions in AI”, featuring an outstanding panel where Kelly Forbes joined Dafna Feinholz (UNESCO), Saida Belouali (UNESCO), Virginia Dignum (Umeå University), Rachel Adams (Global Centre on AI Governance), David Leslie (The Alan Turing Institute), and Vilas Dhar (The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation), and Fadi Salem (Globethics).
We look forward to contributing meaningfully to this Network’s work and continuing the conversation on how we can foster AI systems that work for all communities.
Read more about the initiative here.
