"This report recognizes artificial intelligence (AI) as an opportunity to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through its contribution to building inclusive knowledge societies. Based on UNESCO’s Internet Universality ROAM framework agreed by UNESCO’s Member States i
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n 2015, this study analyzes how AI and advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) will impact Human Rights in terms of freedom of expression, privacy, media, journalism and non-discrimination; how Openness needs to inform the technological and safety challenges related to AI; how Access to AI hinges upon access to algorithms, hardware, human resources and data; and how a Multi-stakeholder approach concerning AI governance can address the challenges and opportunities for the benefit of humanity." (Back cover)
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"Key principles: 1. Data subjects must own their data – individually and collectively. 2. Our data requires protection from abuse. 3. We need the tools to control our data. 4. Data commons need appropriate governance frameworks. 5. Data protection, sharing and use require new institutions. 6. Data
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-creating work ought to come with data rights. 7. Data should be processed close to the point of its origin. 8. Cross-border data flows must be decided nationally. 9. Techno-structures need to be reclaimed as personal and public spaces. 10. We should own our software and be able to control it. 11. Key digital infrastructures need to be governed as public utilities. 12. Techno-structures must be decentralised for open use, with interoperability. 13. Global digital monopolies should be broken. 14. Societies’ datafication needs to be managed democratically. 15. Digital standards must be developed by public interest bodies. 16. The digital has to be governed in a local-to-global manner." (Pages 2-3)
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"Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social service
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s, or in building “smart cities”? How does algorithmic decision making impact on marginalised people and the poor? This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) provides a perspective from the global South on the application of AI to our everyday lives. It includes 40 country reports from countries as diverse as Benin, Argentina, India, Russia and Ukraine, as well as three regional reports. These are framed by eight thematic reports dealing with topics such as data governance, food sovereignty, AI in the workplace, and so-called “killer robots”. While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity." (Back cover)
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"Just about any social need is now met with an opportunity to "connect" through digital means. But this convenience is not free—it is purchased with vast amounts of personal data transferred through shadowy backchannels to corporations using it to generate profit. The Costs of Connection uncovers
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this process, this "data colonialism," and its designs for controlling our lives—our ways of knowing; our means of production; our political participation. Colonialism might seem like a thing of the past, but this book shows that the historic appropriation of land, bodies, and natural resources is mirrored today in this new era of pervasive datafication. Apps, platforms, and smart objects capture and translate our lives into data, and then extract information that is fed into capitalist enterprises and sold back to us. The authors argue that this development foreshadows the creation of a new social order emerging globally—and it must be challenged. Confronting the alarming degree of surveillance already tolerated, they offer a stirring call to decolonize the internet and emancipate our desire for connection." (Publisher description)
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"On 15 May 2017, as a precursor to the annual General Assembly, VOICE hosted an event entitled “Data collection and social media - innovation or challenge for humanitarian aid?”. The event brought together VOICE members, leading practitioners, and academics. The three panellists were Massimo Mar
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elli, Head of the Data Protection Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross, Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, a Research Professor in Humanitarian Studies at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and Tanya Penny, Communications Director in Disaster Management at World Vision. The panel was chaired by Mags Bird, Strategy Advisor for VOICE member Mission East. The subject of the debate – data and the use of new technologies and social media in humanitarian action – is extremely topical. The panel discussion and the Q&A with the audience that followed it demonstrated that data, social media, and new technologies undoubtedly present many opportunities for data collection and innovation in the humanitarian sector. However, the event also highlighted the many challenges and questions presented by the rise of new technologies that need to be addressed. Challenges/questions arising include potentially upsetting donors or putting communities and staff in danger through misuse of information available through social media tools, issues surrounding data privacy, and the risks communities may put themselves at when using social media." (Summary)
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