For the DRAPAC series event on digital rights in Nepal, click here.
Date and Time: September 22, 3PM Bangkok time (UTC+7)
Description:
We are witnessing the beginnings of the innovation cycle of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the beginnings of the AI for development hype cycle. The transformer model is considered by experts as a leap in the science of machine learning. The public roll-out of AI centered around language modelling and computer vision, such as ChatGPT and Mid-Journey, is being adopted by the public at an unprecedented rate.
As with the advent of the Internet, global adoption of ICTs, digitalization, platformization, and datafication, the international development community is grappling with the tensions between adoption and potential harms. The international development community is grappling with identifying applications for socio-economic benefits and critical questions amidst popular hyperbole.
There are many questions to consider:
- What does the adoption of AI mean for our region? Are there issues of a regional dimension?
- What are the concerns around AI hegemony?
- What should the paradigm be for AI governance? Is “good” governance of AI technology even possible?
- Does pushing AI ethics and capacities mean we give up the frontline against datafication?
- What critical perspectives can civil society take up? What critical research can we embark on?
- What are the platforms for policy/governance discourse – at the global, regional, and national levels?
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Jun-E Tan is a Senior Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute. Her current research interests include digital rights and AI governance in the contexts of Southeast Asia and Malaysia. She has also worked in the areas of environmental and climate policy, social and solidarity economy, as well as sustainable development in general.
Dr. Anindya Chaudhuri is a Senior Program Officer at the International Development Research Centre, where his responsibilities include developing, managing and monitoring research and capacity strengthening initiatives in Artificial Intelligence, Science & Innovation, and Education Systems for the Asia Region. His research interests lie broadly in the areas of Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Human Capital, and public policy service delivery mechanisms.
