On September 2020, UNESCO published a new report entitled Artificial Intelligence and Gender Equality: key findings of UNESCO’s Global Dialogue. This report aims to provide “recommendations on how to address gender equality considerations in AI principles. It also offers guidance to the public and private sectors, as well as to civil society and other stakeholders, regarding how to operationalize gender equality and AI principles”.
The report is divided into 5 parts:
- Framing the Landscape of Gender Equality and AI
- Gender Equality and AI Principles
- Recommendations for Integrating GE into AI Principles
- Gender Transformative Operationalization of AI Principles
- Action Plan and Next Steps
In the first part, the report highlights what artificial intelligence can bring us in our everyday life. It also states the technological flaws, discusses algorithmic systems and bias and highlights the importance of gender equality in the field of artificial intelligence.
In the second part, the report makes “a scan of several major AI and ethics principles, as well as meta-level analyses combining data from these principles in addition to the examination of principles from other relevant sources, point to a few different ways in which gender equality is generally being treated”.
The third part explains how to integrate gender equality into AI principles.
The fourth part provides illustrative actions that can be taken to begin to develop an effective AI for Gender Equality ecosystem.
Finally, in the fifth part, the report recalls the urgency of the issue of gender equality and artificial intelligence as “it is recommended that a dedicated, cross-disciplinary initiative that can help catalyze deep thinking and action on gender equality and AI be swiftly created”.
In conclusion, the report gives 4 main recommendations:
- Adequately frame the overarching landscape of AI and society and the imperatives og gender equality
- Significantly strengthen gender equality in AI Principles
- Operationalize gender equality and AI principles
- Create gender and AI initiatives
