As AI rises: Include people in digital innovation, UN nonprofits say

By Marivir Montebon

New York – At the rate digital technology is wrapping up the world with the speed of light, who stands to benefit from it and who stands to lose?

During the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development this summer, nonprofit organizations working alongside the United Nations expressed an abundance of caution on the emergence of artificial intelligence. In the US, AI has threatened to dislocate writers and workers and undermined the well-being of those who are addicted by digital technology.  

The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development initiated by WFWP-International in NYC this summer

Merly Barlaan, UN relations director of the Women’s Federation for World Peace – International, said during the political forum that “governments and business entities need to use digital technology to develop people and countries instead of dislocating them along the process.”

“The advancements of digital technology must be people-centric,” she said. Barlaan is the International Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Director of the WFWPI Office for UN Relations in New York. She is a peace and environmental advocate, specializing in women, youth, and community development - promoting a holistic “leadership of heart” approach.

Merly Barlaan, WFWP International Vice President

WFWP initiated the forum titled “Integration and impact of digital technology in developing countries in the context of the Right to Development” at the 4W 43rd in NYC on July 19, 2023.

The UN adopted the ‘right to development’ for its member-states on December 4, 1986. With the advancements in digital technology, this right to development purports a nagging question worldwide.

Dr. Rior Santos, the Regional Project Manager of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for the first SDG Fund for Digital Transformation in Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and Kiribati, emphasized during the forum the need for government regulation to ensure that “inclusive innovation” is taking place. He spoke via zoom technology during the forum.

Santos cautioned that accelerated digitalization could exacerbate the existing gap between the rich and the poor and those who are technically literate and challenged. The digital transformation project in Micronesia and other small island countries uses the strategies of whole-of-government approach and whole-of-society approach to comprehensively include the government, private sector, and civil society.

Santos once served as Senior UN Coordination Specialist of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Asia Pacific Regional Office, where he advanced Digital Transformation and Innovations in the region through stronger UN collaborations and partnerships with the government and private sector.

Dr. Frank Kaufmann and Priscilla Garces

Dr. Frank Kaufmann, one of the speakers during the forum, was candid about his views on the negative impact, so far, of digital technology in the US. Kaufmann is founder and president of Filial Projects, president of Twelve Gates Foundation, editor in chief of New World Encyclopedia, president of Values in Knowledge Foundation, Professors World Peace Academy, and The Settlement Project. 

“Is digital technology helping the United States? In my mind, it is hard to say. It certainly is making already insanely wealthy people even wealthier, creating an unaccountable class of power elite preying on US citizens. 

Besides making wealthy people wealthier and subjecting Americans to illegal and invasive government and corporate surveillance, digital technology has created a pandemic of what is called tech addiction or digital addiction,” claims Kaufmann.   

Kaufmann cited a rehabilitation research study by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras of Stony Brook Medicine that found out that “it was easier to treat heroin and crystal meth addicts than to treat video gamers or Facebook-dependent social media addicts.” The study was done on about 1000 teenagers for more than 15 years.   

At the outset, the WFWP side forum couldn’t have been more relevant as writers in the US, for one, have sustained a strike for over three months to resist further economic dislocation brought about by streaming and artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry.

The Writers Guild of America have pushed for the stability of their jobs as regular writers for studios as they face the threat of using AI instead of their creative talents. As of press time, no substantial agreements have been reached by WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

New York State Assemblymember Steven Raga had written to the AMPTP urging the studios to listen and consider the demands of the writers for equitable treatment.

At the WFWP forum, Kaufmann offered a reflective insight: “Will the power elite refrain from using digital technology to abuse and exploit citizens of developing countries? Will they be extra careful not to addict people? Are nations protected from these dangers if they are developing nations?

Please understand it is not my intention to discourage or dishearten us. I offer my reflections only so that we may think carefully together when looking for hope and solutions to help our beloved brothers and sisters be free and prosper,” Kaufmann said.

For Priscilla Garces, meanwhile, digital technology has been immensely helpful to people with disabilities like her. Declared totally blind since her infanthood, Garces said during the WFWP forum that the use of a cellphone with a screen reader has increased her efficiency and productivity in doing research work.

Garces is a trained climate reality leader and disability advocate. She has a Bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and international relations with minor in Latin-American studies and Spanish from the Seton Hall University with honors.

As an advocate for at-risk groups, Garces strongly felt that the access of digital technology has improved her life as a person and a leader. The three-year pandemic has proven the need for digital technology which has helped connect people and equalized access for persons with disabilities despite the lockdown, she said.  #