About

The Global Index is designed to equip governments, civil society, and stakeholders with the evidence needed to advance rights-based principles for the responsible use of AI

How do we measure the evolution of commitment and progress on the implementation of responsible AI principles and practice?

About the Global Index on Responsible AI

    There is a global consensus that AI must be used responsibly if societies around the world are to enjoy the benefits of AI while avoiding the risks associated with even greater social and economic inequalities. Practically, this means that the governance of AI must ensure that innovations are inclusive, accountable, environmentally sustainable, and uphold human rights.

    Significant advances have been made on principles to guide the ethical use of AI, including the OECD Principles on AI Ethics and, more recently, the UNESCO Recommendation on Ethics in AI, but new approaches are required to advance the implementation of these principles for responsible, human rights-based AI within both the public and private sectors.

    To make progress in advancing responsible AI, it is critical to know and understand the current state-of-play, as well as be able to track progress over time. This project will establish the Global Index on Responsible AI to address the need for inclusive, measurable indicators that reflect a shared understanding of what responsible AI means in practice, and track the implementation of responsible AI principles by governments and key stakeholders.

    With this new evidence benchmarking the state of responsible AI use on a country by country basis, government and community leaders will be able to develop and implement plans to strengthen national initiatives to support the responsible use of AI and track progress moving forward.

    A Human Rights-based Approach

    The Global Index is a new rights-based tool being developed to support a broad range of actors in advancing responsible AI practices. It is intended to provide a comprehensive, reliable, independent, and comparative benchmark for assessing progress toward responsible AI the world over.

    The Global Index will bolster the capacity of governments, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders in countries around the world to uphold rights-based responsible AI principles by providing analysis and benchmarking data to improve accountability, develop more precise policy interventions, refine best practices, and encourage regional and international cooperation.

    One of the key innovations of the Global Index is the development of a fully-integrated human rights-based approach as a foundation for the comparative dimensions of the Index. This encompasses the codification of human rights obligations that align to accepted ethical AI principles and establish concrete benchmarks for responsible AI. In addition, the methodology is being developed to reflect national realities around the realisation of socio-economic rights, available resources, and the diverse conditions within individual countries, while assessing progress toward universally applicable benchmarks.

Objectives

    Benchmarks

    Establishing benchmarks for responsible AI

    Assessment

    Assessing country conditions to support and promote responsible AI

    Implementation

    Realising principles through implementation, evaluation and accountability

    Attestation

    Providing evidence to decision-makers around the world to advance the responsible use of AI and promote digital inclusion

Approach

Inclusion & Participation

The Global Index will be co-created with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure its broadest possible use with a specific emphasis on including the perspectives of underserved and marginalised groups.

Fairness & Relevance

The Global Index will fairly reflect local contexts and realities and measure a country’s level of responsible AI in relation to available resources and capacities.

Accessibility & Openness

The Global Index and all data will be accessible to all stakeholders and researchers wishing to understand or re-use the data.

Coherence & Collaboration

The Global Index will align with other instruments being developed to support the responsible use of AI worldwide in partnership with key organisations like UNESCO and the OECD.

Who we are

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Rachel Adams

Dr. Rachel Adams is Principal Investigator of the Global Index on Responsible AI. She is also the principal researcher at Research ICT Africa, where she directs the AI4D Africa Just AI Project and the AI4D African Observatory on Responsible AI. Rachel is an Associate Fellow of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, Editor of the South African Journal on Human Rights, and a member of the UNESCO Expert Group on the Implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on AI in Ethics.

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Stephen B. Walker

Stephen is the Director of the D4D Global Research Hub and has led several international initiatives to advance the use of data for development. Prior to his work with D4D.net, he also led open government and data activities for the Government of Canada, led a range of Open Data for Development (OD4D) initiatives, was senior editor of the State of Open Data, and managed the International Open Data Conference (IODC).

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Teki Akuetteh

Teki is a lawyer and a data privacy protection consultant based in Accra, Ghana. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Africa Digital Rights Hub, a member of the UN Global Pulse Privacy Advisory Group, and a non-resident fellow of the Center for Global Development. Teki holds an LLM in Information Technology and Telecommunications Law from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland and a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Political Science from the University of Ghana.

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Urvashi Aneja

Urvashi is the Director of the Digital Futures Lab, a multidisciplinary research network based out of Goa, India, that examines the interactions between technology and society in the global South. She is also a Fellow at Chatham House and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Prior to this, she was an Associate Professor at the OP Jindal Global University. Urvashi has a PhD in Politics and International Affairs from the University of Oxford.

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Roland Banya

Roland Banya is a Senior Economist at Research ICT Africa (RIA), where he works on projects related to AI, Digital/Future of Work, Cybersecurity, and Open Data. Previously, Roland worked at Genesis Analytics and Cenfri where he focussed on a range of work related to the digital economy. Roland has a MSc in Economic Development and International Finance from the University of Kent and a PhD in Finance from the Graduate School of Business at UCT.

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Nicolás Grossman

Nicolás Grossman is a sociologist and journalist specialising in research and open data. Previously, he was the Data and Research Lead for the Global Data Barometer and led the Open Data and Data Journalism strategy of Properati, a private-sector platform using open data in Latin America. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Buenos Aires and is concluding his Master’s in International Political Sociology at the National University of Tres de Febrero, where he studies the challenges of big data and AI in less developed countries.

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Leonida Mutuku

Leo is a director and research lead at the Local Development Research Institute, a Nairobi-based think-tank whose work contributes to the efforts of African governments to end poverty, hunger, and reduce inequalities. She offers strategic advice and conducts research on how AI and data innovations can be harnessed to achieve sustainable development.

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Nokuthula Olorunju

Nokuthula Olorunju is an attorney and researcher who holds an LLB and LLM with a focus on Cyberlaw/Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Law. She has written on issues of gender equality, human rights, AI, the judiciary, and is currently pursuing a PhD in the field of human rights and artificial intelligence.

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Nawal Omar

Nawal is a researcher with experience handling a diverse set of projects for different organisations related to social and public research, as well as in information systems, data management, strategic planning, and policy analysis. Nawal holds a Master's degree in Information Systems with a major in Business Intelligence, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, and an Honours degree from the School of Mathematics, University of Khartoum.

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Zara Schroeder

Zara has a wide background in enhancing the visibility and impact of non-governmental organisations in South Africa. Zara has a Masters in Public Sociology and Anthropology. Prior to this, Zara worked at Sonke Gender Justice where she was involved in the development of campaigns aimed at combating gender-based violence. Her interests lie at the intersection of gender, equality, ethics, and accessibility to AI.

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Kelly Stone

Kelly is a Policy Development and Research Advisor based in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Philosophy, and has been working to advance the social, political, and technical capacities of persons across the Global South since 2006.

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Mark Gaffley

Mark is an attorney with over ten years of experience with several companies and think tanks, including Uber, Takealot, Media24, HSRC, and Research ICT Africa. Prior to this, Mark worked as an independent consultant on AI research projects for a number of organisations. Mark holds degrees in arts and law from the University of Cape Town and is currently pursuing his PhD at UCT.

Expert Advisory Committee

The role of the Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) is to oversee the scientific accuracy and global relevance of the Global Index. Made up of a diverse group of international experts on artificial intelligence, the EAC will play a key oversight role with respect to the inclusivity of the methodology and design of the Global Index. The group will also work to ensure that the Global Index builds on and complements existing activities to advance ethical and responsible AI.

The Expert Advisory Committee will:

  • Advise on the scientific accuracy and relevance of the Global Index.
  • Advise on priority areas and topics to be covered by the Global Index.
  • Review the methodological framework and indicators of the Global Index.
  • Promote the complementarity of the Global Index with existing activities and standards on responsible and ethical AI.

EAC Membership advances gender equality at all times and includes regional representation from across the Global South and Global North, as well as the participation of global organisations.

  • The first meeting of the Expert Advisory Committee was held on the 23rd November 2021. Committee members discussed the importance of the Global Index in advancing enforceable rights-based governance of AI around the world.
  • The second Expert Advisory Committee meeting took place on the 24th February 2022. The committee had an opportunity to discuss the human rights themes and selected indicators of the Global Index.

Expert Advisory Committee Members

Alison Gillwald

Executive Director

Research ICT Africa

Ashley Casovan

Executive Director

Responsible AI Institute

Aubra​ Anthony

Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs Program

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dafna Feinholz

Chief of Bioethics and Ethics of Science and Technology

UNESCO

Ed Teather

Director of AI Initiatives

Global Partnership on AI

Helani Galpaya

Executive Director

LIRNEasia

Huguette Diakabana

Digital Health Advisor and Co-founder

African Alliance of Digital Health Networks

Kanta Dihal

Senior Research Fellow & Principal Investigator

Global AI Narratives | Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge

Karine Perset

Head of Unit

Artificial Intelligence Policy Observatory - OECD

Lacina Kone

Director General of Smart Africa

Smart Africa

Nagla Rizk

Professor of Economics & Founding Director

Access to Knowledge for Development Center - American University in Cairo

Paula Ricaurte

Profesora Investigadora Asociada, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Feminist AI Network

Rachel Adams

Chair, Expert Advisory Committee

Research ICT Africa

Sophie Fallaha

Executive Director

International Centre of Expertise in Montreal on AI (CEIMIA)

Sriganesh Lokanathan

Data Innovation & Policy Lead

UN Global Pulse

Stephen Walker

Director

Data for Development Research Hub (D4D.net)

Teki Akuetteh

Founder and Executive Director

Africa Digital Rights’ Hub

Urvashi Aneja

Director and Founder

Digital Futures Lab, India

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