Global Ethics and Technology Summit

governing for digital impacts

We are only beginning to comprehend the benefits—and the inherent dangers—of recent advances in technology, especially as digital, biological, and physical domains are fused together in the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Convened with a sense of urgency, this Summit explored ethical dimensions of transformative technologies with an overarching ambition for humankind to thrive over the long termd

As a global community concerned with the impact of business on society, we are particularly interested in leadership and governance in organizations and the role of business schools in a world increasingly divided, politically, economically, and socially.

This event was prepared for:

Risk, ethics and governance practitioners
Technologists and software professionals
Educators
Policy makers
and all those in positions of corporate leadership

NOTE: Panel sessions were not recorded

We can do just about anything with technology, but should we?

At this, our 3rd Annual Global Summit, global thought leaders again came together and provide opportunities for attendees to engage in insightful conversations.

This global summit focussed on the future of digitalization for leaders and their organizations:

balancing short-term performance opportunities with longer-term risks
planning for stakeholder value generation and social and behavioural impacts
saying “no” in the face of an overwhelming “yes”
equipping leaders to effectively direct, oversee and account for technologies of the future

Agenda

Opening and welcome

The big, forward looking picture of the ethical use of technology

Panel 1

NOTE: Panel sessions was not recorded - summary video will be provided

Technology in Human Rights

The central theme of this session is the moral and practical obligation of business leaders to consider the human rights implications of corporate activity. What, for example, are the effects that technology like social media and generative artificial intelligence have on rights such as that of free expression, access to information, and free and fair elections. And, how do we address the implications for increasing demand for minerals, driven by technological advances to address climate issues, when there are fundamental labour rights violations at the mines or parts of the value chain.

Leadership: linking the ethical use of technology with sustainability

Balancing guidance and supervision

Governance and the ethical use of new technologies

With reference to practical examples in the Healthcare, Human capital management, and the Banking industry sectors, Rachael and Alistair will discuss key governance considerations including accountability, direction setting, transparency, risk oversight and the impacts of legal fragmentation. This discussion will include the importance of being AI conversant and allocating time for continual, collaborative learning.

Panel 2

NOTE: Panel sessions was not recorded - summary video will be provided

Technology and Organisational Ethics

The introduction and use of technology has always posed ethical questions in organisations, whether relating to labour issues, surveillance or customer privacy. New forms of technology such as AI are only making these questions more complex, as technology is increasingly pervasive and in some cases transparent to those affected by it, be they employees, customers or other stakeholders in the organisation. This panel will discuss the obligations of the organisation to understand the ethical dilemmas posed by technology, and whose responsibility it might be to reconcile these.

The ethical use of data in new technologies

This panel will discuss current challenges with how data is being used in new technologies, new approaches to proactively managing ethical risk shortfalls, ethics versus ignorance, detecting, protecting and reacting to the unethical use of data, the ethics of leaders taking short-term opportunities which result in unintended long-term consequences, and the rethinking of the organizational roles needed today.

Auditing the ethical use of new technologies

Given the growing use of artificial intelligence in our daily lives, it’s evident that auditing practices need to evolve to keep pace. This panel will outline the essential requirements for conducting end-to-end audits of artificial intelligence applications, discuss key considerations and challenges arising from gaps in the legal framework, and offer best practice recommendations for our colleagues.