- Irena Mernik Knee
NEW YORK, 28 October 2019 – Main Representative of IFIMES to the ECOSOC/UN in New York, Irena Mernik Knee attended the General Assembly side event co-sponsored by Slovenia, Council of Europe and UNESCO on the subject of (AI): Technology to Serve Humankind-Setting Legal Standards.
The event featured prominent speakersamong others Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, United Nations; Jan Kleijssen, Director of the Information Society and Action against Crime Directorate, Council of Europe; Marie Paul Roudil, Director, UNESCO Representative to the UN, Professor Joanna Bryson, Associate Professor, University of Bath and Moira Patterson, Global Market Affairs and Community Engagement Director, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The discussion touched upon the role of International Organizations in addressing the need for global standard setting, respect for human rights, democracy and rule of law in the light of rapid development and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Technical standards for AI design, development and deployment, and AI certification were highlighted as a way to address the challenges related to transparency, privacy, security, interpretability and oversight.
In a debate which attracted a number of participants from governments, NGOs, private sector and academia a great interest for the challenges and opportunities that AI was shown. Irena Mernik Knee in her addressing the audience has pointed out the question of a platform available for the constructive use of AI in the countries of the Balkan and Middle East, where either the democracies are newly established or the countries are faced with a certain level of turmoil and are dealing with the post conflict- peace sustaining challenges. Irena Mernik Knee pointed out that this is where technological advancements can enhance human development and contribute to creating optimal conditions for the exercise of human rights and conditions for sustainable development. Human rights, from the metal freedoms, democracy and the rule of law and should support economic and political stability in those regions.
At the event IFIMES Representative to the ECOSOC/UN Irena Mernik Knee also held numerous bilateral meetings.
New York, 28 October 2019
