UNESCO: ROAM principles should apply to AI development

According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) should be aligned with ROAM principles – human rights, openness, accessibility, and multistakeholder governance. These principles, developed by the UN entity as a guide to Internet universality, could help ‘ensure that no one gets left behind by the development of AI’, said Guy Berger, director for freedom of expression and media development. This was one of the key points raised during UNESCO’s Mobile Learning Week 2019, held between 4–8 March 2019, under the theme ‘Artificial intelligence and sustainable development’. During the event, the organisation presented a summary of a research on ‘Steering AI for Knowledge Societies: A ROAM Perspective‘, which offers details on how ROAM principles could guide values, norms, policies, regulations, codes, and ethics that govern the development and use of AI.