Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
World leaders this month have an opportunity to bridge the gap among the many divergent methods of governing artificial intelligence (AI). The International Telecommunication Union, forty other UN agencies, and the government of Switzerland are convening the 2024 AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva on May 30–31 to explore how AI can capitalize on the immense quantities of human-generated data to drive sustainable development. Four Council of Councils experts preview the summit and write on what they think should be the highest priority for leaders on a consensus AI policy.
The rapid acceleration of AI developments in recent years has highlighted its potential to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Countries are already investing in integrating AI into agriculture, health, education, sustainability, and economic productivity. For instance, smart and low-carbon cities, supported by interconnected technologies and autonomous electric vehicles, can enable smart demand response. This allows electrical grids to better match energy demands, save billions of investment dollars, and help achieve SDGs seven, eleven, and thirteen on climate action.
However, AI-facilitated technological advancements toward the SDGs could instead primarily benefit a handful of countries, largely in the Global North, that already have the public and private resources and infrastructure to scale their development. Moreover, these technologies require significant computing power, available to only a few wealthy nations, resulting in high energy consumption and a carbon footprint that eventually harms marginalized coastal communities in the Global South. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers and AI could consume up to 4 percent of global energy demand, roughly equivalent to the electricity used by Japan.
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