2025 International Seminar of the Korean Social Science Research Council
27 May 2025
Keynote Speech
Differentiated associates, renowned individuals,
It is an opportunity to join you virtually for this vital gathering of the Korean Social Scientific Research Study Council, and I am honoured to contribute to your prompt reflections on the future of governance in an era specified by AI makeover.
Expert system is improving not just our sectors, but our cultures and public organizations. It is reconfiguring how public choices are made, just how services are delivered, and how citizens involve with their federal governments. This is a zero hour for freedoms. We are observing a substantial shift: from reactive administrations to awaiting governance; from top-down structures to dynamic, data-informed ecological communities.
AI makes it possible for governments to supply solutions a lot more successfully with automation, anticipating analytics, and personalised engagement. In locations like health care, public transport, and social welfare, public organizations are currently harnessing AI-enabled tools to prepare for requirements, lower prices, and boost end results. Right here in Japan, where our UNU head office are based, expert system is already being utilized to evaluate hundreds of government tasks, enhancing operational efficiency and service delivery. [1]
This is greater than just a technological shift. It has extensive political and ethical implications, increasing immediate inquiries about equity, openness, and accountability. While AI holds significant guarantee, we should not lose sight of the dangers. Algorithmic prejudice can enhance discrimination. Security technologies might endanger civil liberties. And an absence of oversight can lead to the erosion of public depend on. As we digitise the state, we have to not digitise oppression.
In feedback, the United Nations has accelerated initiatives to develop an international administration design for AI. The High-Level Advisory Body on AI, established by the Secretary-General, is functioning to attend to the international administration deficit and advertise principles that centre human rights, inclusivity, and sustainability. The Global Digital Compact, supported with the Pact for the Future, lays the structure for a comprehensive electronic order– one that shows shared worths and international teamwork.
At the United Nations University, we sustain this change via extensive, policy-relevant study. With 13 institutes in 12 nations, UNU is analyzing exactly how AI can advance sustainable development while making sure no one is left behind. From digital addition and catastrophe resilience to ethical AI implementation in environmental governance and public health and wellness, our job looks for to make sure that AI offers the worldwide great.
Nevertheless, the administration of expert system can not hinge on the shoulders of international organisations alone. Structure ethical and inclusive AI systems requires much deeper participation throughout all sectors, bringing together academic community, federal governments, the private sector, and civil society. It is just via interdisciplinary collaboration, global collaborations, and continual discussion that we can develop governance structures that are not just effective, but reputable and future-proof.
Meetings similar to this one play a vital function in that endeavour, assisting us to develop bridges throughout borders and foster the depend on and teamwork that moral AI administration needs. In words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “AI is not stalling– neither can we. Allow us move for an AI that is shaped among mankind, for all of humanity.”
Let us keep in mind: technology shapes power, yet administration shapes justice. Our job is not just to govern AI, however to reimagine administration itself. In doing so, we can build public institutions that are extra active, comprehensive, and resilient. I hope that this meeting will certainly cultivate purposeful dialogue and brand-new collaborations in that effort.
Thanks.
[1] https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Artificial-intelligence/Japan-turns-to-AI-for-help-in-analyzing- 5 – 000 -government-projects