2025 International Conference of the Korean Social Science Research Study Council
27 May 2025
Keynote Speech
Differentiated coworkers, prestigious individuals,
It is an advantage to join you practically for this essential gathering of the Oriental Social Scientific Research Research Council, and I am honoured to contribute to your prompt representations on the future of governance in an age specified by AI change.
Artificial intelligence is improving not just our sectors, but our societies and public institutions. It is reconfiguring just how public choices are made, how solutions are delivered, and exactly how people involve with their governments. This is a zero hour for democracies. We are observing a substantial change: from responsive bureaucracies to awaiting administration; from top-down structures to vibrant, data-informed communities.
AI makes it possible for federal governments to supply services extra effectively with automation, anticipating analytics, and personal engagement. In locations like medical care, public transportation, and social welfare, public organizations are currently utilizing AI-enabled devices to anticipate requirements, minimize prices, and improve outcomes. Right here in Japan, where our UNU headquarters are based, artificial intelligence is already being used to evaluate thousands of government projects, boosting operational effectiveness and solution delivery. [1]
This is more than simply a technological shift. It has profound political and ethical ramifications, raising immediate concerns concerning equity, transparency, and responsibility. While AI holds significant pledge, we should not lose sight of the threats. Mathematical bias can strengthen discrimination. Security modern technologies may intimidate constitutional freedoms. And an absence of oversight can result in the disintegration of public trust fund. As we digitise the state, we should not digitise injustice.
In action, the United Nations has actually sped up efforts to develop a worldwide governance design for AI. The High-Level Advisory Body on AI, developed by the Secretary-General, is functioning to attend to the global governance deficiency and promote concepts that centre human rights, inclusivity, and sustainability. The Global Digital Compact, endorsed through the Deal for the Future, lays the structure for an inclusive digital order– one that reflects shared worths and international cooperation.
At the United Nations University, we support this change with extensive, policy-relevant research. With 13 institutes in 12 countries, UNU is examining exactly how AI can progress sustainable advancement while making certain nobody is left behind. From digital incorporation and catastrophe durability to moral AI implementation in ecological administration and public health, our job seeks to make certain that AI serves the worldwide excellent.
However, the administration of artificial intelligence can not rest on the shoulders of worldwide organisations alone. Building honest and comprehensive AI systems requires deeper teamwork across all industries, bringing together academia, governments, the private sector, and civil society. It is only via interdisciplinary partnership, worldwide collaborations, and sustained discussion that we can develop administration frameworks that are not just effective, but genuine and future-proof.
Seminars such as this one play a crucial function because effort, helping us to construct bridges throughout boundaries and promote the depend on and collaboration that honest AI governance demands. In words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “AI is not standing still– neither can we. Let us move for an AI that is shaped among humanity, for all of humanity.”
Let us bear in mind: technology forms power, yet administration shapes justice. Our job is not just to control AI, however to reimagine governance itself. In doing so, we can build public institutions that are more dexterous, inclusive, and resilient. I wish that this seminar will foster meaningful discussion and new collaborations in that endeavour.
Thanks.
[1] https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Artificial-intelligence/Japan-turns-to-AI-for-help-in-analyzing- 5 – 000 -government-projects