Information Ethics Working Group (IEWG) - IFAP/UNESCO
The Working Group and its objectives
As we are living in an advanced technological era, information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly pervasive. Computers are present on our desks, we carry mobile phones in our pockets, GPS guide us while driving, RFID sensors embed our walls, our fridges and bracelets are made ‘intelligent’, and our bodies incorporate implants… all generating massive amounts of data, which in turn fuel a range of artificial intelligence applications. At the beginning of 2020, there were 40 times more data found in the digital realm than observable stars in the universe. Unsurprisingly, the implications of those technologies on our lives, our society and our environment are countless.
Without ethical and legal reflection on this phenomenon, many human rights may be undermined. On this account, IFAP’s working group on Information Ethics covers the ethical, legal and societal aspects of the applications of ICT and is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ethics is here to make us reflect on which direction these technologies should follow, and thus in which societies we want to live.
Ethics has gained further recognition with the advent of artificial intelligence technologies. They affect every aspect of our existence: education, health, news, culture… and this situation has an impact on each of us. Consequently, many private, national and international authorities initiate the elaboration of an ethical framework for the development and use of such technologies. For instance, UNESCO had mandated an ad hoc group of experts to elaborate a Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence, which is in its final stage of approval. The Info Ethics working group has brought its expertise to this global standard setting document. Such a comprehensive approach to the artificial intelligence phenomenon is constructive and should be followed by concrete actions.
Ethical considerations may differ according to the sector, the technological application, as well as to the geographical context. Accordingly, the Info Ethics working group brings together a diverse set of experts from different parts of the world, and adopts a specific approach. The focus is currently made on multiple sectors: disinformation, education, environment… and on technological applications: Internet of Things, genetic manipulation, health care robots, facial recognition, automated cars… The group also discusses special issues such as data and information asymmetries, ethical artificial intelligence innovation, impact of ICT on indigenous communities…
Collaborations are made with other research centres and other UNESCO programs, including:
- the Global AI Ethics Consortium (GAIEC);
- the Global AI Ethics Network for Social Good (GAIEN4SG);
- the Global Network on Artificial Intelligence and International Society (GNAI&IS);
- the Information Ethics Network for Africa (IEN4Africa);
- the Sub-Commission on Communication and Information of the Belgian French-speaking and German-speaking Commission for UNESCO.
With the deep conviction that it is important to share information and reflections in this field, and with great faith in collective intelligence, the group created a webpage in order to share its work: articles as well as events related to information ethics.
Members
Chair: Yves Poullet, Emeritus Professor at the University of Namur, Honorary Rector of UNamur and Associate Professor at UC Lille, member of the Royal Academy of Belgium and member of the Litigation Chamber of the Belgian authority of Data protection (Belgium)
Vice-coordinator: Noémi Bontridder, Researcher at CRIDS/NaDI, University of Namur (Belgium)
Other members:
- Syun Tutiya, Professor, National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education – NIAD-QE (Japan)
- Christoph Lutge, Professor, Director of the Technical University of Munich Institute for Ethics in AI (Germany)
- Jean-Gabriel Ganascia, Professor, Chairman of the CNRS Ethics Committee, Sorbonne University (France)
- Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, Professor, President of CIRANO Research Center, Polytechnique University Montréal (Canada)
- R. Siva Prasad, Honorary Professor, University of Hyderabad (India)
- Fatima Roumate, Professor, President of the International Institute of Scientific Research, Mohamed V University, Rabat (Morocco)
- Cordel Green, Executive Director, Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, Vice-Chairman of International Centre for Information Ethics (Jamaica)
- Bart van der Sloot, Senior Researcher, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), Tilburg University (The Netherlands)
- Coetzee Bester, Professor, Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Information Ethics, University of Pretoria (South Africa)
- Stefaan Verhulst, Professor, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer of the Governance Laboratory (The GovLab), Editor-in-Chief of Data & Policy, New York University - NYU (Belgium)
Contributions
- Poullet Y, About some international documents relating to the ethics of artificial intelligence – Some insights (2021)
- Bontridder N and Poullet Y, The role of artificial intelligence in disinformation Data & Policy, Vol. 3, E32 (2021)
- Roumate F, Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and International Human Rights Law. International Review of Information Ethics, Vol. 29 (March 2021)
- Verhulst S G, The Ethical Imperative to Identify and Address Data and Information Asymmetries (January 2021)
- Green C, Ethical AI innovation (January 2021)
- Bester C, An overview of the IFAP South Africa programme for Information Ethics 2020 – 2025 (December 2020)
- Lütge C, Ethical questions and issues identified in the field of autonomous driving (October 2020)
- Poullet Y, Why we need Info –Ethics? Which Ethical values and how to apply them in the context of the fight against COVID 19? (August 2020)
IFAP Conferences
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Organised by the IEWG:
- Brainstorming on the UNESCO AI Ethics Recommendation - Brussels, 20 April 2022
- Green C, The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: Protection of Individual Liberties and Interests - Slides
- Hu X, Apply R.O.A.M principles to AI ethics and governance - Slides
- Verhulst S, The Role of Technology Facing Law and Ethics: How to build up an inclusive digital society and implement UNESCO Recommendations at the local level - Slides
- la Rosa A, Comments - Slides
- The news story on the IFAP brainstorming session published on Unesco's website
- Les applications Covid-19: quels choix techniques pour des choix éthiques? – Geneva, 25 November 2020
Participation by the IEWG:
- AI4IA: Artificial Intelligence for Information Accessibility - 28 September 2021
- Poullet Y, Do we need regulation of the digital platforms? – An EU approach – Broadcast
- Emerging Technologies and Changing Dynamics of Information [ETCDI] – Hyderabad, 7-9 September 2021
- Poullet Y and Bontridder N, Governing AI – The EU approach – Slides
- Promoting Knowledge Society Policy in National Information in Eastern Africa (Training Workshop) – Nairobi, 17-19 August 2021
- Poullet Y, Beyond AI Ethics UNESCO Recommendations - Slides
- Tangible and Intangible Impact of Information and Communication in the Digital Age – Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation, 17-18 June 2021
- Accelerating Actions and Promoting Digital Wellness (DW) in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Hyderabad and Pretoria, 24-25 March 2021
- Poullet Y, International Instruments for AI and Ethics – convergences and Divergences - Slides
- Access to Information in Time of Crisis – The UNESCO Information for All Programme Priorities and the COVID-19 Pandemic – Hyderabad, 26-28 August 2020
- Poullet Y, Why we need Info-Ethics and which ethical values ? - Slides
Lectures
A collection of lectures on the ethical implications of Data and Artificial Intelligence from different perspectives are available on AI Ethics: Global Perspectives
These free public courses are made available in partnership between the IEWG, the GAIEC and the GovLab.
UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics
On 24 November 2021, the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference at its 41st session.