Virginie MARTINS de NOBREGA
Virginie Martins de Nobrega is an international lawyer and consultant working on the multiple AI applications in international affairs and relations.
She intervenes on transversal issues related to the risks, opportunities and impact of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in their geopolitical, ethical, human rights, social, environmental, and economic dimensions.
She authored a chapter on “A Diverse (AI) World: How to Make Sure That the Digital World Reflects the Richness and Diversity of Our World”, in the edited volume Impact of Women’s Empowerment on SDGs in the Digital Era, dealing with the impact of such technologies on the most vulnerable, minorities and women, highlighting the many aspects of the digital divide.
Since 2018, she has actively been promoting an ethical, multicultural, human-rights, and human-centred approach combining social and environmental imperatives with geopolitical and economic stakes, calling for the technological transformation to build bridges instead of widening the gaps.
1 – The Security Council just held its first session on Artificial Intelligence (AI). the New UN Agenda for Peace Policy Brief highlights the dual nature of those technologies, and the EU is building a strong regulatory framework. Are those technologies really a challenge for civilization?
Yes, they are due to their penetrability across countries and sectors, and because they influence, if not structure, the scope of public authority, our rights, and fundamental freedoms. Contrary to other technologies, states and individuals cannot just turn off their systems or delete their cookies. There is a constant interaction with AI-systems, such as generative IA and Natural Language Processing (NLP), that are built on those interactions and improve their accuracy and efficiency because of it. You add massive investments that develop and scale up technologies without systematically conducting needs and impact assessments because states need to strategically and geopolitically position themselves. We live in a global context where international relations are reshaped with the BRICS’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) increased influence and the questioning of multilateralism for not fairly and adequately addressing global needs, especially in the South. Everything is rapidly evolving in a reverse order: for some, technological advancements are a driver for economic development; for others they are increasing inequalities and exclusion. This is obvious in the South, but the trend is visible in the North as well.