“Artificial intelligence is a great tool with unlimited possibilities of application,” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said in an opening address at the AI Ethics for Peace conference in Hiroshima this month.

But Paglia was quick to add that AI’s great promise is fraught with potential dangers.

“AI can and must be guided so that its potential serves the good since the moment of its design,” he stressed. “This is our common responsibility.”

The two-day conference aimed to further the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document first signed on February 28, 2020, at the Vatican. It promoted an ethical approach to artificial intelligence through shared responsibility among international organizations, governments, institutions and technology companies.

This month’s Hiroshima conference drew dozens of global religious, government, and technology leaders to a city that has transcended its dark past of tech-driven, atomic destruction to become a center for peace and cooperation.

The overarching goal in Hiroshima? To ensure that, unlike atomic energy, artificial intelligence is used only for peace and positive human advancement. And as an industry leader in AI innovation and its responsible use, Cisco was amply represented by Dave West, Cisco’s president for Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China (APJC).

“We share the mission of connecting the unconnected,” West stated in his address to the conference. “As you work on the spiritual and ethical aspects, Cisco strives to be the bridge that connects the world through technology — to create better opportunities for people and societies. And we remain committed to our ambition at Cisco — to use AI to power an inclusive future for all.”

West’s address built on statements from Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, who affirmed the company’s commitment to the Rome Call for AI Ethics by signing it in April at the Vatican.  

“For nearly 40 years Cisco has built the networks that connect people and organizations across the globe, and today we are building the critical infrastructure and security solutions that will power the AI revolution,” Robbins said after the signing. “The Rome Call principles align with Cisco’s core belief that technology must be built on a foundation of trust at the highest levels in order to power an inclusive future for all.”

‘Connecting and protecting in the AI era’

West built on these themes in his address at the AI Ethics for Peace conference, beginning with Cisco’s technical expertise in AI, then expanding into its Responsible AI commitment.

“Cisco connects and protects in the AI era,” West explained, “and we are committed to helping our customers, partners, and communities, harness the power of AI. We provide the infrastructure to power AI workloads, the security to protect the use of AI, and unparalleled data to deliver insights and outcomes. Cisco brings our extensive experience in AI-scale infrastructure, together with our expertise building AI across networking, security, and observability. We deliver visibility and insights across the widest breadth and scale of data in the industry.”

But West argued that technical expertise and innovation — critical as they may be — are not enough.

“All of this is built on a foundation of trust and responsible AI,” he stressed. “Cisco’s work on ethics and responsibility starts before AI — privacy-by-design and security-by-design are our core principles. Alongside that, we have a longstanding commitment to uphold and respect human rights throughout our global operations.”

West then outlined Cisco’s carefully constructed guidelines and frameworks for responsible AI usage and governance — including Cisco’s Privacy Impact Assessment in 2015; Human Rights Policy in 2018; and Responsible AI Principles in 2022, which are based on Transparency, Fairness, Accountability, Reliability, Security, and Privacy.

And he emphasized that these principles are not abstract — but practical, actionable, and a model for other organizations.

“Our AI principles are operationalized through our Responsible AI Framework,” he said. “This provides the guidance on how we apply our principles in the design, development and deployment of AI. Building on our experience with the Privacy Impact Assessment, in 2023, we developed our AI Impact Assessment. This is designed to assess risks associated with key elements of AI development and deployment — from training data and privacy practices to model information and testing methodologies, to name a few.”

Expanding its commitment, Cisco’s successful Privacy Impact Assessment led to the creation of an AI Impact Assessment in 2023. It’s designed to quantify and measure every product, solution, and service for any signs of AI bias or potential for misuse. 

“The idea is to identify, understand and mitigate issues related to our Responsible AI Principles,” West said, adding that there are compelling business reasons to adopt such ethical guidelines. “We do this to preserve the trust of our employees, customers, and stakeholders. At the same time, we believe that establishing these guardrails early is actually fostering a culture of innovation.”

Commitment and cooperation: keys to an ethical AI future

West believes that Cisco’s commitment to responsible AI is just beginning.

“Good governance is a journey — not a destination,” he stated. “We will continue to update and adapt our approach to reflect new use cases — and of course, emerging standards and regulations.”

To that end, events like Hiroshima’s AI Ethics for Peace conference will go a long way towards fostering a spirit of collaboration across a wide spectrum of disciplines — because no single person, organization, or religious entity can ensure that AI realizes its vast potential for positive change.

“We look forward to our ongoing work with our co-signatories,” West said, “to uphold an ethical approach to AI globally — and we look forward to continuing to fulfill Cisco’s company purpose, which is to power an inclusive future for all.”

H.E. Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, president of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, and Chair of the UAE Council for Fatwa, UAE, summed up the spirit of mutual commitment that pervaded the conference — and which will be critical moving forward.

“Cooperation, solidarity, and joint work are necessary to deal with the developments of artificial intelligence, to ensure that its systems and products are not only technically advanced but also morally sound,” he concluded. “This will require collective effort and continuous work. In doing so, we can pave the way for a future in which AI is a force for good.”