Call for Participation to ‘Research and Produce a Policy-Relevant Paper on “AI for Social Good: Strengthening Capabilities and Government Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific” that can help inform AI policies and strategies in Thailand’ – a United Nations ESCAP-APRU-Google collaboration

Deadline for application: 22 February 2022

Call for Participation can be downloaded here.

Expression of Interest Form can be download here.

Project Background

With artificial intelligence (AI) poised to become as widespread as the internet, its impact in Asia and the Pacific is expected to grow further. AI offers the possibility of providing a myriad of technological solutions to today’s complex challenges in achieving Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and can help societies “build back better” as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to these opportunities, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), with funding from Google.org, developed the ‘AI for Social Good’ multi-stakeholder network. The network has been supporting policy makers by developing insights on what capabilities and governance frameworks will be most supportive for leveraging AI effectively for social good.

Vision

This second collaborative project is building on these past activities to achieve transformative impact by bringing together government agencies from the Asia-Pacific region and outstanding researchers to:

• continue supporting research and cross-border connections on “AI for Social Good”;
• provide active support in the development of country-specific AI governance frameworks and national capabilities; and
• empower transparent AI ecosystems and develop AI solutions that tackle socio-economic challenges.

Academic Lead

The academic lead for the project is Professor Toni Erskine, Australian National University (ANU).

Please see the call document for specific project details, engagement areas, funding, expected contributions by the participants, the project timeline, and eligibility.

Scholars interested in participating and responding to this first round of research questions will need to email their completed expression of interest form (part of the call document) to Ms Tina Lin, tina.lin@apru.org by 22 February 2022.

For information about APRU current projects on AI please visit APRU’s website 

For any queries, please contact Christina Schönleber, Senior Director Policy & Research Programs at christina.schoenleber@apru.org