Lead AI Advisor to the UN Explains How to Prepare Yourself for the Future (Neil Sahota)
Aug 20, 2023
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Lead AI Advisor to the United Nations, Neil Sahota, discusses the UN's role in coordinating the international response to AI, the opportunities and threats of AI, the impact on the average person's employment, the risks of AI automated weapons, determining what is real online, and the impact of AI on employment and universal basic income.
The United Nations plays a crucial role in coordinating international responses to AI, including discussions on regulating AI and the establishment of frameworks.
Efforts are underway to ban the use of AI in automated weapons of war by 2026, though practical implementation and enforcement remain challenges.
Deep dives
AI automated weapons and the role of the UN
AI automated weapons refer to weapon systems where machines make the decision to attack without human intervention. This poses concerns about potential mistakes and the dehumanization of war. The United Nations (UN) plays a crucial role in coordinating international responses to AI, including discussions on regulating AI and the establishment of frameworks. The need for the UN's involvement is widely recognized due to its trust and credibility. Efforts are underway to ban the use of AI in automated weapons of war by 2026, though practical implementation and enforcement remain challenges.
The impact of AI on employment and the need for retraining
AI's automation capabilities are expected to lead to job losses and job creation simultaneously. While some jobs will be replaced, new opportunities will emerge. It is crucial to focus on retraining the existing workforce and preparing the future workforce with essential skills such as creative thinking, communication, collaboration, negotiation, problem-solving, and understanding how to use emerging technology tools. Reinventing education to equip individuals with these skills is essential to adapt to the rapidly changing job market.
The challenges of trust, identity, and deepfakes
The rise of deepfake technology and false information raises concerns about trust and identity in the digital age. It is challenging to authenticate media and distinguish real from fake content. Existing methods, such as blockchain or artificial intelligence, aim to address these issues, but they are vulnerable to hacking or manipulation. The UN and other organizations are exploring ways to mitigate the impact of deepfakes and establish more reliable authentication methods to prevent misuse and manipulation of content.
The AI for Good Global Summit and positive applications of AI
The AI for Good Global Summit is an initiative focused on leveraging AI for positive impact. The summit serves as a platform to showcase and support over 280 projects that have the potential to positively impact 1.1 billion people. These projects include advancements in robotics, such as firefighting robots, empathetic robots, and robotic capabilities in various industries. The aim is to harness AI and emerging technologies for the benefit of society and address global challenges, such as healthcare, climate change, and food production.
Neil Sahota is the Lead AI Advisor to the United Nations.
Unsurprisingly, this was a fascinating conversation.
We talk about the UN’s role in coordinating the international response to AI, some of the biggest opportunities ahead of us as well as the very real global threats to manage.
This is starting to affect us all and Neil did a brilliant job of framing how to think about what’s happening, some great advice about how to approach employment in this new era and how we work with AI rather than against it.
I think this is one of the most important interviews we’ve done, so it is absolutely worth your time and thank you very much to Neil for coming on.
Make sure you give Neil a follow on LinkedIn here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilsahota
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