Presentation of the Global Observatory on Artificial Intelligence
The Global Observatory on Artificial Intelligence offers a new means of controlling the ethical application of AI in cities. The body is being launched jointly with London and Amsterdam, within the context of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, founded in 2018. The UN-Habitat and the CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs are both collaborating in the initiative.
The intention is to prevent risks with AI technology, particularly in terms of the collection and treatment of data on which algorithm decisions are made, which do not always respect people’s right to privacy.
Goals of the observatory
The observatory will monitor current regulations, promote the production of policy standards for regulations and ethical applications for AI in cities, and identify obstacles so that this usage is fair, transparent and responsible.
The action plan is based on the following:
- Report on the ethical governance of algorithms in cities.
- Online atlas on good practice in AI applied to policies for mobility, waste management, water and sanitisation etc.
- Report on the use of facial recognition in public space.
Municipal strategy for a democratic digital society
The observatory is part of the municipal algorithms and data strategy to ethically promote artificial intelligence, presented a few months ago. The strategy provides the city with a regulatory framework based on human rights and committed to a democratic digital society.
The strategy consists of twenty measures to be carried out between now and 2023, to move towards a smart governance model which is more effective and efficient in resolving challenges in the management of municipal public policies.
