Alice Umutesi
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame says the success of the newly launched AI for Good Global Commission will depend on cooperation between public and private sector stakeholders to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) creates expected benefits for people around the world.
Kagame said this in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, July 8, at the launch of the United Nations-backed commission, which he co-chairs alongside Marc Benioff, CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, a tech company.
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Kagame said the commission will deliver results if governments and businesses join efforts in scaling solutions and benefits from the new technology.
“Neither public sector nor private sector alone would deliver what is expected by the global communities,” Kagame said during a fireside chat with Benioff, moderated by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the commission’s Vice-Chair.
The AI for Good Global Commission was established by ITU to bring together leaders from governments, businesses, international organisations, investors and civil society to help shape how AI is developed and deployed. The official launch took place during the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.
Kagame said the new commission will build on lessons and experience of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, a similar initiative launched in 2010 by ITU and UNESCO, which the President has co-chaired for the past 16 years.
“When we look back the 16 years, we find the Broadband Commission actually delivered results in the sense that every continent witnessed more connectivity, including on the continent of Africa,” he said.
“In Africa, we saw the rise in connectivity, building on that to bring different services to the communities in every part of the continent.”
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Kagame said the new commission already has a clear vision, but its ability to achieve its goals will depend on implementation.
“It is how we go about the business of this delivery process that will define where we are going. We want to harness the good of AI through industry, through policymaking, and making sure we get the results,” he added.
On his part, Benioff said the commission was created at a time when AI is becoming one of the most transformative technologies in history, requiring international cooperation.
“Only through a multistakeholder dialogue are we going to get to the point that we can have some understanding of how to move things forward,” he said.
He described the commission as a platform that brings together diverse voices to help guide AI development.
“Technology is never good or bad, it’s what we do with technology that matters. It has never been truer than in regards to this technology when we look at AI.”
The tech executive said the commission hopes to have an impact similar to that of the Broadband Commission, which helped advance global connectivity.
Benioff also commended Kagame’s leadership in the Broadband Commission, saying the President’s experience in advancing connectivity provides valuable lessons for the new AI initiative.
The commission has 44 founding members, including heads of state, chief executives of leading technology companies, senior United Nations officials and leaders of international organisations.
Presidents Alar Karis of Estonia and Halla Tómasdóttir of Iceland are among the members of the commission.
New Times
