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Ai & the Sustainable Development Goals 1 AI & THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: THE STATE OF PLAY Global Goals Technology Forum 2 3 INTRODUCTION In 2015, 193 countries agreed to the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. Achieving the SDGs is not just a moral imperative, but an economic one. While the world is making progress in some areas, we are falling behind in delivering the SDGs overall. We need all actors – businesses, governments, academia, multilateral institutions, NGOs, and others – to accelerate and scale their efforts to deliver the SDGs, using every tool at their disposal, including artificial intelligence (AI). In December 2017, 2030Vision 2030Vision published its first report, Uniting to “WE ARE AT A PIVOTAL Deliver Technology for the Global ABOUT 2030VISION Goals, which addressed the role MOMENT. AS ARTIFICIAL of digital technology – big data, AI & The Sustainable Development Goals: The State of Play State Goals: The Development Sustainable AI & The Founded in 2017, 2030Vision INTELLIGENCE BECOMES robotics, internet of things, AI, and is a partnership of businesses, MORE WIDELY ADOPTED, other technologies – in achieving NGOs, and academia that aims to the SDGs. transform the use of technology to WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS support the delivery of the SDGs. OPPORTUNITY TO In this paper, we focus on AI for 2030Vision serves as a platform REEVALUATE WHAT WE’VE the SDGs. AI extends and amplifies to convene cross-sector leaders CREATED AND ENSURE the capacity of human beings to understand and solve complex, to raise awareness of the SDGs, to THAT AI IS DEVELOPED showcase thought-leadership on dynamic, and interconnected the role of technology in addressing COLLABORATIVELY AND systems challenges like the SDGs. the SDGs, and to stimulate APPLIED TO THE UN Our main objective was to survey partnerships for action. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT the landscape of research and GOALS TO ACHIEVE A BETTER initiatives on AI and the SDGs to identify key themes and questions AND MORE SUSTAINABLE in need of further exploration. We FUTURE FOR ALL.” also reviewed the state of AI and Tabitha Goldstaub the SDGs in two sectors – food and agriculture and healthcare – to Co-Founder at CognitionX & Chair understand if and how AI is being of the UK Government’s AI Council deployed to address the SDGs and the challenges and opportunities in doing so. 4 5 AI AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: As illustrated by the quotes opposite, there are a variety of DEFINING ARTIFICIAL perspectives about AI and its 1 potential impact on sustainable INTELLIGENCE development. For some, AI is a Whether we know it or not, AI is job killer, a tool that will benefit THE now part of the fabric of our daily wealthier nations and citizens. lives. For example, AI helps power Worse, AI could pose existential predictive Google searches, Spotify threats, for example Stephen music recommendations, Waze Hawking warned that AI could driving directions, and Facebook lead to the end of humanity. POTENTIAL facial recognition. However, AI promises – and is There are a variety of definitions of starting to deliver – benefits AI, which we paraphrase as follows: across sectors and geographies, and holds great potential to help solve complex and interconnected AI IS AN FOR GOOD sustainable development challenges such as climate change, access to health care, OVERARCHING TERM and inequality. While 2030Vision “PERHAPS THE MOST recognizes the potential risks of FOR A COLLECTION IMPORTANT QUESTION AI, we believe AI will be a positive OF TECHNOLOGY “...CLIMATE CHANGE IS A WE HAVE LOOKED AT IS force for global sustainable development. Guided by the 2030Vision MASSIVE PROBLEM ACROSS WHETHER AI WILL POSE SDGs, we must now work together ALGORITHMS AND NEARLY EVERY SECTOR A THREAT – OR PROVIDE to accelerate and scale the AND MEASURE OF HUMAN NEW OPPORTUNITIES – FOR development and use of AI. APPROACHES THAT DEVELOPMENT. TO ADDRESS DEVELOPING REGIONS SUCH AI & The Sustainable Development Goals: The State of Play State Goals: The Development Sustainable AI & The IT AT THE SPEED AND SCALE AS AFRICA. OPTIMISTS SAY ALLOW MACHINES TO THAT CURRENT CONDITIONS THAT SUCH PLACES COULD PERFORM HUMAN- REQUIRE, WE’LL NEED USE RAPIDLY ADVANCING TO TAKE A MORE DATA- AI SYSTEMS TO BOOST LIKE COGNITIVE DRIVEN APPROACH – ONE PRODUCTIVITY AND THAT HARNESSES THE FULL LEAPFROG AHEAD. BUT I AM FUNCTIONS SUCH POWER OF ARTIFICIAL BECOMING INCREASINGLY INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER CONCERNED THAT AI AS REASONING AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES WILL, IN FACT, BLOCK THE LEARNING. TO ACCELERATE DISCOVERY TRADITIONAL GROWTH PATH AND INNOVATION AT A BY REPLACING LOW-WAGE AI is also being used to address TRULY PLANETARY SCALE.” JOBS WITH ROBOTS.” sustainable development challenges: improving the Lucas Joppa Ian Goldin diagnosis of various diseases, Chief Environmental Scientist, Professor of Globalisation and fighting wildlife poaching, and Microsoft Development, Oxford University improving crop yields to name a few. Other examples of SDG- related applications of AI are included throughout this report. 6 7 PROGRESS ON THE SDGS AI AND THE SUSTAINABLE In its most recent progress report However, progress has been on the SDGs, the UN cited success insufficient in other areas, DEVELOPMENT GOALS: in some areas, for example: for example: GOAL 1: NO POVERTY GOAL 4: QUALITY GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW EDUCATION WATER 2 Since 1990, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND CAPTURING (living on less than $1.90 per 617m UN scientists recently day) has declined from children of primary and warned that secondary school age do not 33% TO 9% meet minimum proficiency in million mathematics and reading. 1 THE STATE out of the world’s eight million GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH species are at risk of extinction AND WELL-BEING GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITY due to human activities. Since 2000, maternal Globally, women represent just OF PLAY mortality has declined by 23% OF SEATS 37% in single or lower houses of national parliaments. and under-five mortality has declined by Organizations such as McKinsey Over the last two and PwC have published reports 2030Vision GOAL 13: CLIMATE ACTION years, we have seen a with a wealth of information – 47% including use cases, economic In May 2019, the concentration considerable increase impacts, risks, enabling factors, of CO2 in the atmosphere and more. We’ve seen a number reached in discussion about AI & The Sustainable Development Goals: The State of Play State Goals: The Development Sustainable AI & The GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE With 10 years of non-profit organizations and AND CLEAN ENERGY remaining to achieve the role that AI can events emerge at the intersection 415ppm play in sustainable of AI and the SDGs, for example the ambitions of the AI for Good Foundation and 87% for the first time in human development issues. ITU’s AI for Good Summit. And history, and it continues to rise. the 2030 agenda, every day there are multiple media of the global population has pieces on the role of AI and some access to electricity, up from it is up to all of sustainability topic. 78% in 2000. us – businesses, governments, academia, multilateral institutions, NGOs, and others – to strengthen and quicken our efforts to build a better future for everyone. 8 9 DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT FINANCIAL CRIME A growing number of researchers Financial institutions are using AI are exploring the use of AI in to analyze ever larger and more the diagnosis and treatment of varied data sets to spot fraud and various diseases and the design of money laundering. Banks spend health interventions. For example, £5 billion per year on fighting researchers in Germany, the US, financial crime in the UK, and AI and France found that AI is on can reduce the cost and increase par or better than dermatologists the effectiveness of such efforts. at diagnosing skin cancer. Researchers from IBM and New York University recently published a paper on how AI can be used to detect glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the world. Such AI-based systems hold THE HIGH COST OF ILLEGAL promise to make diagnostic and TRADE IN WILDLIFE Given how much positive work has been other health services more readily Illegal and unsustainable available in regions that have a lack completed and is ongoing in this space, wildlife trade is a threat to the of health care workers. we reviewed this work to understand: existence of certain species COMBATTING FRAUD AND and human livelihoods. The UN OTHER FINANCIAL CRIMES estimates that illegal wildlife What ground has been covered with respect to AI and the SDGs? trade worldwide is worth $8 HSBC is using AI to help spot What questions are in need of further exploration? billion to $10 billion per year, money laundering, fraud, and the value of the ivory trade and terrorist funding. AI What frameworks are useful for connecting AI to the SDGs? alone is roughly $1 billion. Non- enables the bank to screen the vast amounts of data it Can AI be used to better understand the interaction between the SDGs? profit RESOLVE is deploying cameras enhanced with image holds on customers and their How is AI being used to address the SDGs in both the food and agriculture processing and deep neural transactions against publicly and health sectors? network algorithms across a available data, in the search for suspicious activity. What should different stakeholders do to foster the use of AI for the SDGs? REDUCING MATERNAL range of reserves in Africa to MORTALITY IN UTTAR allow rangers to detect and PRADESH, INDIA respond to poachers in near real-time.
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