What’s in the news?

• In the recently concluded ‘Summit of the Future’ organised by the United Nations, member countries adopted the ‘Global Digital Compact’ (GDC). 
• This ambitious instrument focuses on the potential of digital technologies, with the specific intention to harness and regulate them for the common good.

What is the GDC?

• The GDC is not a binding law but a diplomatic instrument with a set of shared goals for governments, institutions, firms, and other stakeholders to bear in mind. 

• The GDC is a collaborative project with the objective of ensuring human oversight of technologies in ways that advance sustainable development. 
• To meet the Compact’s goals, UN member countries have committed to establish two panels — an ‘Independent International Scientific Panel on AI [Artificial Intelligence]’ and a panel for ‘Global Dialogue on AI Governance’. 
• To address the digital divide, the GDC proposes “digital public goods” that will include open-source software, open data, and open AI models.
  • Such infrastructure involves the development and use of shared digital systems according to specific priorities and needs of stakeholders.