Erica Kochi, co-founder of UNICEF Innovation, gave a stellar keynote presentation on human rights and machine learning in a global context at this year’s Governance of Emerging Technologies & Science Conference.
Kochi and UNICEF see the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to impact the lives of children around the world, so they are launching a Children and AI project. This project aims to consider the impact of AI on children and prioritize the protection and enhancement of children’s rights.
AI is likely to impact almost every industry imaginable, but Kochi, UNICEF, and its partners are concerned that the greatest impacts may be felt by children. AI may touch every aspect of their lives – from how they are conceived and born, to how they learn, to the public and private services made available to them, to the jobs they will be trained for. Children have specific needs that should not be left behind in the evolution of this technology.
The project’s first goal is to identify the opportunities and risks to children associated with AI, and then to build an ethical framework for the advancement of AI that upholds and protects children’s rights. Eventually, the project’s work will include concrete recommendations for parents, teachers, governments, and private actors on how to promote children’s rights in the era of AI.
If you’d like to stay up to date on or participate in the work UNICEF and its partners will be doing around children’s rights in the AI era, please fill out this form.