Event 7 February 2024

Launching the next phase of the Collective Impact Coalition for Ethical AI

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Background

In September 2022, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) rallied a group of 33 investors and 12 civil society groups to launch the Collective Impact Coalition for Digital Inclusion – now called “The Collective Impact Coalition for Ethical Artificial Intelligence” – a coordinated engagement campaign aiming to push technology companies to advance ethical AI policies and practices.

The campaign, commonly referred to as the CIC for Ethical AI, builds on the findings of WBA’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark, which has revealed large transparency gaps in companies’ disclosures on ethical AI.

The benchmark found that very few companies had public commitments to responsible and ethical AI, thus failing to meet one of the most fundamental high-level expectations that can be applied to AI. Ethical AI is a critical area of digital inclusion that requires systemic change, and a basic commitment to ethical AI principles can serve as a gateway to building trust with users and to reducing risks and harms to individuals, societies, and companies themselves.

Objectives of Phase 2 of the CIC for Ethical AI

This phase of the CIC will focus on asking that digital technology companies implement, demonstrate, and publicly disclose:

a set of ethical principles that guide the company’s development, deployment, and/or procurement of AI tools;
strong AI governance and oversight across the value chain of AI development and use;
how these principles are implemented via specific tools and programs of action relevant to the company’s business model, including on the product and service level;
impact assessment processes applied to AI, emphasizing human rights impact assessments (HRIAs), especially in high-risk use cases.

Launch Event of Phase 2 of the CIC for Ethical AI

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), Fidelity International, Boston Common Asset Management and Women at the Table are pleased to invite you to participate in a virtual roundtable launch of Phase 2 of the Collective Impact Coalition (CIC) for Ethical Artificial Intelligence on Thursday, 29^th February 2024 at 9am ET/2pm GMT/3pm CET.

The event will bring together governments, investors, civil society organisations, think tanks, business groups and other stakeholders in the digital sector to discuss how they can leverage common interests in driving corporate action towards responsible and ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Speakers:

Keynotes:

Tara Denham, Director General for Human Rights, Freedoms and Inclusion, Global Affairs Canada
Eileen Donahoe, Special Envoy and Coordinator for Digital Freedom, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP)

Panelists:

Lauren Compere, Managing Director and Head of Stewardship and Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management – Moderator
Benjamin Chekroun, Lead Stewardship Analyst – Proxy Voting and Engagement, CANDRIAM
Michela Gregory, Director of ESG Services, NEI Investments
Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, CEO/Founder, Women at the Table
Patrick Shortt, Sustainable Investing Graduate Associate, Fidelity International
Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem, Professor and Head of Department of Philosophy, University of Pretoria; Chair: UNESCO World Commision on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology; Member of UNSG’s Advisory Body on AI
Jan Rydzak, Digital Transformation Lead, World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)

If you have questions on the event or how to join the CIC for Ethical AI, please reach out to Nicholas Sewe, Engagement Lead, World Benchmarking Alliance on n.sewe@worldbenchmarkingalliance.org.