- Meeting closes with the UAE announcement of a new Centre for Future Readiness – supported by “future ambassadors” and global protocols on artificial intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Global protocols and adaptive regulations can address risks posed by rapidly accelerating technology and place humans at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Institutions need to embrace radical transparency, open up to youth
- Find more information about the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils here: https://wef.ch/gfc17
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 12 November 2017 – The United Arab Emirates plans to create a Centre for Future Readiness, announced Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future of the UAE, in the closing plenary of the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils. Alongside the new centre, the UAE will create a global framework to assess future readiness, appoint “future ambassadors” and develop – in partnership with the World Economic Forum – global protocols for artificial intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We are the world’s largest lab for your ideas, for your thoughts,” said Al Gergawi to assembled community members. He pointed to the creation of the world’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence as evidence of the country’s readiness to act on the ideas emerging from the Forum’s Global Future Councils. The minister emphasized the importance of putting human-centred strategies in place, saying “our aim is to create a better future for humanity – that’s our calling as a nation.”
Al Gergawi’s comments touched on a key theme of the two-day meeting – the call to put people at the centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. At a time when the rapid development of new technologies is disrupting societies and threatening people’s sense of individual agency and privacy, action is needed to harness technology for the public good.
Areas of concern cited by constituents in an earlier session, Towards a Shared Narrative about the Future, include the risks posed to personal privacy by advances in neuroscience. “There is no protection of this last bastion of freedom – your brain,” cautioned Nita A. Farahany, Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University. Other risks highlighted include the weaponization of artificial intelligence and the role of social media in tribalizing and disrupting societies.
One solution put forward by constituents was new, adaptive regulations that establish minimum safeguards and can swiftly be adapted as technology progresses. “We have to create an environment in which people want to share their information in order to make advances,” said Farahany.
Progress can only be made if younger generations are allowed to play a role in shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “The next generation still feels talked at,” said community member Thomas Ermacora, adding: “we’re robbing them of the ability to co-create and contribute.” Institutions need to open up and embrace “radical transparency”. Public board meetings and youth advisory councils for global organizations are a good place to start. The UAE led the way with last year’s appointment of Shamma Al Mazrui as Minister of State for Youth Affairs – at just 22, she was the youngest cabinet minister in the world.
Also during the meeting:
- The Forum opened access to its Transformation Maps, a digital tool used by leaders for framing knowledge around 125 issues, industries and economies as well as their sometimes-hidden connections. Future iterations of the platform will be shaped with the engagement of the public as well as some of the world’s leading universities, think tanks and international organizations. Over 1,500 people registered on the platform in its first 72 hours.
- More than 100 senior government leaders from the United Arab Emirates participated in two special strategic sessions that explored emerging technologies and enablers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, engaging directly with experts from the Network of Global Future Councils on policy recommendations.
- The Network of Global Future Councils articulated 10 Visions for 2030, ranging from a decarbonized energy future to a world of ubiquitous information and a workplace where humans will increasingly be working alongside robots. Recommendations relating to these visions will be developed within the ongoing workstreams of the Forum’s 14 System Initiatives.
- The Council on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is developing a curriculum for ethics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in order to help ensure human values are at the centre of all development of emerging technologies. The council also agreed to act in an informal capacity as an advisory group for the United Arab Emirates’ new Ministry for Artificial Intelligence.
- The Council on Neurotechnologies and Brain Sciences agreed to support two initiatives: the development of a network of affordable brain labs, in emerging and developing economies. The council will also support a major public-private collaboration aimed at addressing the prevention of depressive disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.
- The Council on the Future of Cities and Urbanization published a paper, Data Driven Cities: 20 Stories of Innovation, underscoring innovative ways big data has been deployed in cities to improve efficiency and enhance quality of life.
- The Council on the Future of Climate Change and Natural Resource Scarcity advanced a new 4IR for the Earth Initiative, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum, Stanford University and PwC with support from the Mava Foundation. The purpose of the alliance is to identify, fund and scale up new ventures, partnerships and business models that are able to harness Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to solve the Earth’s challenges.
- The Council on the Future of Human Rights designed four guiding principles governing human rights concerns in machine learning: Active inclusion; Fairness; Right to understanding; and Access to remedy/redress.
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org)