The Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium (CAIC) Steering Committee convened for its second assembly in New York, marking a milestone in the Commonwealth’s ongoing mission to deal with the digital and synthetic intelligence (AI) divide throughout its 56-member states.
Held on September twenty third, on the sidelines of the United Nations Basic Meeting, this CAIC assembly aimed to determine areas of collaboration and useful resource mobilisation for AI initiatives to be mentioned at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Authorities Assembly (CHOGM) subsequent month in October.
Talking at the occasion, the Commonwealth Secretary-Basic the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC articulated her imaginative and prescient for the CAIC:
“The digital divide continues to threaten the progress of our smaller states, significantly the weak teams: youth, ladies, and marginalised communities. It’s a hole in alternatives, entry, and empowerment. By means of the CAIC, we’ll shut this hole, making certain that each one our member states, no matter measurement, can harness AI’s potential to drive financial resilience, innovation, and sustainable improvement. AI has the energy to rework the lives of tens of millions throughout the Commonwealth, and we’re decided to make sure that ladies and younger individuals are at the forefront of this revolution,” she mentioned.
Significance of AI for the Commonwealth
Established in June 2023, the CAIC emerged from the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Authorities Assembly (CHOGM) in Rwanda, the place leaders reaffirmed their dedication to empowering residents, significantly ladies, youth, and marginalised communities, to harness the advantages of digital innovation and AI.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the world economic system by 2030. Nonetheless, some Commonwealth nations, significantly its 33 small states, lag in AI infrastructure, with few having developed nationwide AI methods. The CAIC goals to equip these nations with AI capabilities to advertise financial development, sustainable improvement, and job creation. AI holds immense potential for small states, helping in environmental safety, coastal administration, and renewable power era. By addressing the AI divide, the CAIC seeks to stop Commonwealth Small States from being sidelined in the digital race and guarantee AI’s advantages attain the most weak.
CAIC Mandates and Construction
The CAIC operates by means of 4 working teams:
- Coverage Growth – led by Rwanda
- Analysis and Innovation – led by The Gambia, with Australia’s Nationwide AI Centre
- Capability Constructing – led by Bangladesh, supported by UC Berkeley
- Information and Infrastructure – led by Malta, with NVIDIA
The AI divide deepens current inequalities between technologically superior nations and small, creating states. The CAIC recognises that addressing this divide is important for financial resilience. Lots of the Commonwealth’s Small States will profit from CAIC’s capacity-building initiatives, together with entry to cloud infrastructure and AI coaching programmes. By means of initiatives like the Commonwealth AI Academy, the CAIC will practice professionals in AI software and governance, providing scholarships and secondment programmes geared toward empowering youth and girls. These efforts will assist create sustainable AI-driven industries in sectors akin to agriculture, healthcare, and renewable power.
Empowering Youth and Girls
The Commonwealth’s 56 member nations signify a mixed inhabitants of two.5 billion individuals, with over 60% aged 29 or youthful. The 2023/24 “Commonwealth Year of Youth” aligns with the CAIC’s concentrate on empowering younger individuals by means of AI and digital innovation.
As Chair of the CAIC Steering Committee, the Minister for Data and Communications Expertise for Rwanda, H.E. Paula Ingabire, welcomed the progress made by the CAIC, underscoring the significance of moral and accountable AI software. She emphasised the worth positioned on youth and highlighted that accessibility and fairness in AI should be integral to the journey, sharing Rwanda’s developments in the AI house.
“I’m pleased with the progress the CAIC has made in selling moral and accountable AI throughout member states. Youth empowerment, accessibility, and fairness should stay integral to our AI journey. Commonwealth’s imaginative and prescient for AI transcends expertise; it’s essentially about human improvement. It’s about making certain that the Commonwealth leads in accountable and inclusive AI practices,” she mentioned.
The CAIC’s success will depend on collaboration with the personal sector. A gathering on 24 September 2024 with business leaders from Intel, Open Weaver, and OBREAL World bolstered commitments to scaling AI tasks in the future.
As the CAIC enters its scaling section, key initiatives embrace the AI Entrepreneurship Program, AI Incubator, Strategus AI, AI Academy and AI Compute. These packages will construct native AI ecosystems, significantly in small states, making certain that Commonwealth nations can take part meaningfully in the world AI economic system. The Consortium will additional broaden in different areas of AI and Local weather change, cybersecurity, AI and Well being as members of the CAIC have expressed assist for these.
By means of its initiatives, the CAIC helps to bridge the AI divide whereas fostering innovation, creating jobs, and empowering the most weak.
For extra info, please go to the CAIC web site at https://caic.thecommonwealth.org/ or e-mail [email protected].