NextGen Network:
How AI can work for humanity

Artificial intelligence will disrupt labor markets and the global economy. It will help medicine, health, and sustainability, and challenge building an inclusive economy. Tech companies will benefit, but governments must lead on addressing its impacts. How do we deliver ethical AI in society? How can we leverage AI to address societal challenges?

The Aspen International Partners of the NextGen Network, supported by Microsoft, launched The NextGen Network Report: How AI can work for humanity on September 24th. The report outlines perspectives from across the Network about how artificial intelligence could address major societal challenges and reduce technology’s negative impacts. Conversations with NextGen members, including a survey, show how this technology could be ethically developed and deployed.

From Mexico, Germany, and Central Europe to India, France, and the UK, distinct guiding principles and recommendations have emerged on how AI should be used, governed, and incorporated into national strategies, as well as on how countries, the international community, companies, and individuals should distinctly respond to and leverage nascent technologies like AI. Without ethical governance of AI, it cannot be truly dependable and steeped into every facet of daily life.

The discussions across the Network have underscored how the NextGen countries differ in values and guiding principles. There is a consensus, however, stating that companies should create an internal “AI ethics officer” to oversee the ethical and transparent implementation of AI, which would encourage companies to take responsibility for assessing their biases and develop their own ethics protocols. In addition, participants from each NextGen country have voiced widespread concern about how data is being collected, stored, and used. It is essential that steps should be taken by governments and companies to ensure that data collection is secure and does not violate consumers’ rights or agency.