THEMATIC AREAS
This thematic area examines the measures countries have in place to ensure and promote public participation in the design, development and use of AI tools and systems as well as spread public awareness about its use and impacts in various facets of life.
Public participation, which may also be referred to as ‘public engagement’, is defined as the process of engaging ordinary people in the decision-making processes that will affect their lives and giving full consideration to their input before making such decisions.
Public awareness is defined as the process of informing the general public and increasing levels of consciousness about the potential benefits and risks associated with a particular action or decision.
Bright spots
Goverment Frameworks - Peru
Government actions - Tajikistan
Non-state actors - Colombia
Relevance
Recognising the increasing ubiquity of AI systems and the lack of transparency in many of these technologies, the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (Recommendation) calls on member states to embed a participatory approach in the development and use of AI systems. To enhance public awareness, the UNESCO Recommendation also calls upon member states to develop general awareness programmes, specifically for ordinary citizens and non-technical groups, about the advantages and challenges posed by AI systems and their impact on human rights.
EVIDENCE
Evidence Explorer
Discover and compare all all the evidence collected under this thematic area using our Evidence Explorer tool
SCORES
Country rankings by Public participation and awareness
*In the table above, data was collected for Chinese Taipei (commonly referred to as Taiwan) and the West Bank, which is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. No data collection took place in Gaza. We recognize that these are, at the time of writing, disputed jurisdictions.
