Addressing Governance Gaps to Enable Technology-Driven Pandemic Recovery

The World Economic Forum’s recently released Global Technology Governance Report suggests that “the emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have a vital role to play as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild our economies.”  “Fourth Industrial Revolution” refers to artificial intelligence, blockchain, internet of things, mobility and drones and unmanned air systems.  The WEF report cautions, however, that “there are significant governance gaps, including issues of privacy, liability, cross-border regulatory discrepancies and the potential for misuse by bad actors – such as the recent surge in ransomware attacks enabled by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or the risk of abuse posed by technologies like “deepfake” videos.  The report concludes that new governance models are needed to bridge these gaps and calls for increased regulatory agility.

For more information, access the report at:  https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-technology-governance-report-2021