Digital Governance through the G20 Osaka Leader’s Declaration

Dennis J. Snower

The underlying spirit of the G20 Leader’s Declaration can be summarized as follows:  “We share the notion of a human-centered future society, which is being promoted by Japan as Society 5.0” (§10). This vision, along with its implications for the G20, has been articulated in various T20 Policy Briefs (see, for example, Toward global paradigm change by Dennis J. Snower and Repurposing our Economies – and our Businesses by Colm Kelly. The message is that the G20 must focus on social prosperity – the wellbeing of people in thriving societies – and the G20 must seek to recouple economic prosperity with social prosperity. 

The implications of this message for digital governance is contained in the following part of the Declaration: “We will work toward achieving an inclusive, sustainable, safe, trustworthy and innovative society through digitalization and promoting the application of emerging technologies” (§10). “Cross-border flow of data, information, ideas and knowledge generates higher productivity, greater innovation, and improved sustainable development, while raising challenges related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights, and security. By continuing to address these challenges, we can further facilitate data free flow and strengthen consumer and business trust. In this respect, it is necessary that legal frameworks, both domestic and international, should be respected. Such data free flow with trust will harness the opportunities of the digital economy” (§11). 

“Data free flow with trust” combines two features that are vital for the stability of the new digital age: free flow of information and trust in that information by the users. This principle requires effective legal and regulatory systems that prevent the use of information without users’ consent and the manipulation of users’ opinions by external parties. The future of the free market system and the future of democracy depends on the implementation of this principle. Accordingly, the Declaration states, “In this respect, it is necessary that legal frameworks, both domestic and international, should be respected. Such data free flow with trust will harness the opportunities of the digital economy. We will cooperate to encourage the interoperability of different frameworks, and we affirm the role of data for development.” Some implications for policy making – particularly with regard the recoupling of economic and social prosperity – are suggested in the following T20 Policy Briefs, among others: 

How to Promote Worker Wellbeing in the Platform Economy in the Global South
by Ramiro Albrieu, Martin Rapetti, Urvashi Aneja, Krish Chetty

Bridging the Gap Between Digital Skills and Employability for Vulnerable Populations 
by Alessia Zucchetti, Cristóbal Cobo, Josephine Kass-Hanna, Angela C. Lyons

Leaving No One Behind: Measuring the Multidimensionality of Digital Literacy in the Age of AI and other Transformative Technologies 
by Alessia Zucchetti, Cristóbal Cobo, Josephine Kass-Hanna, Angela C. Lyons

It is highly significant that the G20 has agreed to accept the OECD Council Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence: “To foster public trust and confidence in AI technologies and fully realize their potential, we commit to a human-centered approach to AI, and welcome the non-binding G20 AI Principles, drawn from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Recommendation on AI.” 

The OECD Recommendation is the first set of principles on the international use of AI that explicitly promotes the recoupling of economic and social prosperity. In particular:

• “AI should benefit people and the planet by driving inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being.
• AI systems should be designed in a way that respects the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and diversity, and they should include appropriate safeguards – for example, enabling human intervention where necessary – to ensure a fair and just society.
• There should be transparency and responsible disclosure around AI systems to ensure that people understand AI-based outcomes and can challenge them.
• AI systems must function in a robust, secure and safe way throughout their life cycles and potential risks should be continually assessed and managed.
• Organisations and individuals developing, deploying or operating AI systems should be held accountable for their proper functioning in line with the above principles.”

(OECD AI Principles)

Building on these principles, the OECD makes the following recommendations:

• “Facilitate public and private investment in research & development to spur innovation in trustworthy AI.
• Foster accessible AI ecosystems with digital infrastructure and technologies and mechanisms to share data and knowledge.
• Ensure a policy environment that will open the way to deployment of trustworthy AI systems.
• Empower people with the skills for AI and support workers for a fair transition.
• Co-operate across borders and sectors to progress on responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI.”

Relevant T20 Policy Briefs on this subject include the following:

Transformation of Economic and Social Institutions for a New Era of Self-employment in High-income Countries
by Reiko Hayashi 

Fostering Human Dimension of the Digital Education
by Ilya Kiriya 

These principles are an important first step in addressing the major challenges that AI poses for societal wellbeing, including the following.  First, as people become more reliant on AI in their decision making processes, the ethical assumptions built into the AI algorithms will become increasingly important for meaningful human-machine interactions. Our thinking about ethical AI is still in its infancy, exposing us to implicit algorithm biases and unknown concerning our ethical expectations of machines. Second, given the huge bodies of information that machines gather about us, it is difficult to ensure that this information is not used to discriminate against people – for example, in hiring decisions and insurance claims – on the basis of inappropriate information.  Third, social manipulation through AI algorithms is already threatening to undermine the democratic process in many countries, including recent elections in the US, the EU and the Brexit referendum. Fourth, the combination of AI, ubiquitous cameras and facial recognition can permit a massive invasion of privacy by the state and large digital monopolies, setting the stage for large-scale social manipulation and oppression. These are all dangers whereby technological progress may become decoupled from societal wellbeing. The OECD principles serve to guide the development of AI with social cohesion, personal empowerment and environmental sustainability in mind. These principles thereby promote “recoupling” of economies and societies through “digital free flow with trust.” Thereby the G20 Japan 2019 has set the groundwork for a digitally enhanced human-centered society throughout the G20 members and beyond.