On 26 October 2023, UNU-MERIT will host "Governing Artificial Intelligence for a Better Society", the 2023 Charles Cooper Memorial Lecture presented by Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNU Rector. This hybrid event (online and in-person) will start at 17:00 (CEST, UTC+2) on Zoom and at UNU-MERIT.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a myriad of complex policy challenges that governments around the world are currently struggling with (for example, the UK government has identified twelve challenges of AI governance in a recent interim report). Key governance issues include accountability, transparency, privacy, bias, access to data, safety and intellectual property concerns.
In this lecture by Professor Tshilidzi Marwala (UNU Rector, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Member of the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board), the discussion will delve into ethical frameworks, technical standards and policy interventions necessary for steering the responsible development of AI. Professor Marwala will share his insights around the governance of AI, emphasizing the importance of guiding it in a direction that benefits society while avoiding the risks associated with advanced algorithms and autonomous systems.
A reception for in-person attendees will follow the event.
Registration
For in-person registration, webinar link and event updates, visit the UNU-MERIT website.
About the lecture series
Charles Cooper was the founding director of the Maastricht-based United Nations University Institute for New Technologies, UNU-INTECH (now UNU-MERIT). In 1985, the Dutch government asked him to prepare a feasibility study on the creation of a UNU institute to specialize in the social and economic aspects of new technologies. The report was presented to UNU in 1987 and formed the basis for setting up the new institute in 1990.
Under his leadership from 1990 to 2000, the institute expanded rapidly to become the second largest UNU research and training centre. One of his flagship achievements was setting up the institute's unique PhD programme in the Economics of Technological Change in 1995, in partnership with MERIT (at the University of Maastricht). This sowed the seeds for the integration of the two institutes a decade later to form UNU-MERIT.
UNU-MERIT launched the Charles Cooper Memorial Lecture Series in January 2007, to honour his immense contribution to our understanding of the role of technology in economic development, and the pivotal role he played in forging closer ties between UNU-INTECH and MERIT. The lecture series aims to contribute to a better public understanding of science, technology and innovation in the development process.
