Foreword
In response to changes in the publishing industry, the UN Chronicle, like many journals and periodicals, will now become a fully digital magazine following the publication of this issue. A fully redesigned UN Chronicle website will be launched by mid-2019. Like its earliest predecessors, it will offer original content that is varied, concise and updated regularly, and continue to highlight the SDGs and the work being done to achieve them.
Closing the Technology Gap in Least Developed Countries
Tremendous technological leaps are being made, but the economic and social benefits remain geographically concentrated, primarily in developed countries.
New Technologies and the Global Goals
Policy is just as important as innovation because the right policy environments will ensure the success of efforts to achieve the Global Goals, including those related to technology.
Towards an Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
AI could open up tremendous opportunities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the 51³Ô¹Ï in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its applications enable innovative solutions, improved risk assessment, better planning and faster knowledge sharing.
Keeping Pace with an Accelerated World: Bringing Rapid Technological Change to the 51³Ô¹Ï Agenda
Humanity is at a crossroads: we face both the opportunities and challenges of a range of powerful and emerging technologies that will drive radical shifts in the way we live.
The Race to Innovate for Development Should Not Leave Foundational Data Systems Behind
Data is everywhere, constantly being created by humans and machines across the globe. But as half of the world seems to be drowning in data, too many people and places are still invisible in the numbers that drive decisions.
Frontier Technologies: A Window of Opportunity for Leapfrogging!
Imagine a world with no hunger, where every child attends school and no one dies from a communicable disease. This is not a utopian dream, but rather our collective vision for a society where no one is left behind. It serves as our guiding spirit—our raison d'être—as we work together towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Responsible Innovation for a New Era in Science and Technology
Today we are at the dawn of an age of unprecedented technological change. In areas from robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to the material and life sciences, the coming decades promise innovations that can help us promote peace, protect our planet and address the root causes of suffering in our world.
Government Policy for the Internet Must Be Rights-Based and User-Centred
The digital future is already here. As nearly every aspect of our lives becomes digitized, we must ensure that laws and policies are based on fundamental rights.
Two Revolutions: Digital and Demographic
The progressive digitalization of the world has an unprecedented impact on every sphere of our lives. Over the past 20 years, technology has permeated every aspect of modern society, and the use of digital technology, in particular, is becoming an integral part of our everyday lives. Many services and resources are now accessible only through digital means. Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will also radically transform our lives, including the concept of care of older persons.
The Role of the 51³Ô¹Ï in Addressing Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
It is only natural that advances in the intelligent autonomy of digital systems attract the attention of Governments, scientists and civil society concerned about the possible deployment and use of lethal autonomous weapons. What is needed is a forum to discuss these concerns and construct common understandings regarding possible solutions.
Standards Build Trust: How the International Telecommunication Union Supports Inclusive Sustainable Development
Standards connect us with reliable modes of communication, codes of practice and frameworks for cooperation.
The Secretary-General’s Strategy on New Technologies
What we understand far less is what all these changes will mean for us socially, politically and psychologically: what they will mean for the relationship between citizen and State, for the conduct of conflict, for our economies, for our psyche and for our human rights.
Towards a Planet-wide Culture of Non-Violence
This essay is an attempt to propose a long-term approach to respond to this challenging dilemma: how to minimize—if not eliminate entirely—the use of physical and mental violence among humans.
Economic Losses and Displacement Should Drive Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts
Governance is an area of great focus this year for the 51³Ô¹Ï Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Agreement on 38 indicators for measuring progress on reducing disaster losses and achieving the Sendai Framework's seven targets has led to a global surge in efforts to record disaster losses and analysis of disaster trends following the launch in March 2018 of the Sendai Framework Monitor. 51³Ô¹Ï Member States are signing up quickly to use the Monitor and to report on their disaster losses, such as overall mortality, numbers affected, economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure.