The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> NOEMIE BURKL: Hello can you hear me now?
>> YU PING CHAN: Hi. Hello. Testing.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Hello.
>> YU PING CHAN: You can hear me? It's online but not here in the room? Oh, okay. Everybody should listen to headsets or should I just talk loudly. I also have a very loud voice so I can talk really loud. All right. I think you need headsets.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Is there a problem on my side? Let me check.
>> YU PING CHAN: We also want to invite colleagues to come up to the front table, sit a little bit closer so it can be a workshop and be more interactive.
Hi, Noemie.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Hello, everyone.
>> YU PING CHAN: So, I think we will start now. I think we have some colleagues online as well. Welcome, everybody, to the workshop on "Towards the Hamburg Declaration, Responsible AI for the SDGs."
My name is Yu Ping Chan. I am head of Digital Engagements and Partnerships at the United Nations Development Programme's Chief Digital Office.
I am here with Mr. Robert Opp who is the chief digital officer of the UNDP. We are here on behalf of the German Government, the BMZ, to also inform you and to really engage with you on the process towards the Hamburg declaration. So again, a warm welcome to everyone here, those online as well and we really look forward to this being an engaging interactive session where we will explain the process towards the Hamburg declaration, we will also talk about the goals and the aims of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference and really this collective effort that we hope all of you will join us in really realizing the potential of responsible AI for the Sustainable Development Goals.
I will start by first calling to the stage Mr. Robert Opp, chief digital officer of the UNDP. The virtual stage, I think, Robert, please.
>> ROBERT OPP: Okay. Hello, everyone. This is a strange way of doing a workshop with everyone on headphones, I feel a little weird. Welcome on behalf of the UNDP, as well as our Government of Germany representatives who are online, I wanted to just give a little bit of overview on the way that we as UNDP are seeing the current, I would say, interest and expectations, in a sense, around artificial intelligence and what we do when it comes to our work to support countries in their national development.
And I think it's fair to say that a lot of us see tremendous potential in AI for supporting the achievement of the SDGs. We already see a proliferation of experimental and sometimes scaling approaches around artificial intelligence and leveraging these technologies in support of different development work, like, for example, in the health space, screening for different kinds of conditions like tuberculosis and other things, helping support small farmers access information on subsidies and other programmes that's available using verbal to text kind of interaction with chatbots. Whether risk modeling, building damage assessment and so on, so forth. So, many examples of application of AI going on right now.
But of course we all know that AI also brings with it a number of risks, whether it be the proliferation of misinformation or issues like data privacy and protection. But there's another risk that we also see in the space of applying AI for development. And that is the risk of exclusion, the risk of lack of representation, of bias and/or inaccuracy in systems, and as well as some of the sustainability aspects around the environmental impact of these technologies.
So, when it comes to the way that we as development actors, and by development actors, I'm referring to international organizations like us, national donor governments, national governments themselves who are implementing their national development programmes, civil society actors and other NGOs, et cetera. So, that whole set of players that are involved in development. We have been looking at how it is that we can improve the alignment that we have around the direction of artificial intelligence application.
So, what I mean is, if we profess to be working toward the SDGs, we have to be mindful of certain things, like the risk of exclusion, like the potential negative environmental impacts of promoting technologies that consume an enormous amount of energy, for example. And so how do we as a community come together and really align ourselves and work toward a sort of set of directions or a set of commitments that we can make together as a community moving forward.
So, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference was an event that was sponsored last October by the Government of Germany, and featured a lot of discussions around the practice of sustainable development and the future directions of sustainable development.
And my colleague from BMZ in Germany will be speaking in just a second and she will also address the kind of background of the conference and things like that.
But in the Hamburg Sustainability Conference there was a track that was set aside for AI and digital. And it really looked at the different aspects of responsible application of artificial intelligence and digitalization in the development space. And we looked at a number of things, including specifically the environmental impacts and some of the other aspects. But we also took the opportunity to start convening a panel that was focused on the principles that we want to work toward for alignment around using AI for development. And we focused those principles around the five Ps, the five principles that are as part of the Agenda 2030, so people, prosperity, planet, peace and partnerships.
But now, so we had a very good discussion, there was a lot of interest from stakeholders. Generally in Hamburg last year there was a high level of participation and a very multistakeholder participation as well. And now we are moving forward to thinking, what is it that we can move toward in next year's Hamburg Sustainability Conference in the space of artificial intelligence and the SDGs.
And we want to continue convening these discussions around what are the areas of commitments we can make, as well as how are we collecting and gathering information on what's out there. And to that end, one thing I just forgot to mention is we launched at last year's Hamburg Sustainability Conference an SDG compendium or an AI compendium that starts to gather AI examples that have been used in the development space, in other words, trying to pull together a sense of where the practice is out there as well.
So, final thing I would say before turning back to Yu Ping is we do see all of this as a direct part of the follow‑up to the Global Digital Compact. Paragraphs 53 and 4 of the Global Digital Compact talk about the application of AI to the Sustainable Development Goals and the promise they put forward. This effort is really seen as taking the next step in terms of collective commitments we can make that are more granular instead of high level and saying what are the things we can align around to really work together as a global community when it comes to pursuing the SDGs with artificial intelligence.
With that, I will turn back to Yu Ping.
>> YU PING CHAN: Thank you, Rob. And as Robert said, we are really looking to this session to be a little bit more of an engagement with you to really think through what we could have as part of the work to which responsible AI for the SDG. Not just for the Hamburg declaration but also around convening these types of questions at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference which as Rob says will be a unique opportunity to make sure that development practitioners, which are gathering at Hamburg will also take into account what, perhaps, technologists and Internet Governance experts such as yourself convening here for technology conference really need to keep in mind. How do we bring these two communities together.
Now, before we really go to hearing from you, we would like to invite our second speaker, who is online, Ms. Noemie Burkl, who is head of the digitalization unit at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development the BMZ of Germany to speak. Noemie, please.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Yes, thank you so much. Thank you, Yu Ping and Rob and welcome to all of you from Germany. It's a pity I can't be with you today but the technical tools we have today allows me to be with you. Let's use them like that.
A lot of what I wanted to mention has already been said and for the sake of time, I don't want to repeat them. But also to confirm that from a German Government perspective, we do see artificial intelligence as a driver for achieving SDGs or for at least accelerating the implementation of SDGs there.
The sectors that we could look at are character shows that AI can enable analysis for climate and corrupt data, to adapt to climate change more effectively. Health has been already mentioned by Rob where AI can distribute health information during epidemics, for example, and education, of course, we see that AI can help personalize learning.
This is why the Ministry of Development cooperation has been engaged since 2019, actually, as a partner to support also the use of AI in this respect. It has potential but also the risks that have already been mentioned. Talking about, for example, water and the electricity consumption, discrimination or disinformation.
So, this is why we want to really focus on how to use AI in a responsible way to ensure that AI serves people and planet.
On the HSC, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, maybe just to say very broadly, it is an initiative that facilitates an exchange based on mutual trust and partnership between leading international minds from politics, international organizations, private sector, academia, civil society on those structural issues that we see. And this is why I think it is very good to know, it is not just a one‑off conference. It is an all‑year and multi‑year process. And we really want to take the time to discuss with you what we can do to underscore this need of commitment that has been mentioned, linking also to implementing the efforts underlined in a Global Digital Compact as well.
So, yes, the SDG compendium has already been mentioned. Warm welcome to you to participate in that, to look at that, to contribute into that process. We have discussed principles to see what we mean when we talk about responsible use of AI. And we really want this to be an inclusive and collaborative effort.
So, thank you very much, UNDP, to convene all the minds that can contribute to that. And I'm really looking forward to your support, your engagement, and to using AI in a responsible way to have a boost for the SDGs. Thank you. Back to you, Yu Ping.
>> YU PING CHAN: Thank you so much, Noemie and I want to welcome new colleagues that came into the room and say we are looking forward to having an engagement with you not just through this particular meeting but also throughout the entire process of the Hamburg declaration. To that end I have circulated some documents, a copy of some of the background around the Hamburg Sustainability Conference that encapsulates what Rob and Noemie had just briefed but we are also happy to provide more copies. I have also sent around an email list and so if you could leave your email addresses on it, if you'd like to stay and engage with this process as we develop the Hamburg declaration, we also have a couple of links online. I think I have put there. But if not, I am happy to repeat the links later so that you can sign it online as well.
Basically, starting with this workshop and moving towards the next Hamburg Sustainability Conference which will be in early June 2025, we will be convening a number of these both online as well as in‑person consultations on the content of the Hamburg Declaration. It will be as Rob has explained, really thinking about what we together as the global community can come together to think about what are commitments or areas of action that we think need to be committed to or agreed on so that we can realize responsible AI for the SDGs.
And it's really a very iterative process. We don't have a draft in mind. We don't really have areas that we want to focus on beyond the guiding principles of the Agenda 2030, and so it really would be shaped by your contributions and inputs as well. We will also have an online website where you can submit such inputs in writing if you or your organization would like to contribute, something towards the thinking process, as well as possibly even convene consultations of your own as well. So, we will have some background material that you can use to also convene these types of informal conversations around the content of responsible AI for the SDGs.
We also want to emphasize it's not really a one‑off, right? It's not that we will necessarily come up with something at the Hamburg Conference in June of next year and end there. Because Hamburg, as Noemie has explained, will be an annual meeting, there will be an opportunity to continuously reflect back on these areas of responsible AI for the SDGs. We do think it will be a start of a continuing conversation that will be multistakeholder in nature, hoping to bring in these commitments not just from the private sector, but also donor institutions, governments and development actors as well towards AI for the SDGs.
So, having, sort of, started with that point, I think what I will do first is maybe open up the floor to any questions that colleagues might have around Hamburg, the background, the declaration, before we dive right into the content. Would there be any questions both online and offline?
I also want to welcome, I think there are about 20 colleagues online as well. I see a couple of questions in there about the content of the declaration and maybe some of the specific areas that we had discussed. So, I will leave those for a little bit later. But I will just start with any questions around the process, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference that happened just this October before we open up into the substance itself?
Please. Come, come to the standing mic. And introduce yourself.
>> PARTICIPANT: Hi, my name is (?) I'm the cofounder of the Responsible Technology Hub, and I have a very maybe general question. When we talk about responsibility AI for the SDGs are we talking about AI For Good? Are we talking about AI that is used to get to the SDGs, or are we talking about AI that needs to be responsible to get to the SDGs? Because they are two different things. So, this is like what I was wondering earlier also in the talks.
>> ROBERT OPP: Noemie might have a take on this as well. But if I'm understanding where you are coming from, this is about responsible use of AI, which, for me, includes ensuring that AI systems themselves are responsible. So, we will try to ‑‑ because this is the distinction I think we are making between, you could utilize AI for a development end or output of some kind. But if you are not ‑‑ let's take a concrete example. Let's say that we think that AI would be ‑‑ could revolutionize the education platforms in certain countries. And so we invest a lot in creating a lot of compute power and extending AI systems to students, et cetera. But if we are not mindful of the sustainability footprint of those AI systems, we are actually creating another problem while we are trying to fix one.
So, it's, actually, about both of those. It's about utilizing AI for development outcomes, but doing that in a responsible way. So, I hope that answers the question.
>> YU PING CHAN: Noamie, if you might want to comment on that as well.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: No, I would support that. But I would add the dimension, this is exactly what you said, Rob, that we need to make sure that when we do believe that AI can actually contribute to a positive development outcome in one area, we have to make sure that we also see at the same time the potential risks and be mindful of that as well.
And also, I mean, the HSC, why we bring this topic in, to also maybe explain a little bit overall, it is not per se an AI conference. It is a conference on how to promote the achievement or the, you know, SDGs by 2030, which is a very difficult task. And this is where we see the role of AI and digital both in the positive and negative sense.
So, you can say AI For Good in a way, but, yes, I think it is more holistic than that. Thank you. Always focused on development aspects, though.
>> YU PING CHAN: From the UK. Cassia.
>> Hi, colleagues. UK delegation to the United Nations in New York. From the perspective of GDC negotiator, have you thought about aligning the lines of the declaration with GDC more, like, clearly, just for consistency. So I am just asking this question to maybe start about.
And the second question is, do you know what the level of commitments that you want to achieve in the end, what's the ultimate goal in terms of commitment?
>> YU PING CHAN: Passing of mics over here. Before I give the floor back to Rob and Noemie to respond to Cassia's question, I think this is linked to another question I am seeing in the chat from Monika, which is how is the Hamburg Sustainability Conference leading to GDC follow‑up processes, does it stand apart. And how is it linked to IGF Dynamic Coalition in data and AI? I would say we would very much welcome a link between the dynamic coalition and AI. If the Dynamic Coalition wanted to think about possible inputs that they could submit towards this process, as well as to, perhaps, we would very much value the network and the coalition being part of the consultation forward.
So, over to Rob and Noemie.
>> ROBERT OPP: Okay. Thanks for the questions on the link with the GDC. And I was just pulling up my copy of the GDC right now.
If I understand your question correctly, the ‑‑ so, we see this process as contributing overall to the, I would say, implementation of the GDC or in the spirit of the GDC. For sure, I expect elements that are mentioned in the GDC to come up in this process. So, GDC talks about the importance of capacity building. It talks about a lot of other aspects around technology in general, and then the AI pieces themselves.
But in terms of direct linkages with, for example, the scientific panel that is proposed around AI and some of the things as well we don't know yet because the mechanisms are not in place. I suspect there could eventually be a link. There's also the proposal in the GDC around the global annual dialogue on AI governance. Again, that may form apart. But we are not trying to address the issue of international AI governance with this process. This is much more, as Noemie also just reminded, what we see is there's a whole set of summits going on globally around AI safety and AI governance and so on, so forth and there will be another one, there was Blatche Lee park, there was one in Korea, another one in Paris, Kigali talking about AI in Africa in April and so on, so forth.
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is not trying to be one of those. The Hamburg Sustainability Conference is a conference on development, which has an AI track. And so we are trying to ensure that we don't just keep this discussion of AI and technology in those AI and technology focused conferences, but actually we are embedding it in our development practice. Because to be frank, that's where the big money flows when it comes to overseas development assistance and many other forms of bilateral and multilateral cooperation so we want to be sure that the practice of development is infused with this responsible AI utilization and application for SDGs.
So, I hope that answers ‑‑ did I answer the question?
>> YU PING CHAN: (?) if anything. Do you want to add anything or that's fine?
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Sorry. Did you talk to me? I didn't hear.
>> YU PING CHAN: Yes. It was just to ask if you had anything to add to the answer.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Sorry. No, no, I think Rob said it very nicely. And maybe also because I just saw another question on the chat, why do we need another declaration? We want to make sure that there is no duplication to other processes.
When we came up on these issues, really what stands out for us is we have on the one side, and this was just mentioned, we have the SDG community discussing and we have the AI community on the other side discussing. And what we really want to focus on is on the implementation aspects of those paragraphs on the GDC that were mentioned, but also to go a step further. Because what we do bring in together here are the players from the private sector, from academia, civil society, et cetera, and to really continue.
What we see in the HSC is that we do not have that formalized discussions, which is good, because we want to move forward on really this particular issue and see how far it takes us there. And I think that some actors are really quite willing to participate in this process, and we really need them as well.
So, yes, we are mindful of not duplicating other aspects.
>> ROBERT OPP: Noemie, you just also reminded me of a key aspect of this declaration, which is that it is not intended to be a negotiated process, meaning we are not trying to get universal adoption here as such. We hope everyone will come and commit to it but it's going to be a voluntary kind of thing, not a negotiated process like the GDC or some of these other interuniversal or other kinds of agreements.
>> YU PING CHAN: We do think there is a gap when it comes to this idea of AI for the SDGs and particularly from a developmental perspective. That is the gap we are looking to fill and as the United Nations development agencies practicing this this field we have noticed there needs to be coming together of these types of communities.
I saw a comment or a question over there, please.
>> PARTICIPANT: Hello. Can you hear me? Yeah. Thank you. Mayra, I'm a responsible AI manager at ABBIS Hamburg. Work for the civil part of ABBIS. I was very interested about the involvement of the different stakeholders and, as you mentioned before, it was voluntary commitment, right?
So, therefore, how do you envision to bring those different stakeholders together from the private sector to the civil society to ensure, like, building a resilient infrastructure which is one of the goals you are trying to promote? How do you envision it and how do you go about it, and lastly, how do you think of holding these people, like the different stakeholders accountable to ensure these goals? Thank you.
>> YU PING CHAN: Thank you for the question. I think maybe given that this is a German stakeholder and you are coming from the perspective of Hamburg, I could reverse the order and ask if Noemie could take that question first, followed by Rob.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Sorry, I was ‑‑ it always takes me a second to unmute myself. Thank you very much.
What we really want to do is we are kicking off the process, right? So, we really want to go with those who feel that they can have and really make a difference in that. So, we do want to involve all those interested and in this room we have those minds that I mentioned before and also online, and I think that is exactly what we are trying to aim for. It will be a process where we will also use those conferences mentioned before in Kigali and in Paris, et cetera, to also involve all those partners. But we will also have discussions on a bilateral basis, for example, with firms that are ‑‑ have already shown their interest, SAP, et cetera, and others in the private sector because we really think that there is a huge potential there. And, of course, civil society and academia.
I know that being involved in the GDC discussions there may be hesitancy in why we need this, but we really want to become more concrete in terms of how we can really have a major boost in these SDGs. This is a very, actually, narrow approach to that. And we will not be able to tackle all the SDGs in all the areas. We are looking at five principles. We will be also looking at the ideas that we have. And we hope to be as ambitious as we can. But we will have to see how the process goes in the coming months to see what we can agree on. And on this, after that, it will depend how we will make sure in terms of accountability.
We will keep looking at, you know, at the next HSCs after that, looking back, how far did we go with these commitments, so that it is beyond mere agenda setting. And what comes out of that. We do believe that those who are part of the process will also be those who are also convinced and willing to participate. So, I am still very hopeful that this is a very good approach to go.
And also, I want to underline again, we want to be very concrete as well. Thank you.
>> ROBERT OPP: I don't have a lot to add to that, except to say, in the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, I'm not sure if you were there or not, but on the discussion that kicked all of this off, we had the head of sustainability from SAP there and inside discussions with him he was saying this would be of interest to his company to align, if those principles and the eventual commitments can make sense and so on and we are still kind of designing what this actually looks like. We very much welcome private sector to sign on to the commitments as well and there will likely be a number of ways to do that. So, more to come on that.
>> YU PING CHAN: Moving on to really that concrete part of it, if we could move on maybe from the questions around process. Do we welcome them subsequently as well, and maybe get into the meat of what the declaration should look like. And here again, we are just really looking for ideas and inputs as to what you think are critical issues in the AI for SDG space or as maybe a development practitioner, what do you think when you think about AI? What does it mean to use AI responsibly. And conversely from a technologist or development space, what are your concerns, your thoughts on the risk, what do you see as the opportunities. So, let's have this as a little bit more of that open discussion that Rob was speaking to a little bit earlier on, in this thought that, you know, if you could really have curated conversation, create an opportunity for the private sector, the multistakeholders, the governments to come together around these issues, what do you think should be top of mind for them? Anyone in the room would like to take a first stab at this?
If not, while you will ruminating on that, I actually have a question from the online chat already, and I would direct this at both Rob and Noemie. So, the question here is about the ‑‑ whether the Hamburg Declaration will be using ‑‑ will be dealing with issues around artificial intelligence space weapons where there has been a concern over the use of such weapons in the ongoing situation in Gaza. And so what could be the role of the UN, IGF and the United Nations in the fight against the weaponization of artificial intelligence?
So, I would turn that over to Rob and Noemie.
>> ROBERT OPP: The issue of weaponization of AI will not be tackled directly by this process. We don't foresee.
There are elements of the peace principle that we need to respect in terms of the way that AI is applied so that it doesn't promote divisions among people and so on. But because there are other parts of the United Nations multilateral system that disarmament affairs and things like that that are dealing with some of the weaponization issues, we don't feel that this is the best process, place to actually do that.
So, I think we need to acknowledge it in some way but this is not likely meant to be the platform to really address those issues, which are being taken up elsewhere.
>> YU PING CHAN: Noemie?
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Yes, I agree, absolutely. Because I think there is already so much to do on these issues that I mentioned before, also people, prosperity, planet, et cetera, we don't want to duplicate a processes that are being discussed elsewhere.
And I think there's another question also on presenting then the declaration at the IGF 2025 in Norway. I don't see why we shouldn't do that. That's also interesting to look at, because we really want to link the different processes. But I think it's good to get all the ideas here in this room and to shape the process together. This is what this is really about.
>> YU PING CHAN: Noemie, can I also ask you to answer the second part of Dennis' question online the chat, which is if the conference is by invitation only.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Yes, it is by invitation. But we, of course, have a say who is invited. I think what we will do is to look at process, you know, who is involved and who would like to participate. But I think we can look at that flexibly in the coming months.
>> YU PING CHAN: Any other questions from here? Yes. And please introduce yourself.
>> PARTICIPANT: Yeah. Thanks. My name is Thiago. I work at the Brazilian data protection authority. But and also researcher as a (?) researcher at the University of Brussels. And responsible innovation in AI or other emerging technologies has been part of my research topic. And the more I look into that, I see sometimes a bit of a disconnect on how we as governments, so using a bit of the government hat, we are discussing a lot these days about digital sovereignty and how we have to raise the capacity of infrastructure, especially in global majority countries that usually has more challenges for that. We just participated this year as the host of the digi 20 in Brazil and digital economy working group was discussing a lot about this importance of raising the capacity level and this here now is my more academic hat that I want to bring, is I think as well that I miss a bit of the part of what actually is being done for the sustainable part, because when we are so concerned about digital sovereignty and creating more infrastructure for better data centres, better, having more data power, if we don't think of the other side of the balance and how we are actually promoting that and for sure, green data centres, that concept really exists, it's definitely part of it.
But even, like, environmental impacts because it's not only about using, you know, like, okay, Brazil uses a lot of energy from water sources, which supposed to be cleaner, for sure. But still there's a lot of environment impact that sometimes we create. And this should be part of the discussion. So, if several countries now are working to build better data centres, more (?) and they don't add this to the equation, we will have a lot of trouble in the upcoming years.
So, maybe, I know it's a voluntary declaration but this somehow should be embedded there in the discussion. And I think that's my suggestion.
>> YU PING CHAN: Thank you. And I think that's an important suggestion and we will definitely look to taking that up under the planet part of the declaration. But really indeed as you say, this environmental sustainability goal as we look to build out, compute data and the AI revolution is really critical.
Responses, Noemie, Rob.
>> ROBERT OPP: No. Just to say, absolutely, yes. And one of the challenges we are going to need to address over the next few months as we do this is what can those commitments look like. And so that's also why we welcome the participation of many voices, to help us understand what would actually be feasible and implementable ways of putting those kinds of commitments in. Because I don't think it's quite as simple as just saying, as you mentioned, okay, data centres have to be carbon neutral or something. Right? There are other aspects of the issue that we need to explore and then eventually balance the perfect with the feasible of what can actually be implemented and what people can commit to.
So, just completely agree. And since you are a Ph.D. researcher and government authority, we would definitely welcome both sides on the challenge of academia with the kind of implementation necessity or need or what governments would be able to do.
>> YU PING CHAN: Yes. There was a question over there. And then I think another one over here. I hope it's working.
>> PARTICIPANT: This is less of a question and more of an answer to your question that you had. So, I, basically, work in the field of responsible AI, used to work for a big corporation, big tech in the past before. I was one of the cofounders of the responsible tech hub and then Munich where we focus on these topics specifically from a youth perspective.
And there are a couple of things that I think ‑‑ or I deem as super important when we talk about SDGs and using AI to harness it, the first thing is what SDGs are you focusing on? After you actually really define which SDGs you focus on, you can actually go into the aspect of, okay, who has access to the infrastructure and who has access to the hardware. As long as these questions are not answered, there is no way we can even include, for example, the Global South or anything Sub Saharan if we focus on Africa. That's the one thing.
The other thing is also if we talk about responsible AI, training is the number one aspect that we are not only focusing on in Germany right now, but generally in the EU. So, yes, we have the EUAI Act, but there is a lot of governance still lacking. I was just at a session where we discussed AI governance structures for the Middle East that is barely even existing. So there's still a lot of room to talk about AI governance in different countries, specifically in developing countries. So, this has to be set as well.
And then there needs to be training for those who are actually developing the AI and who are actually deploying it. I think there's a lot of resources out there. There are a lot of institute, the (?) Institute, the Tom think tank which I also represent in some kind of ways. There's a lot of academic resources to go into AI impact assessments, for example. So, that already exists. But it's super important to keep in mind that if we talk about SDGs, we always have to include those who are directly affected by the SDGs. And those are mostly the ones who don't have the resources to access AI and to actually access the training and to have the base which is AI governance. So, these multistakeholder approaches have to actually happen first, I believe, before we can even set up trainings for them.
>> YU PING CHAN: Comments in the room. These are incredibly helpful.
>> PARTICIPANT: Hi. I'm Clare. And I wanted to ask a question which is somewhat in the similar direction. And that is that the point I found most interesting is that point of conflict between SDGs maybe. And I was wondering, because if I look at the document, you ask for input for special areas. So, I don't see the representation of somewhat of a general point of looking at, well, if I want to promote a certain point, I also have to incorporate others, as well as especially if you look at AI and but most of the use cases are based on the data, obviously. And, I mean, that is probably the area where we are lacking most in responsibility and in humanity. Whether this will also be part of it, to look at the development point from a more holistic point of view and incorporating those SDGs as well.
>> YU PING CHAN: I think that's a great point. And, yes, for convenience sake we did sort of split into those five Ps but we do expect there will have to be (?) as you say, looking at AI more and generally touching on data that will then fit across all of this. Thank you for that.
I also want to say really we appreciate those of you that are really looking at this from your practitioner but also expert perspective. So if you could make sure to pass me your contact details and card or sign up online to the website in the email list, we really want to stay in touch with you and have you as part of the process.
Rob, Noemie ‑‑ well, are there any other questions in the room? Over here, please.
I think after this, and another comment we will turn it back to panelists very quickly and come back on comments.
>> PARTICIPANT: Hi and apologies in advance I'm not sure if this is a question or comment. My name is Tina, representative of the government of Denmark but normally based in Geneva working on human rights so I'm actually neither a development nor an AI practitioner.
But I got inspired by your talk about not duplicating, not reinventing the wheels but making sure there's complimentarity. And I think a human rights based approach to whatever you are doing, be it AI or the SDGs actually, is very helpful in that sense, because if you make sure that you have a human rights‑based approach, you don't not only cover those very obvious elements, such as discrimination, AI bias, all of that, if you indeed incorporate it in the design, development and deployment phases so when you talk to the actors when they develop the products, basically, and I think that's also partly where the education comes in. The communities talking to each other.
But you also have the right to health. You have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment so indeed the human rights framework is not only respected and accepted by all states but it's actually also very well developed and well versed. So, I think it probably turn into a comment that that would be something to look at. Thanks.
>> YU PING CHAN: More comments in the room or online, from online colleagues and participants?
Again, it doesn't have to be focused per se on the Hamburg process, the declaration. Maybe just what do you worry the most about when you look at the use of AI today? Particularly interested also in perspectives from developing countries and the global majority.
A follow‑up.
>> PARTICIPANT: Yeah. Okay. I mean, it's always nicer when we have more perspectives. But just in addition, another thing that I think it could be really interesting for any conference, not only the Hamburg one, but when we want to have more concrete results, I know, of course, policy oriented conference in the end like you try to end up with a statement and et cetera.
But also I don't know, I mean, it's the first time I am hearing about the conference, so maybe you already do that. But one thing that I miss in conference in general, like the IGF, for example, is have more of, like, showcases of local initiatives that actually make this kind of reference. So, for example, let's say why not bring some people that are actually bringing smart, clean, sustainable way of using a certain type of technology and reaching even if at a local level, what's happening, you know, in places.
Also bringing a bit more of, like, people from the innovation ecosystem and nowadays we see a lot of different initiatives like the sandboxes, innovation hubs and experimentation facilities that are also trying to bring more of this discussion of responsibility in AI development or sustainable ‑‑ stability, et cetera.
And usually there are some small use cases. And maybe for them to become scalable we have to look more into them. So, if this is not the right done, maybe it's something that could be nice to have during the conference, you know.
>> YU PING CHAN: We think that's a great idea. We look to our German colleagues who are actually supporting organizations at the conference. I would also say I think we mentioned that we had launched the AI SDG compendium.SDG.compendium.org. We are present in so many countries and really are looking to globally scalable as Sergio said initiatives in this area that really represent the ability to affect across, please don't hesitate to reach out to us as well.
>> ROBERT OPP: Yeah, maybe I can add to that by saying, as Yu Ping said, countries in all ‑‑ all of the countries ‑‑ representation in all countries across Africa and many others, so 170 countries in total.
Many of those places we actually are tied into the local innovation ecosystem, and there's been a couple of incidents recently where we have been forming networks of African innovators in particular and featuring their participation in global conferences and discussions, which is very interesting, because you need those voices around the table.
Also, in the Hamburg Conference last year, we brought an indigenous activist from Chad to discuss the aspects from her perspective, what is actually happening on the ground, what is touching people there or indeed not representing them well when it comes to the rollout of technology and AI.
So, this is absolutely, just to say, completely agree with your point. And the conferences are very, especially those that are based in the Global North, often have trouble getting the representation that we need to have the right discussion around the table. But that's also another reason why the IGF and some of these multistakeholder forums are important to have as part of our consultation process.
>> YU PING CHAN: We are running out of time. I see a reminder in the back. I just really want to give an opportunity to anybody who still has any comments or suggestions. Again recognizing this is the first time that we are opening this up. So, again, we welcome future contributions. If any of the Dynamic Coalitions or the youth or regional IGFs want to take up the Hamburg Declaration or even the conversation around responsible AIs for the SDGs. Please let me know. We will be more than delighted to do that.
Any last comments from those online, offline, here in the room?
Comments, observations, and so on. While I also ask my colleague, Marie, to share QR code for to you scan to stay updated with us at the very end.
So, maybe Noemie first, then Rob. Noemie.
>> NOEMIE BURKL: Well, thank you very much to all of you for your good questions, good ideas. This is exactly what we were going for. We hope you will be or stay engaged. We are very excited about the future months to come. Please do also use, you know, the online possibilities to reach out, as Yu Ping just mentioned, and, yes, looking forward to your ideas. Thank you.
>> ROBERT OPP: Similarly from my side, just to thank you for participation. Thank you for the comments. It is exactly what we had hoped that we would get out of this session. It is a good reminder about the kind of importance of collective brainpower. We want to have something good. We want to pressure test it from a lot of angles. It's not going to be perfect. We know that from the beginning. But what we want is something pragmatic, because the practice is evolving so quickly out there that we want to try to stay ahead as much as we can and start to align our actions, our commitments, so that we really are making sure that AI is used in the right direction and for the actual support of people, putting people and their rights at the centre.
So, that's just a thanks from our side for all of these good ideas and comments.
>> YU PING CHAN: My colleague, Marie to share the screen very quickly. Marie, you should have permission. These are the QR codes for you to be able to sign up to the email list.
I think, Marie, you need a full screen. There we go.
So, that's www.BMZ‑digital.gov ‑‑ BMZ‑digital.global/EN/HSC and then here we have the SDG AI compendium guide that I mentioned that where he welcome initiatives especially at the global level where you feel it fits this idea of responsible AI for the SDGs and we really look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and taking into account your views your perspectives. We will also have a public call for inputs later on, also put up the declaration online so we can take comments and so on. And really looking forward to this being an engaging process, and thinking about how the IGF can contribute not just here but also into other global processes as well. We look forward to working with all of you. And thank you again for sharing your time with us today.