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Picture: 123/RF
Picture: 123/RF

Globally, artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives and its role is only going to become more integral in the future.

Like all major technological developments AI presents a world of opportunity.

It presents a chance to speeding up economic development with great social benefits. It can bring about a profound paradigm shift in society, in how we relate to knowledge, work, information, culture and even language. It has become such an pivotal part of our lives, promising to revolutionise education, healthcare, social media and the entertainment sectors.

But if not properly regulated it could well turn into a threat to privacy or serve to benefit only some, at the expense of many. AI, as a political and civic matter that is intrinsically international, requires comprehensive dialogue within society and, even more importantly, between societies across all continents — including Africa, of course.

The stakes are sky-high: we must work to amplify AI’s promise of progress and empowerment in a context of shared trust, while addressing the risks inherent to technological development. 

Against this backdrop France is hosting an international summit in Paris, the AI Action Summit, on February 10-11. Here the world will attempt to answer a not-so-simple question, a question we all face as citizens and users around the world as start-ups or corporations, researchers and policymakers: how do we make sure AI generates collective progress and serves the common good?

The summit, which will bring together heads of state and government and 700 public and private stakeholders, aims to articulate existing initiatives and forums on AI, including some led by the UN, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, as well as the Group of Twenty (G20). SA’s presidency of the G20 is an opportunity to address the global governance of AI.

Ahead of the summit, stakeholders have identified three priorities: 

  • Access to AI must be guaranteed for everyone, so that each person in the world can benefit from its potential. To reduce the growing digital gap and curb the excessive market concentration of the AI sector, the summit will lead to the creation of the AI Foundation, a global platform designed to support AI capacity building and technology access for all. This platform will be underpinned by a continuous commitment from public and private stakeholders to develop digital infrastructure on the African continent so the digital transition benefits all regions of the globe.
  • We need to collectively design an effective and inclusive governance framework for AI, not only limited to ethics and safety issues but also other areas of importance such as fundamental freedoms, the fight against discrimination, quality of information, and free and fair competition. Inclusive AI governance is only a dream at the moment. Only seven countries worldwide are actively participating in major international AI initiatives, while 119 countries are totally absent from them. This is not sustainable — it is imperative that the whole world is involved in inclusive AI governance.
  • Together we must ramp up the adaptation to the two major transitions of our time: the climate and environmental and technological transitions. While AI can make a contribution to fighting climate change and protecting ecosystems, it is on an untenable pathway when it comes to energy use. The latest forecasts suggest the energy needs of the AI sector will be 10 times higher in 2026 than they were in 2023.

An international and multi-stakeholder coalition for environmentally sustainable AI will be launched at the summit, to deepen research into AI technologies’ environmental impact, evaluate models on that basis, define new standards and step up green investment throughout the value chain.

African companies and institutions have been at the forefront of developing frugal AI solutions, requiring less data and computing power, and the summit will offer a platform to contribute to the global discussion on this important topic.

The involvement of SA — as chair of the G20, a leading African economy, a member of the Brics bloc and a respected voice in the international community — is critical. The summit stakeholders are counting on the support of SA actors, the government and AI experts from business, research and civil society alike, to contribute to the discussion so we can build AI that will be at the service of all, for a prosperous, open and inclusive world.

Martinon is French ambassador to SA.

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