La Jornada: UN meeting on AI and human development opens

At the second meeting on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Development, held by the United Nations in Mexico City, Amina J. Mohammed, deputy secretary general of this organization, highlighted that the discussion about this technology, which “brings us danger and profitability,” goes beyond a single country. Thus, he emphasized the importance of expressing the experiences and knowledge of Latin America and the Caribbean.

AI, he asserted, can create dangers, but also help understand patterns of violence for accountability. With it, “criminal networks can operate faster between regions and borders, but governments can use them to strengthen cooperation, investigation and prevention with human rights safeguards,” he said.

He explained that we currently have “the genie in the bottle of artificial intelligence that is beginning to reach all points of human life, the global economy and markets depend on it.” Young people, he added, “are present at the center of everything and we have to understand what future we want to create.”

At the Antiguo Colegio de la Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Velasco, stated that the regulatory challenge of this technology “is pressing and Mexico is ready to face it through our multilateral diplomacy,” while supporting the “Artificial Intelligence and Human Development” initiative of the deputy secretary.

He said that today there are more than one billion people using generative artificial intelligence tools. However, about a third of humanity remains disconnected from the digital world. “Never before has a technology advanced so quickly, while the digital divides remained so deep,” he said.

At the opening of the meeting, broadcast on the Internet, Velasco emphasized that Latin America and the Caribbean have a unique contribution to this conversation.

“Our region brings together hundreds of different peoples, languages, memories and worldviews. There is no single way to understand what it means to be human. For artificial intelligence to truly be at the service of humanity, it must be fed with that diversity of experiences, cultures and forms of knowledge,” he said in front of Mohammed and federal officials.

In her turn, the Secretary of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation, Rosaura Ruiz, highlighted that AI is a central area of ​​global competition: “Around the world we are seeing initiatives with which great powers are preparing for this new geopolitical stage,” such as China and the United States.

He indicated that the agency under his charge is generating initiatives for Mexico to participate in the global discussion on the design and use of these important technologies.