STOCKHOLM: UNESCO on Thursday published its first guidance on use of Generative AI (GenAI) for education, urging governmental agencies to regulate the use of the technology, including protection of data privacy and putting an age limit for users.
Launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI in November, GenAI chatbot ChatGPT has become the world’s fastest growing app to date, and its emergence has prompted the release of rivals, such as Google’s Bard.
Students have also taken a liking for GenAI, which can generate anything from essays to mathematical calculations with just a few line of prompts.
“We are struggling to align the speed of transformation of the education system to the speed of the change in technological progress and advancement in these machine learning models,” Stefania Giannini, assistant director-general for education, told Reuters.
“In many cases, governments and schools are embracing a radically unfamiliar technology that even leading technologists do not claim to understand,” she said.
Among a series of guidelines in a 64-page report, UNESCO stressed on the need for government-sanctioned AI curricula for school education, in technical and vocational education and training.
“GenAI providers should be held responsible for ensuring adherence to core values and lawful purposes, respecting intellectual property, and upholding ethical practices, while also preventing the spread of disinformation and hate speech,” UNESCO said.
It also called for prevention of GenAI where it would deprive learners of opportunities to develop cognitive abilities and social skills through observations of the real world, empirical practices such as experiments, discussions with other humans, and independent logical reasoning.
While China has formulated rules on GenAI, the European Union’s AI Act is likely to be approved later this year. Other countries are far behind in drafting their own AI laws.
The Paris-based agency also sought to protect the rights of teachers and researchers and the value of their practices when using GenAI.
UNESCO seeks regulation in first guidance on GenAI use in education
https://arab.news/m234w
UNESCO seeks regulation in first guidance on GenAI use in education
- UNESCO suggested introduction of an age limit for users, protection of data privacy
- 64-page report also calls for government-mandated AI curricula in school education
Meta to charge Arab advertisers extra fee for reaching European audiences
- US tech giant told advertisers it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms to offset digital service taxes
- Charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based
LONDON: Meta will from July 1 impose location-based surcharges on advertisers targeting audiences in six European countries, a move that will directly affect Arab businesses that run campaigns across the continent.
The US tech giant announced it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to offset digital service taxes imposed by individual governments.
Crucially, the charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based.
That means Saudi, Emirati, Egyptian or other Arab companies paying to reach consumers in the UK, France or Italy will face the additional costs regardless of their own country’s tax arrangements with Meta.
Fees will apply at 2 percent for ads reaching UK audiences, 3 percent for France, Italy and Spain, and 5 percent for Austria and Turkiye.
“If you deliver $100 in ads to Italy, where there is a 3% location fee, you will be charged $100 (ad delivery), plus $3 (location fee), for $103 total,” the company wrote in an email to an advertiser initially reported by Bloomberg. “Note that any applicable VAT will be calculated on top of the total amount.”
The taxes have been introduced at different points, starting with France in 2019, though not the EU as a bloc.
Many tech companies report substantial sales in Europe and millions of users but pay minimal tax on profits. The goal is to claw back locally derived economic value, Bloomberg reported.
The move follows similar decisions by Google and Amazon, which have also begun passing European digital tax costs on to advertisers.
For Arab brands with growing European footprints, particularly in fashion, travel, hospitality and media, the new fees add another layer of cost to campaigns already subject to currency and targeting complexities.
Digital services taxes, levied as a percentage of revenues earned by major tech platforms in individual countries, have drawn criticism from Washington, which argues they unfairly target US companies.
Meta has been reached for comments.
