Navigating Global AI Policy from Paris: UNESCO U.S. Ambassador Courtney O’Donnell and OECD U.S. Ambassador Sean Patrick Maloney on AI, Equity, and Global Collaboration
In the latest episode of the Washington AI Network Podcast, Courtney O’Donnell, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), joined host Tammy Haddad to discuss the pivotal role the United States is playing in leveraging AI to advance education, health, climate action, and international cooperation. The interview was recorded at the shared offices of the U.S. missions to the OECD and to UNESCO offices in Paris, France on December 5.
Through their unique roles at UNESCO and OECD, Ambassadors O’Donnell and Maloney are shaping global policies that prioritize ethical governance, inclusivity, and sustainability. During the conversation, they shared insights into how American leadership is promoting human rights, sustainability, and equitable access to innovation through international cooperation.
“Many people know UNESCO for the work around the world to save and protect unique cultural heritage sites through their World Heritage program, but the reach, as you think about science, education, and culture, is incredibly vast. Artificial intelligence is no doubt impacting all of them,” explained O’Donnell. “What really is at the core of the US presence at UNESCO is ensuring that these technologies are based around a human-centered, human-rights-based approach. And I know very well the work of the 2023 Presidential executive order around AI as safe, trustworthy, and how we make sure that we bring those ideals and those values to this forum.”
Building off O’Donnell’s point on U.S. engagement in global AI governance, Maloney broke down OECD’s unique role in convening like-minded nations, “the only way to avoid the downsides of AI, which are real, is to enshrine your values in the systems that AI is built on. And what we are able to do on data and on other issues at OECD is get together with the countries who really share our values and to work on issues of inclusivity that open up the opportunities of AI globally, but that also have deeply rooted within them the values of human rights and of free expression and of obviously just accuracy, historical accuracy.”
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And that is very true in AI,” added Maloney.
Maloney discussed the ongoing efforts to ensure AI benefits are accessible worldwide, “the United States is very focused on both spreading the benefits of AI but also making sure that it is, as Courtney points out, safe and reliable. The Secretary of State recently traveled to New York and made an announcement at the General Assembly, which is just the latest effort…a hundred million dollars commitment…to support the computing that’s required for effective AI to more countries, to open up some of the models to have more local context and language because, of course, the data has to be inclusive of people’s different languages, different cultures, different nuances and sensitivities.”
The discussion also touched on AI’s potential to drive advancements in sustainability and its critical role in supporting climate goals through enhanced modeling, resource management, and innovative energy solutions.
Maloney openly addressed the critical need for sustainable energy solutions to support AI applications, “We can’t lose sight of our energy transition goals, we can’t lose sight of the climate crisis. And that’s why the energy conversation is inextricably linked to the AI conversation because…to do the type of computing required here on these large models requires enormous amounts of energy.”
O’Donnell detailed how UNESCO is leveraging AI in environmental science, “part of UNESCO is the International Oceanographic Committee and the Intergovernmental Hydrological Program, the IHP, where we see it’s using AI to monitor water and resources. So some of the greatest science and climate-based initiatives that have been core to UNESCO’s work and have involvement of great American universities and scientists are now implementing AI into their ongoing work.”
Maloney also highlighted the broader implications of AI for climate policy, stating, “We’ve done enormously important work on this in the United States in the last few years, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and other measures where the Biden administration has really led on climate. And I think what AI opens up is the possibility that you can just accelerate these efforts through better modeling, through better technologies, through better identifying ways in which you can decarbonize while you maintain robust economic growth, which is the key.”
In addition to AI’s potential in climate solutions, Maloney also touched on the transformative potential of AI in global health. “I’ve recently learned about a program in India where, using AI tools, you can cough basically next to your phone and by the sound of your cough, the AI program can diagnose tuberculosis. They’ve already had hundreds of millions of people participate in this program to eradicate that disease in India. So it’s just one example of how exciting these tools are and the incredible diagnostic possibilities.”
On the topic of the potential dangers of AI, O’Donnell and Maloney acknowledged the concerns surrounding AI’s rapid development and its potential misuse. They stressed that, while the technology holds incredible promise, the risks of unchecked development and unintended consequences cannot be ignored. They also highlighted the importance of global cooperation and intentional governance to mitigate these challenges while fostering the benefits of AI.
“If you talk to technologists, and you have a high-level conversation about AI, the fears you typically hear about are the science fiction movie of AI taking over the world or of automated systems doing things that humans can’t stop. And those concerns are, believe it or not, actually real, and we have to be careful,” warned Maloney.
O’Donnell then turned the conversation towards the importance of integrating AI into educational frameworks, and detailed how UNESCO has taken a leading role in fostering digital literacy across various audiences.“At UNESCO, we see that a lot on the education side in terms of how are we thinking about digital literacy, digital learning, both for teachers, for parents, for students to be smarter about sources and to really question that. And so how does that manifest itself in different curricula? How do you ensure textbooks are inclusive? How do you ensure they’re credible?”
O’Donnell also emphasized the importance of preparing educators and learners to navigate the digital landscape responsibly.