Thoughtworks Partners With United Nations on Responsible Approach to Emerging Tech
October 19 2023 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Thoughtworks (NASDAQ: TWKS), a global technology consultancy
that integrates strategy, design and engineering, today announced
collaborating with the United Nations to launch a responsible
approach to emerging technology creation and management for the UN.
The co-created Responsible Technology Playbook provides practical
guidance on ways for UN teams to adopt responsible practices.
In line with the UN Secretary-General’s Strategy On New
Technologies, the United Nations Secretariat worked together with
Thoughtworks to provide guidance on ensuring inclusivity, awareness
of bias, transparency and the mitigation of negative unintended
consequences in examining emerging technologies, including
generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Following a series of
interviews and workshops with a wide range of United Nations staff,
the Thoughtworks and UN team developed a framework and set of
approaches for the responsible creation and management of
technology systems and products.
“When we use new technologies to help create a better world, we
want to make sure it does not have side-effects that go counter to
our values and intentions”, said Lambert Hogenhout, Head of Data,
Analytics and Emerging Tech, United Nations. “The primary goal of
this Thoughtworks partnership has always been to establish an
approach and identify tools and techniques that UN staff can
practically adopt. Yet the secondary goal, to inspire the broader
global community to adopt Responsible Tech principles and
practices, is also very exciting.”
As it will be a collective and collaborative effort across the
United Nations Secretariat’s diverse groups and roles to influence
technology projects today while also creating the capacity to
monitor and respond to future risks, the Responsible Technology
Playbook addresses a wide range of stakeholders ranging from senior
leaders, policy makers to developers. The emphasis is on
participatory best practices, tools and techniques that everyone —
not just technology specialists — can use and benefit from as they
increase their understanding of how technology interacts with
society.
Addressing the areas that have the greatest potential to impact
individuals, their communities and society, the Responsible
Technology Playbook focuses on:
- A Responsible Tech Mindset - First and foremost,
awareness of the potential harm that can be caused by action, or
inaction. Constant consideration of the user, and how tech systems,
products and even features can lead to unexpected, and unintended
consequences.
- Sustainability: Exploring the areas of
sustainable tech, with a deep dive on creating tech that has a
lower environmental impact over its lifetime.
- Data and AI: The emergence of
generative AI tools makes it increasingly hard to distinguish
between real and fake. Combating misinformation and disinformation
in the age of big data and generative AI has to be a priority for
‘trusted’ organizations.
- Privacy: As a basic human right,
privacy is a key enabler for diversity and inclusion. Without
awareness of privacy concerns and an enshrined privacy risk
management culture, it is impossible to maintain good privacy
practices that mitigate the potentially harmful consequences of
improper data processing, storage or transmission.
- Accessibility: Accessibility was
originally intended to design products and places with a focus on
people with disabilities. Now accessibility focuses on identifying
exclusion, learning from diversity and extending solutions to
all.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI):
By incorporating varied perspectives and lived experiences, we’re
better able to solve for the needs of our users. DEI has the power
to create positive social change and help anticipate unintended
consequences.
- Security: Protecting the United
Nations’ data, resources and reputation is vitally important. As
the organization stores, processes and shares more and more
sensitive information electronically, preventing breaches is
paramount.
“By establishing a framework of best practices
that puts ethics and responsibility first, the United Nations is
rising to the challenge of tapping into digital technology’s
potential to transform society,” said Dr. Rebecca Parsons, Chief
Technology Officer — Emerita, Thoughtworks. “Thoughtworks has been
a strong advocate for organizations to adopt a Responsible Tech
mindset, recognizing that in our ever-evolving, omni-present
digital landscape, it’s crucial to harness technology’s potential
for extraordinary impact while fostering inclusivity, awareness of
bias and transparency for the benefit of all.”
Supporting resources:
- Read our Responsible Tech research, conducted with MIT
Technology Review.
- Keep up with Thoughtworks news by visiting the company’s
website.
- Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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About Thoughtworks
Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates
strategy, design and engineering to drive digital innovation. We
are over 11,500 people strong across 51 offices in 18 countries.
For 30 years, we’ve delivered extraordinary impact together with
our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with
technology as the differentiator.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231019227594/en/
Media: Linda Horiuchi, global head of public relations
Email: linda.horiuchi@thoughtworks.com Phone: +1 (646) 581-2568
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