Cos Including Mastercard, IBM, SoftBank Ask G7 For Tech Forum

Mastercard, IBM and SoftBank, among other companies, are asking the G7 to form a new group to help organize the way in which member states approach concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Financial Times (FT) reported.

The Data and Technology Forum would offer suggestions on how tech governance could be organized globally instead of putting forward stringent rules, according to FT. It would be modeled on the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which was formed following the 2008 financial crisis.

The FSB was created to discover and contend with systemic risks in the financial system, while the new organization would offer a venue for taking on big challenges in the tech industry like AI regulation and international data transfers, FT reported.

“We believe a similar forum [to the FSB] is urgently needed to prevent fragmentation and strengthen international cooperation and consensus on digital governance issues,” said Michael Froman, vice-chair and president of strategic growth for Mastercard, per FT.

The executive noted that “there is a window of opportunity — right now — to strengthen collaboration,” according to FT.

Challenges regarding which government gets to implement the regulations for the internet of the future have become more acute in recent times.

Last year, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai penned a Sunday opinion column in FT regarding the importance of having government oversight when it comes to AI.

“Growing up in India, I was fascinated by technology,” he wrote in the column. “Each new invention changed my family’s life in meaningful ways.”

Now that he is in the position to frame new tech innovations, he said in the column that he believes that global cooperation for oversight is essential to impose workable international standards.

“Now there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated,” he wrote. “It is too important not to. The only question is how to approach it.”

Pichai also noted in the column that individuals “need to be clear-eyed” when it comes to the number of potential negative effects of technology, especially regarding AI.