This is the first social contract in the digital, Internet and AI era, a platform for connection among governments, stakeholders, and private and public institutions, and for balancing centers of power, initiated by the Boston Global Forum, will pay particular attention to insights presented by government representatives, academic institutions, think tanks, tech companies and civil society.
The Social Contract for the AI Age was completed and launched on September 9, 2020.
The co-authors of the Social Contract for the AI Age are:
Governor Michael Dukakis, Boston Global Forum and
President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Latvia and World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid
Vint Cerf, Father of Internet, Google, Nazli Choucri, MIT,
Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Tuan Anh Nguyen, Boston Global Forum, Thomas Patterson, Harvard University,
Alex Pentland, MIT, Marc Rotenberg, CAIDP, David Silbersweig, Harvard University
Please view and download the Social Contract for the AI Age either here or here.
This week in The History of AI at AIWS.net – DARPA founded the Strategic Computing Initiative to fund research of advanced computer hardware and artificial intelligence in 1983. DARPA stands for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a research and development agency founded by the US Department of Defense in 1958 as the ARPA. Although its aim was for usage in the military, many of the innovations the agency funded were beyond the requirements for the US military. Some technologies that emerged from the backing of DARPA are computer networking and graphical user interfaces. DARPA works with academics and industry and report directly to senior DoD officials.
The Strategic Computing Initiative was founded in 1983, after the first AI winter in the 70s. The initiative supported projects that helped develop machine intelligence, from chip design to AI software. The DoD spent a total of 1 billion USD (not adjusted for inflation) before the program’s shutdown in 1993. Although the initiative failed to reach its overarching goals, specific targets were still met.
This project was created in response to Japan’s Fifth Generation Computer program, funded by the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1982. The goal of this program was to create computers with massively parallel computing and logic programming and to propel Japan to the top spots in advanced technology. This will then create a platform for future developments in AI. By the time of the program’s end, the opinion of it was mixed, divided between considering it a failure or ahead of its time.
Although the results of the SCI and other computer/AI projects in the 80s were mixed, they helped brought funding back to AI development after the first AI winter in the 70s. The History of AI marks the Strategic Computer Initative as an important event in AI due to its revival of AI in the US.
Democratic former Heads of State and Government, Members of Club de Madrid, current Government representatives, experts and renowned scholars will analyse global challenges and offer actionable policy solutions at a transatlantic and multi-stakeholder Policy Lab on the Social Contract for the AIAge, a new social contract on digital technologies and artificial intelligence
Madrid, 10 September 2020. In the midst of the current COVID-19 global health emergency, has impacted all spheres of life, humanity has turned to digital technologies and artificial intelligence to face impending challenges. From remote working to financial services and medical equipment, the extent to which we now depend on technology is increasing at a staggering rate. Hospitals are using robots to disinfect rooms, governments have become reliant on complex databases to curb the virus’ spread, and programmers have designed phone apps from which we can remotely control outbreaks. Under the present circumstances, technology seems to be an ally rather than a foe. Still, increasing concern from governments, academics and civil society that this technological transformation may be outpacing policy, must not be overlooked.
To debate these challenges, this forthcoming Policy Lab will convene over 10 former democratic Heads of State and Government (all Members of Club de Madrid) Manuel Muñiz, Secretary of State for Global Spain, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, as well as world class experts like computer scientist and father of the Internet, Vint Cerf, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, MIT Professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, Governor Michael Dukakis, Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States (1988), professors of Harvard, MIT, and top universities. Together, participants will lend their experience-based critical judgement to pioneering discussions which seek, among other priorities, to identify ways of engaging different sectors of society in grounding policymaking while protecting the democratic mandate.
Safeguarding citizen rights has become imperative since technology grants substantial power to those who control it. For instance, the technology being used to track citizen movements could potentially pose a violation of privacy rights if misused or left at the hands of non-democratic governments. New communication channels have also been contributing to the rapid spread of fake news about COVID-19, which has generated disinformation and increased confusion.
All in all, the rapid rollout of digital technologies and AI beyond the control of states poses a global challenge never seen before, which is why we should not set global, regional and national standards of digital governance without the participation of all societal actors. In this sense, debates from this Policy Lab on “TheSocial Contract for the AI Age”, the first social contract in the digital, Internet and AI era, a platform for connection among governments, stakeholders, and private and public institutions, and for balancing centers of power, initiated by the Boston Global Forum, will pay particular attention to insights presented by government representatives, academic institutions, think tanks, tech companies and civil society.
By comparing American and European approaches in the creation of a new social contract on digitalisation, with the foresight of former democratic presidents and prime ministers, this discussion will generate a space to encourage and strengthen transatlantic cooperation around digital governance, in the framework of much needed multilateral reforms and urgent global responses to global challenges like the COVID-19 crisis. The dialogue will also serve as a platform to establish a Transatlantic Alliance for Digital Governance and the AIWS City, an all-digital virtual city based on the standards and norms of “the Social Contract for the AI Age”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy” and “Intellectual Society”. Lastly, the policy discussion aims to discuss the creation of an initiative to monitor governments as well as companies in using AI and to generate an AI Ethics Index at all levels.
REGISTRATION AND FURTHER INFORMATION
Join us in this Policy Lab “Transatlantic Approaches to Digital Governance: A New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” to be held between 16-18 September.
World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid (WLA-CdM) is the largest assembly of political leaders working to strengthen democratic values, good governance and the well-being of citizens across the globe. As a non-profit, non-partisan, international organization, its network is composed of more than 100 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from over 70 countries, together with a global body of advisors and expert practitioners, who offer their voice and agency on a pro bono basis, to today’s political, civil society leaders and policymakers. WLA-CdM responds to a growing demand for trusted advice in addressing the challenges involved in achieving ‘democracy that delivers’, building bridges, bringing down silos and promoting dialogue for the design of better policies for all. This alliance, providing the experience, access and convening power of its Members, represents an independent effort towards sustainable development, inclusion and peace, not bound by the interest or pressures of institutions and governments.
In 2019 the WLA-CdM launched a ‘Call to Action’ to promote a democratic approach to Digital Transformation and the Future of Democracy, developed during its 2019 Annual Policy Dialogue, whereby it invites world leaders to take proactive action to frame the development of digital technologies in an inclusive, fair and rights-based legal, political and social framework.
The Boston Global Forum (BGF) is a not-for-profit think tank based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its mission is to bring together, in an open and accessible public forum, an eclectic and engaging spectrum of esteemed academic leaders, real-world experts, thought leaders, media experts and promising young leaders, who are dedicated to seeking peaceful solutions to the most contentious issues of our times. An offshoot of The Boston Global Forum, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) was born in 2015. Its mission is to generate ideas, create solutions, and deploy initiatives to solve global issues, especially initiatives in Cybersecurity and AI World Society Innovation Network (AIWS-IN)
The Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS) is a set of values, ideas, concepts and protocols for standards and norms whose goal is to advance the peaceful development of AI to improve the quality of life for all humanity. It was conceived by the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) and established on November 22, 2017. Read more here.
CONTACT
Further details of WLA-CdM are available by contacting Agustina Briano, Outreach and Development Coordinator of WLA-CdM: [email protected]
Further details of BGF and AIWS are available by contacting Tuan Anh Nguyen, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Boston Global Forum, and Director of The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation: [email protected]
For press credentials please contact Dick Pirozzolo: [email protected] / +16179594613
For press inquiries and/or interview requests of WLA-CdM Members, please reach Alejandro Hita, Communications Manager of WLA-CdM: [email protected] / +34607694354
This week in The History of AI at AIWS.net – the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence was proposed. The proposal was submitted on September 2, 1955, but written on August 31, 1955. It was the collaboration of John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon, who would all go on to become important AI pioneers. John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky came from academic backgrounds (Dartmouth and Harvard respectively). On the other hand, Nathaniel Rochester (IBM) and Claude Shannon (Bell Telephones) were tied to corporations.
This proposal was the first instance of the phrase Artificial Intelligenc being used officially. The document names direct some aspects of AI – automatic computer, how can a computer can be programmed to use a language, neuron nets, theory of the size of calculation, self improvements, and randomness and creativity. The research proposal asked for funding from sources such as the Rockefeller Foundation. Their estimated cost was $13,500 (not calculated for inflation)
The document called for a “2 month, 10-man study of Artificial Intelligence” in the summer of 1956 (the year following this document’s publication) at Dartmouth College. During this study, researchers will try to connect computer and information sciences with the brain. Each originator of the document wrote their own research proposal.
This event marks one of the beginnings of AI – the conception of what AI is and AI could be. It is the prelude to the big event of AI, the Dartmouth Conference. Without a seminal source like this, AI would not exist or may have taken a different direction entirely. The program, History of AI, owes a debt to the document.
World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid Conference, September 17, 2020
Purpose:
To create an all-digital, virtual, kind, intelligent, and innovative ecosystem for work and life named “the AI World Society City (the AIWS City)”.
To practice concepts from “the Social Contract 2020, A New Social Contract in the Age of AI”, the People Centered Economy, and the Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society
To use the Internet and AI to shape brighter futures and to create an ecosystem for work and life with the philosophy of the People Centered Economy.
The AIWS City is an application and practice of the thoughts and ideas of Vint Cerf: The People Centered Economy.
Principles and Concepts:
Vint Cerf’s idea:” “All people can create value for each other. A good economy has an ecosystem of organizations that lets that happen, in the most meaningful and fulfilling ways.”
The AIWS City is an all-digital virtual city based on trusted open data, that applies the standards of “the Social Contract 2020”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy”, “Intellectual Society, a thoughtful civil society”, and “AI-Government”.
The features of Intellectual Society, a thoughtful civil society, are knowledge, critical thinking and social responsibility.
The AIWS City can assist citizens to become more thoughtful byenhancing knowledge, critical thinking and social responsibility
AIWS creates the concept of AIWS Value. AIWS Value: traditional value (products, services, data, innovation, creativities, etc.) + social values (contributions). Recognize and exchange traditional and social values.
The AIWS City will operate based on AIWS Value in order to create a good Ecosystem of the People Centered Economy – “all people can create value for each other”.
Model of AIWS City:
The AIWS City includes: Government of City, Citizens, Companies, and Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society
Governments: use AI-Government (government assisted by AI, Data Science, and Internet)
Build infrastructures for AI-Government based on Internet and Data Science (AI).
Create social works for citizens and supports special education programs for citizens, creating Ecosystem of the AIWS City.
Companies: apply Trustworthy Economy and support the People Centered Economy.
Citizens: all citizens in the world that accept, respect, and practice the standards and regulations of AIWS City can become its citizen. AIWS citizens create values from Ecosystem of the AIWS City.
Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society in the AIWS City: promote “the Social Contract 2020” and AIWS Value, as well as collaborate to create Ecosystem of the AIWS City.
Implementation:
The AIWS City Board of Leaders are: Governor Michael Dukakis, Chairman of the Boston Global Forum, Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of The Boston Global Forum, Professor Alex Pentland, MIT, Vint Cerf, Father of the Internet, Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, Professor Zlatko Lagumdzija, Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Professor Nazli Choucri, MIT, Professor David Silbersweig, Harvard University, Professor Thomas Patterson, Harvard University.
Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, also a professor of Computer Science, becomes a Member of the History of AI Board. He was a speaker at the United Nations 2045 Roundtable together with the Father of the Internet Vint Cerf on August 21, 2020.
Over 30 years of top academic and political experience including senior level functions in the
Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister,
two times as Deputy Prime Minister and two times as Minister of Foreign Affairs, six times
elected Member of the Parliament and leader of the largest multi-ethnic political party in the
country in various periods between 1992 and 2015.
Strong exposure to national and international development, including institutions building,
economies in transition and competitiveness, strategic use of information technologies,
inclusive and sustainable development, promoting diversity, shared societies, participation
and dialogue, consensus building, leadership during country’s recent turbulent history in
ending the conflict, peace-building and recovery.
Member of Club de Madrid-The World Leadership Alliance and World Academy of Arts and
Sciences. Founder of Shared Societies and Values Sarajevo Foundation.
Professor at School of Business and Economics and School of Electrical Engineering,
Sarajevo University since 1989. with PhD in Computer Science. Fulbright Scholar in the USA
as postdoctoral researcher and professor. Visiting and distinguished professor of different
universities in Europe, Asia and America among which are Distinguished Professor at
Swartzman College, Tsinghua University as well as BRI School and EMI of Beijing Normal
University.
Member of the Board of Trustees of Nizami International Center, member of Board of
Trustees Bibliotheca Alexandrina and member of numerous International Missions and
Commissions in different parts of the World.
On August 21, 2020, Vint Cerf, father of the Internet, was a keynote speaker at the United Nations 2045 Roundtable and the History of AI. Vint Cerf talked about historical moments at the birth of Internet. However, history is not just yesterday, it is also today and tomorrow. Cerf conceived a new concept of “The People Centered Economy: The new AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life”. Following Vint Cerf, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, co-founder of AIWS.net, introduced the concept and model of AI World Society City (AIWS City) AI World Society City (AIWS City), a virtual city that applies the standards of “the Social Contract 2020”, “People Centered Economy”, “Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civic Society”, and “AI-Government”, with AIWS Value to foster for Vint Cerf’s idea that “all people can create value for each other”.
Mr. Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact and Editor-in-Chief of the United Nations Chronicle Magazine moderated the event. Governor Michael Dukakis, Chairman of the History of AI Board, former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdzija, Dr. Le Minh Chien, President of Dalat University, member of the History of AI Board, and professors from Harvard, MIT, University of Tokyo, Saint Petersburg (Russia) joined as participants.
On August 21, 2020, Vint Cerf, father of the Internet, was a keynote speaker at the United Nations 2045 Roundtable and the History of AI. Vint Cerf talked about historical moments at the birth of Internet. However, history is not just yesterday, it is also today and tomorrow. Cerf conceived a new concept of “The People Centered Economy: The new AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life”. Following Vint Cerf, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, co-founder of AIWS.net, introduced the concept and model of AI World Society City (AIWS City) AI World Society City (AIWS City), a virtual city that applies the standards of “the Social Contract 2020”, “People Centered Economy”, “Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civic Society”, and “AI-Government”, with AIWS Value to foster for Vint Cerf’s idea that “all people can create value for each other”.
Mr. Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact and Editor-in-Chief of the United Nations Chronicle Magazine moderated the event. Governor Michael Dukakis, Chairman of the History of AI Board, former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdzija, Dr. Le Minh Chien, President of Dalat University, member of the History of AI Board, and professors from Harvard, MIT, University of Tokyo, Saint Petersburg (Russia) joined as participants.
Professor Caroline A. Jones, MIT, has joined the History of AI Board at AIWS.net.She is a Professor in History, Theory, and Criticism of the Architecture Department at MIT.
She wrote a chapter of the book “Possible Minds: 25 Ways of Looking At AI” (2019), whose co-authors are Judea Pearl, Alex Pentland, Max Tegmark, Stuart Russell, and others. She said “Humans must truly understand intelligence to re-create it”, and “As we enshrine computation as the core of smartness, we would be well advised to think of the complexity of our ‘wet’ cognition, which entails a much more distributed notion of intelligence that goes well beyond the sacred cranium and may not even be bounded by our own skin.”
Dr. Ramu Damodaran, Chief of United Nations Academic Impact, chaired and moderated a fascinating UN 2045 Roundtable on July 24, 2020.
Alex Pentland, Professor of MIT Connection Science, Co-founder of AIWS.net, presented a new model, term: The Trustworthy Economy. He said:”Today’s financial systems are not trusted by citizens because they are inherently unstable and winner-take-all, so for most people the system offers only failure. Today, new digital technologies allow the fine-grain feedback needed to build systems that are dramatically more stable, which reward everyone’s contribution to society, and provide everyone with a realistic opportunity to build a good life.”
Discussants:
Bill Ottman, Co-Founder and CEO of Minds.com
Marc Rotenberg, Director of CAIDP, Michael Dukakis Institute
Anders Corr, Principal of Corr Analytics
Marcel Zutter, Chairman of Parsumo Invest
Allan Cytryn, Former CTO of Goldman Sachs
Anders Hjorth Agerskov, Lead Public Sector Specialist, World Bank
Barry Nolan, Senior Adviser to the US Congress
Jeff Saviano, Global Tax Innovation Leader of EY, MIT Connection Science Fellow
Quy Nguyen, a Member of Young Leaders, AIWS.net
This is an event of the History of Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
Slides from Professor Alex Pentland’s presentation can be found here.
