Statement by Baltic States during 2nd consultation of the intergovernmental process to identify the terms of reference and modalities for the establishment and functioning of the IISP on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance
New York, 19 February 2025
Dear distinguished Colleagues,
I am delivering this statement on behalf of Baltic States: Estonia, Lithuania and my own country - Latvia. We also align ourselves with the statement delivered by the European Union.
I thank the co-facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Costa Rica and Spain for the opportunity to deliver our thoughts and ideas on the establishment and functioning of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.
The grand potential of Artificial Intelligence opens vast opportunities in many fields – health, education, environment and economy – just to name a few. It is safe to say that sustainable development is no longer imaginable without considering and applying the benefits A.I. can bring. Therefore, we believe the Panel and Global Dialogue could have an instrumental role to play in how we use the potential of A.I. in the most effective, beneficial and safe ways.
Considering its cross-cutting implications, A.I. must be developed, used and governed inclusively and in the interest of all, in a way that respects human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The governance of A.I. must be rooted in international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Human rights must be respected and protected – online and offline. While it is a novel technology, A.I. must operate within the established framework of what is acceptable and what is not.
We see the Global Dialogue on A.I. governance and the Independent international Scientific Panel as a platform for all stakeholders to express their views and vision of A.I governance. Both Panel and the Dialogue must be multi-stakeholder, including civil society, scientific communities and the private sector. It is essential to ensure that A.I. serves the interests of humanity. Multi-stakeholder expertise will be an integral part of exchanging best practices and lessons learned, and contribute to further capacity building.
We strongly believe that existing initiatives should not be duplicated. Internet Governance Forum, AI4Good summit hosted by ITU, or UNESCO’s Global Forum on the Ethics of A.I. would be the most appropriate fora to include the Dialogue, as the broad multi-stakeholder involvement in those fora would provide useful contribution to deliberations of the Global Dialogue.
Panel and Dialogue should pay particular attention to the impact of A.I. on information integrity. The increasing malign use of A.I. by state and non-state actors for information manipulation and interference in electoral processes presents a grave risk to security and stability of our societies.
Panel and the Dialogue should have a clearly established link of information and result exchange. The Panel and the Dialogue could be linked so that the Dialogue could consider the assessments and report by the Panel when planning its agenda. We see the Dialogue as an important format where we have possibility to share views and identified challenges with the Panel.
To conclude, let us underline that the path the development of A.I. will take is not pre-determined. This technology can amplify our best intentions – or the worst. It will be our collective task and responsibility to shape it in a creative, sustainable and safe way. We look forward participating actively in the further process to establish the Scientific Panel and Global Dialogue so that they are effective tool to progress our common understanding on the opportunities the A.I. presents and most effective way of its governance.
I thank you.