Rachel Ruto’s employee speaks after landing top UN Artificial Intelligence position
Philip Thigo, a prominent Kenyan tech and policy specialist, and advisor to President William Ruto, is celebrating his appointment to the United Nations Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body.
Speaking exclusively to Nairobi News, Thigo, one of 40 distinguished global tech experts chosen by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, views this as a significant achievement for Kenya.
“I am thrilled and honored to represent Kenya as a leading technology nation. I believe AI is the most challenging technology and the whole world is trying to govern it,” Mr Thigo told Nairobi News.
He emphasizes that the UN, as a rational and impartial body, is well-suited to shape the future of AI technology.
Thigo underscores the importance of governance, particularly for technologies like ChatGPT, to prevent issues such as disinformation and privacy breaches. He even mentions innovative measures like watermarking AI-generated content to ensure transparency, like in educational settings.
“Some of the governance that will be put in place is watermarking content from technologies such as ChatGpt so that if a student uses such technology, the teacher will be able to know that the content is AI generated.”
His sentiment came just a few hours after the United Nations launched an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced the UN AI Body will support the international community’s efforts to govern artificial intelligence.
“For developing economies, AI offers the possibility of leapfrogging outdated technologies and bringing services directly to people who need them most. The transformative potential of AI for good is difficult even to grasp. And without entering into a host of doomsday scenarios, it is already clear that the malicious use of AI could undermine trust in institutions, weaken social cohesion and threaten democracy itself,” said Mr Guterres.
To that end, an Advisory Body consisting of experts from governments, private sector, research community, civil society and academia was brought together to build a global scientific consensus on risks and challenges, harness AI for the Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen international cooperation on AI governance.”
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