Madrid (EFE).- Technology must be adapted to the needs of citizens instead of being adapted by it, and the inclusion of all people depends on guaranteeing their accessibility. Today is Internet Day, a celebration to also claim an ethical and transparent Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In Spain, under the motto “Digital Citizenship: Rights and Opportunities”, World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, more popularly known as Internet Day, is celebrated with an emphasis on the skills that allow citizens to access, retrieve, evaluate, create and share information with different technologies, in a critical, ethical and creative way.
May 17 marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union and, since 2006, the UN has promoted Internet Day to, among other things, reduce the digital divide.
In our country, the “Manifesto to promote digital citizenship” has been made public, with a decalogue in which it is requested to place people and their rights at the center, promoting the right to privacy, digital disconnection or non-discrimination algorithmic.
The document, promoted by 62 social, business organizations and public bodies, also mentions the need to increase and guarantee accessibility and the safety and protection of users in the digital environment, with an emphasis on the elderly.
An ethical, transparent and responsible AI
The decalogue dedicates one of its points to artificial intelligence (AI). It calls for the development of an ethical AI that generates trust and transparency in its use to enhance the positive effect it can have on society and the economy.
Likewise, it asks to pay special attention to privacy and data protection, health, public services or the work environment, avoiding discrimination and biases for different reasons.
And empower citizens so that they can benefit from the advantages that technology brings and be able to make their own decisions.
The president of the Association of Internet Users (AUI), Miguel Pérez Subías, for whom AI has come to stay, has said that “many of the decisions that are made about our health, employment, training, shopping, leisure or information they are going to be supported by what AI tells us, that is to say that our lives are going to depend more and more on algorithms”.
“I think that we would all like these algorithms to have an ethic in favor of the good and the general interest, have transparency and accountability mechanisms to be able to demand responsibilities,” he told EFE.
The president of the UAI is not in favor of stopping AI for a while, as world experts recently requested in an open letter. “All disruptive technologies generate vertigo and insecurity, but I think it is more beneficial to study and regulate them without impeding their progress,” he adds.
Regarding the empowerment that is requested in the manifesto, this expert has opined that it is achieved when we get people to be happier, freer, better informed and less exposed to diseases.
AI Benefits
“Many of the AI applications are going to allow us to work less, enjoy better health, be more educated and informed, and therefore we are going to have a society with more empowered citizens.”
The challenge, as is already happening with other recent technologies, lies in how the wealth generated with it is distributed.
“If we look back, we see that many of the applications and terminals that have been implemented globally are exploited in quasi-monopoly regimes and also capitalize on the capture of personal data that is the fuel that AI requires to be able to test and train its algorithms” .
“The ability we have to break these oligopolies is a key factor for the democratization and socialization of AI and this is undoubtedly a challenge that we have not yet been able to solve,” he concluded.
Cybersecurity, another challenge
Although the Internet has been with us for decades, “we continue to repeat basic mistakes”, such as using weak and shared passwords, avoiding updates or browsing insecure pages that open the doors of devices to cyberthreats, Check Point recalled on the occasion of this day .
“Once again, we must call for training and common sense, since education and knowledge are key to achieving a safe digital space for all,” Eusebio Nieva, the company’s technical director, summarized in a note. for Spain and Portugal.
Events will take place throughout the day, including the Internet Awards gala or the workshop on protection of wireless connections and devices of the National Institute of Cybersecurity, Incibe.