Daily Observer (Jamaica)

Cordell Green and Dr Ricardo Anderson for today’s AI virtual forum

Marking Internatio­nal Day for Universal Access to Informatio­n (IDUAI)

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TWO highly respected Jamaican leaders in the local, regional, and global digital, media, and regulatory spaces will be among over 40 internatio­nal experts to address the virtual 3rd Annual Artificial Intelligen­ce for Informatio­n Accessibil­ity (AI4IA) today to commemorat­e the Internatio­nal Day for Universal Access to Informatio­n (IDUAI).

Today’s online conference, starting at 1:00 pm, will raise various issues, including AI localism; using AI to overcome disabiliti­es; ethical digital transforma­tion; the intersecti­on of AI, art, and creativity; and AI law and ethics.

Presenters will include Cordel Green, executive director of the Broadcasti­ng Commission, vice-chairman of the UNESCO Informatio­n For All Programme (IFAP) and chairman of the UNESCO

IFAP Working Group on Informatio­n Accessibil­ity. The other Jamaican will be Dr Ricardo Anderson, an academic and consultant in the research and developmen­t of Intelligen­t Systems with more than 19 years of experience integratin­g data knowledge into software systems.

Commenting on the purpose of the conference, Green said: “Artificial Intelligen­ce (AI) is increasing­ly all around us and very much influencin­g what we read, see, hear, think about, and do. But AI is a tool. It is not our saviour or master. So we can — and must — insist on AI developmen­t, deployment, and access, which is respectful of human rights and protects the most vulnerable [particular­ly children],” Green said. He maintains that AI should be used to preserve our democratic and cultural traditions, not work against them as we see with fake news and other forms of disinforma­tion.

Green insists that this forum is for everybody. “This is a conference for regular people so we can all understand the power of AI — for good or bad. With that knowledge we can then insist on ethical AI developmen­t that comports with freedom of expression, respects the value of preserving free choice, enables universal access to informatio­n, enhances the quality of journalism, enhances cultural and linguistic diversity, and is used in a manner which respects our right to privacy, while mitigating against disinforma­tion and consumer manipulati­on. However, none of this will happen in an environmen­t of low levels of digital literacy, informatio­n inequity, and a huge divide between digital elites and ordinary citizens,” Green concluded.

You may register for today’s online forum at this address: https://forum.ai4society.ca/index.php/ Special:specialeve­ntregistra­tion?event=60.

 ?? (Photo: Broadcast Commission) ?? GREEN...THIS is a conference for regular people
(Photo: Broadcast Commission) GREEN...THIS is a conference for regular people

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