UN Report: Frontier technologies have huge potential to drive prosperity and protect planet, but only if properly managed

New frontier technologies — everything from renewable energy technologies to biodegradable plastics, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles — hold immense potential to improve people’s lives and significantly accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change. But without appropriate policies, they can also drive greater inequality and increase social dislocations, according to a new report launched by the United Nations on October 8.

The World Economic and Social Survey 2018 produced by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs found that renewable energy technologies and efficient energy storage systems are already enhancing environmental sustainability, allowing countries to “leapfrog” over existing technological solutions.

New technologies have enhanced access to medicines and improved the well-being of the most vulnerable as mobile technologies and innovations in digital finance have made financial services accessible to millions in developing countries.

The Survey also found that while technological change has the potential to bring considerable benefits to people, the economy and the environment, when left unmanaged or mismanaged, new technologies will likely widen inequality within and between countries. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics automation, among other technologies, can enhance economic efficiency but at the same time create winners and losers.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “Good health and longevity, prosperity for all and environmental sustainability are within our reach if we harness the full power of these innovations. Clearly, we need policies that can ensure frontier technologies — which increasingly transcend sectoral, geographic and generational boundaries — are not only commercially viable but also equitable and ethical. This will require a rigorous, objective and transparent ongoing assessment, involving all stakeholders.” 

According to the Survey, countries can address many of the pitfalls presented by new technologies by adopting proactive and effective policies to minimize the economic and social costs of adjustment. They need the regulatory environment and institutional infrastructures to promote innovation, diffusion and use new technologies most needed for sustainable development.

According to the Survey, the UN can provide an objective assessment of the impact that emerging technologies have on sustainable development outcomes, including their effects on employment, wages and income distribution. This would enable the Member States to steer the pace and sequence of technological breakthroughs towards sustainable development.

Read and download the report.

Original source: United Nations
Published on 8 October 2018