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Sarah Skiba, Hyunwoong Oh, Lea Wanders and others are enlisted in the challenge
UNESCO
UNESCO
AI FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
About Viva Technology
VivaTech is Europe's biggest startup and tech event. Co-organized by Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos and dedicated to the growth of startups, digital transformation, and innovation, the 5th edition will take place on June 16-19, 2021.
In 2019, the event reached 231 million people worldwide, bringing together 124,000 visitors including more than 13,000 startups, 3,000 venture capital firms, and 2,500 journalists from 124 countries. This year, VivaTech will provide a hybrid experience, in-person in Paris and online worldwide, that will bring together an even larger community of innovators.
About UNESCO
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO works so that each child and citizen has access to quality education. By promoting cultural heritage and the equal dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens bonds among nations.
UNESCO fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation.
UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression and access to information, as a fundamental right and a key condition for democracy and development. Serving as a laboratory of ideas with digital innovation at its heart, UNESCO helps countries develop policies and programmes that foster the free flow of ideas and knowledge sharing to tackle the world’s challenges and ensure sustainable development for all.
UNESCO Challenges
Challenge 1
Conserving our Biodiversity
Help us harness AI to preserve our Planet
Challenge 1
Conserving our Biodiversity
Help us harness AI to preserve our Planet
Description
The latest global scientific assessment found that human activity has resulted in the severe alteration of more than 75 percent of Earth’s land areas. The biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82 percent, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction. Nature and biodiversity are essential for the regulation of environmental cycles and maintenance of the health of the planet.
The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation undermines the resilience of the environment. A degraded environment has adverse consequences for society, the economy, and critical product value chains, ultimately impeding progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and human well-being.
Artificial intelligence can help us preserve our planet. For instance, motion-sensor cameras can be used in natural habitats to gather vast quantities of data on biodiversity. Motion-sensor cameras and drones equipped with artificial intelligence are being used in biosphere reserves for planning and monitoring land use. By integrating artificial intelligence with other technologies, it also becomes possible to monitor wildlife over a large area.
Artificial intelligence (AI), modeling and machine learning analysis of Big Data for example social media, satellite imagery and weather data can help in monitoring floods and forecasting.
AI is already improving agriculture by collecting data and images to increase our knowledge of crop diseases, helping farmers to increase crop yields and reduce water requirements and pesticide usage. AI is also being used to protect oceans from illegal, over fishing. Citizen science applications using AI can also foster collaboration between scientists and society.
Climate change, urban pressure and lack of disaster preparedness, are increasingly transforming natural hazards into global crises. UNESCO assists countries to build their capacities in managing disaster and climate risk through building resilient communities. Notably, UNESCO supports its 193 Member States in developing early warning systems, risk governance, nature-based solutions, post-disaster response, and critical infrastructure.
The Organization is particularly committed to developing solutions in Africa and small island developing states, and in regions with vulnerable populations where the risk of natural hazards is particularly elevated.
Context/ Need :
To accelerate the transition towards living in harmony with nature, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the long-term goals of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, digital technologies and AI must be harnessed to address the nature and biodiversity crisis. Technology can help in ensuring the preservation of biodiversity central to healthy ecosystems.
In addition, 70% of emerging diseases and almost all known pandemics, including Covid-19, are caused by microbes of animal origin.
These microbes ‘spill over’ when humans, wildlife and livestock come into contact with one another, such as through agricultural expansion, deforestation or wildlife trade.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shone the spotlight on the interdependencies between humans and other species. It has reminded us that, when we destroy primary forests or indulge in wildlife trade, we are increasing our own vulnerability. High biodiversity manages to buffer some of the negative effects of infectious diseases. As we lose biodiversity, we are losing alternative hosts for vectors of disease to infect, making it more likely that pathogens will infect humans.
Today, focus has been on containing and controlling diseases after they emerge, such as through vaccines. We need to focus more on preventing pandemics. One way to do that is to preserve a high biological diversity. UNESCO is looking for innovative solutions to help manage ecosystems, restore natural habitats, and monitor biodiversity – to help us preserve our planet, and the health of its people.
Challenge 2
Gender bias and discrimination
Help to reduce the gender digital divide by exposing bias in AI
Challenge 2
Gender bias and discrimination
Help to reduce the gender digital divide by exposing bias in AI
Description
AI feeds on biased data-sets, amplifying the existing gender bias in our societies. The technology is perpetuating harmful stereotypes of women as submissive and subservient. Is it any wonder when only 22% of AI professionals globally are women? Data indicates that although women publish as much research in science, tech, engineering and AI as men, their ideas do not receive an equal platform to men's. UNESCO as part of the EQUALS global partnership aims at narrowing the gender digital divide and partners with stakeholders from civil society, private sector and academia to address these challenges.
Context/ Need
There's an urgent need for more women to participate in and lead the design, development, and deployment of AI systems. Evidence shows that by 2022, 85% of AI projects will deliver erroneous outcomes due to bias if AI as a technology and as a sector is not more inclusive and diverse.
UNESCO's seminal report from 2019 showed that AI-powered voice assistant tools like Alexa and Siri were perpetuating harmful stereotypes and sexist abuse directed at 'feminized' technology was even anticipated by tech companies. How can we ensure women’s participation in the design of AI? How can we make sure data sets are more diverse? UNESCO is looking for innovative gamified solutions to educate and inform women and men on the gender bias in AI systems with the ultimate goal to raise awareness on the gender digital divide.
Examples of expected startup solutions include a gender equality learning app (EdTech), Gender analysis tools and algorithmic bias assessments, and gender equality investment tools.
Challenge 3
Cracking the Language Barrier through Data and AI
Help us strengthen access to information in low resource languages
Help us strengthen access to information in low resource languages
Challenge 3
Cracking the Language Barrier through Data and AI
Help us strengthen access to information in low resource languages
Description
The lack of information and resources available to the vast majority of people can sometimes be staggering: it is estimated that just ten major languages represent more than 90% of websites globally. This at a time when at least half of the world’s 7,000 spoken languages are in danger of disappearing entirely.
This means that advances in speech and language technologies, including tools such as voice search, text-to-speech, speech recognition and machine translation, remain out of reach and impose barriers to the participation of users of these languages in the digital economy and society. Speakers of indigenous languages can be especially affected.
UNESCO supports the development of datasets in African Languages as part of the Open 4 Good Alliance. These datasets can be leveraged to develop downstream solutions to strengthen access to information in these languages. The challenge involves leveraging these datasets to develop applications, business models or new ways of enlarging the datasets to strengthen multilingualism and access to information.
Context/ Need
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, cultural diversity, spirituality, communication, social integration, education and development, are of crucial importance for people, prosperity and the planet.
People not only embed in languages their history, traditions, memory, traditional knowledge, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression, but more importantly they also construct their future through them.
In this context, UNESCO is looking for Language Technology-based solutions that contribute to the promotion of linguistic diversity and multilingualism. This may include solutions like spelling/grammar checkers up to speech and speaker recognition, machine translation for text and audio, speech synthesis, and spoken dialogue among others are important tools for enabling linguistic diversity and multilingualism.
The Los Pinos Declaration on the Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) calls for the design and access to sustainable, accessible, workable and affordable language technologies and places indigenous peoples at the centre of its recommendations under the slogan “Nothing for us without us.”
The lack of information and resources available to the vast majority of people can sometimes be staggering: it is estimated that just ten major languages represent more than 90% of websites globally. This at a time when at least half of the world’s 7,000 spoken languages are in danger of disappearing entirely.
This means that advances in speech and language technologies, including tools such as voice search, text-to-speech, speech recognition and machine translation, remain out of reach and impose barriers to the participation of users of these languages in the digital economy and society. Speakers of indigenous languages can be especially affected.
UNESCO supports the development of datasets in African Languages as part of the Open 4 Good Alliance. These datasets can be leveraged to develop downstream solutions to strengthen access to information in these languages. The challenge involves leveraging these datasets to develop applications, business models or new ways of enlarging the datasets to strengthen multilingualism and access to information.
Context/ Need
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, cultural diversity, spirituality, communication, social integration, education and development, are of crucial importance for people, prosperity and the planet.
People not only embed in languages their history, traditions, memory, traditional knowledge, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression, but more importantly they also construct their future through them.
In this context, UNESCO is looking for Language Technology-based solutions that contribute to the promotion of linguistic diversity and multilingualism. This may include solutions like spelling/grammar checkers up to speech and speaker recognition, machine translation for text and audio, speech synthesis, and spoken dialogue among others are important tools for enabling linguistic diversity and multilingualism.
The Los Pinos Declaration on the Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) calls for the design and access to sustainable, accessible, workable and affordable language technologies and places indigenous peoples at the centre of its recommendations under the slogan “Nothing for us without us.”
Rewards
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1
- Presence on stage at VivaTech
- 5 free Startup passes for the 4 days of VivaTech
- A startup booth at VivaTech 2022
- 5 free Startup passes for the 4 days of VivaTech
- A startup booth at VivaTech 2022
2
- A meeting with UNESCO teams
3
Highlight the challenge solutions on UNESCO web and see what could be done to develop and deploy the solutions through incubation in partnership with the private sector (no engagement) in line with UNESCO’s programming in field offices.
