Statement: Mohmed Shareef, Director, Gov. & Int. Relations, OXIQA

Panel Discussion: Understanding the Ethical Implications of AI, Maldives Accountants Forum 2024, Leading in the Age of AI and ESG: Innovate, Integrate, Inspire, 4 August 20024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the defining transformative force of our lifetime, enabling unprecedented progress across virtually every field of human endeavor. From assisting people with disabilities to revolutionizing healthcare and agriculture, AI's potential to address societal challenges is immense. However, as AI permeates every aspect of our existence, from economic activities to social structures, we must critically examine its role in our lives and development.

I firmly believe that AI should be harnessed to amplify the innate creativity and ingenuity of humans. The vision for AI should be to empower us to innovate, enable organizations and nation-states to transform our economies and industries, and equip our people with new capabilities.

As with all great technological innovations in history, the use of AI technology has broad impacts on society, raising complex and challenging questions about the future we envision. As we look to this future, we must ask ourselves: How do we ensure that AI systems we develop and deploy create a positive impact on individuals and society? It is crucial to recognize that as new intelligent technologies emerge and proliferate throughout society, they bring not only benefits but also unintended and unforeseen consequences. Some of these consequences have significant ethical ramifications and the potential to cause serious harm.

We must be acutely aware of the ethical considerations and potential consequences associated with AI, including bias and discrimination, protection of privacy, transparency and explainability, and accountability and liability. Furthermore, we need to seriously consider potential societal impacts such as: job displacement, security and weaponization concerns, social manipulation, dependence and de-skilling, environmental impact and the potential for exacerbating inequalities.

Today, we are witnessing the emergence of various tools to address these concerns, such as the EU's AI Act, which aims to categorize AI systems based on risk levels and impose corresponding requirements. The OECD AI Principles, providing recommendations for the responsible development of trustworthy AI and UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, offering a global ethical framework for AI.

We must proactively address the ethical implications and potential unintended consequences of AI technologies. By fostering collaboration among businesses, governments, NGOs, and academic researchers, we can develop robust frameworks that ensure AI technologies respect individual freedoms, promote social good, and adhere to the rule of law.

As we stand at the precipice of an AI-driven future, our shared responsibility is to shape this technology in a way that reflects our highest ideals and aspirations. By prioritizing ethical considerations, implementing thoughtful regulations, and maintaining a human-centered approach, we can harness the transformative power of AI to create a future that is not only technologically advanced but also equitable, inclusive, and aligned with our fundamental values as a society.