Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life and work. AI is enabling rapid innovation that is transforming the way work is done and how services are delivered. For example, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are having a profound impact. Given the many potentials and realized benefits for people, organizations and society, investment in AI continues to grow across all sectors, with organizations leveraging AI capabilities to improve predictions, optimize products and services, augment innovation, enhance productivity and efficiency, and lower costs, amongst other beneficial applications. While the benefits and promise of AI for society and business are undeniable, so too are the risks and challenges. These include the risk of codifying and reinforcing unfair biases, infringing on human rights such as privacy, spreading fake online content, deskilling and technological unemployment, and the risks stemming from mass surveillance technologies, critical AI failures and autonomous weapons. Even in cases where AI is developed to help people (e.g. to protect cybersecurity), there is the risk it can be used maliciously (e.g. for cyberattacks). These issues are causing public concern and raising questions about the trustworthiness and governance of AI systems. The public’s trust in AI technologies is vital for continual acceptance. If AI systems do not prove worthy of trust, their widespread acceptance and adoption will be hindered, and the potentialsocietal and economic benefits will not be fully realized. At the same time, the same technologies may be used to perpetuate harms, so it is equally important to understand where AI must be mitigated by thoughtful legal and regulatory intervention. In contrast to rapidly developing AI, the international community has been struggling to come to an agreement on how to regulate it. It is generally felt that the five principles that should be the guiding the regulatory and Legal frameworks on design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the public in the age of AI are:

• Safe and Effective Systems: The public should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems.
• Algorithmic Discrimination Protections: The public should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way.
• Data Privacy: The public should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and should have agency over how data about them is used.
• Notice and Explanation: The public should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you.
• Human Alternatives, Consideration, and Fallback: The public should be able to opt out, where appropriate, and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems they encounter. In addition, there is a need for clear guidelines and Laws around issues such as Privacy, Ethics and Intellectual Property which can give confidence to Businesses for investing in this sunshine sector.

With the rapid advancements in AI technologies and their increasing integration into various aspects of human life, it has become more relevant than ever to develop an integrated understanding of the legal implications and challenges that arise in an international context. Recent multilateral discussions have separately been considering the impacts of AI in different areas such as human rights, privacy, intellectual property, warfare, peace and security, or the role of AI in fostering the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.) One of the common denominators in these debates is the need for stronger international governance of AI. However, an integrated perspective about two issues is lacking: a) the implications of AI for the future of international and National laws and b) the principles that should govern the responses to present and emerging challenges in this sphere. Against this backdrop, the SILF AI Conference 2024 will, on the one hand, seek to identify the most pressing and transformative legal challenges brought about by AI in National and international context and, on the other, promote an exchange of views on the type of conceptual framework that is warranted when devising the necessary responses to such challenges.