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AI and data regulation in 2023 play a key role in democracy

Artificial intelligence and data have hugged the headlines this year, even at the just concluded 78th United Nations General Assembly.

According to Vilas Dhar, President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, its impact and use will continue to soar and play a pivotal role in determining critical elections.

However, to be in the driving seat, Dhar suggests the people and communities at the heart of data collection be key regulators.


“Instead of thinking only about short-term risks and long-term risks, thinking about the middle where we build prosocial applications of these tools that really bring together incredible data sets, but say we will learn what the risks are as we deploy them with communities as co-architects,” Dhar, who lead efforts in the AI and data solutions space, said during a Global Stage livestream event at UN headquarters in New York on September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The discussion was moderated by Nicholas Thompson of The Atlantic. It was held by GZERO Media in collaboration with the United Nations, the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, and the Early Warnings for All initiative.

Watch the full Global Stage conversation: Can data and AI save lives and make the world safer?

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Gender gap in AI job displacement

Who benefits from AI and who is left behind? Speaking at the United Nations, Sarah Steinberg highlighted the disproportionate impact of AI on women in the workforce. One in three women works in a job "likely to be disrupted or significantly changed by AI compared to one in four men globally,” Steinberg said. At the same time, women account for only a third of those building AI skills, creating a skills gap that could limit access to emerging jobs.

How can AI improve everyday life for citizens?

How can artificial intelligence improve everyday life for citizens? Speaking at the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish highlighted India’s approach to digital public infrastructure. “Today in India, the cost of access to internet is the lowest in the world… and data usage per capita is one of the highest,” he said.

Preparing the workforce for AI

How will artificial intelligence reshape the global workforce, and who will be ready for it? Speaking at the United Nations, Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the rapid growth of AI will transform jobs worldwide, making large-scale workforce training essential. “We’ve seen estimates that 170 million new jobs will be created; maybe 90 million jobs will be lost,” she said. “So how do we ensure that we’re prepared?”

Expanding AI access worldwide

Could AI deepen global inequality or help close the gap? Lisa Monaco, President of Global Affairs, Microsoft, says it all comes down to trust. She argues that “people won’t use technology that they don’t trust,” especially as geopolitical tensions raise concerns about the reliability and resilience of digital infrastructure.