Fujitsu Contributes to UNICEF Global Project Ensuring that AI Deployments Reflect Children’s Rights

Munich, February 24, 2021

Artificial intelligence is driving innovation and delivering value and for businesses in all sectors. However, this powerful technology also potentially poses risks for children and their rights, such as privacy, safety and security. AI is increasingly being used to make decisions that affect the well-being of children, from the education they receive to decisions on family housing. However, most AI policies, strategies and guidance today do not take the needs of children into account.

To tackle this growing problem, UNICEF has drafted approaches that protect and uphold children’s rights to help fill this gap, compiling them into its AI Policy Guidance. The latest phase of this exploration focuses on a collaboration with 13 diverse international government and business “pilot partners”, including Fujitsu, that are interested in bringing a child-centered lens to generally-accepted AI policies and practices. Fujitsu is committing to implement the guidance.

Fujitsu is testing the guidance in an AI solution called Nuora, developed in collaboration with the Finnish Eksote South Karelia Social and Health Care District. By leveraging AI-powered predictive analytics based on Fujitsu's XpressWay for AI solution, Nuora identifies and analyzes the factors that cause social exclusion. It can currently identify approximately 90% of the young people at risk of social exclusion and flag at risk individuals, improving early, targeted intervention and reducing healthcare and associated costs.

Ilona Ylinampa, Head of Information Management from Fujitsu Finland comments: “AI is increasingly being implemented in toys, interactive games, and mobile devices, with its algorithms guiding children’s choices of everything from what to look at to who to connect with. It also supports a great deal of decision-making that affects children. We wanted to contribute to this valuable project, bringing Fujitsu’s decades of experience in the field of AI to help ensure that businesses and governments alike have a strong foundation to ensure that AI is being implemented with children’s privacy, safety and security taken into account. And, by ensuring that we can build trust in the decisions that AI makes for this vulnerable group, the technology has the potential to benefit not only individuals but society as a whole.”

Jussi Kivipuro, Development Director at UNICEF Finland, says: "The widespread deployment of AI provides many new opportunities to advance the well-being of children, but it also increases associated risks. Guidance is needed urgently, as AI is already embedded in children's everyday lives. Our pilot partners are helping UNICEF to take the guidance to the next level by committing to apply it in their own context in a safe and responsible way. They are openly sharing their findings about how it was used, what worked and what did not.”

Fujitsu outlined its commitment to ethical artificial intelligence that is collaborative and human centric in its AI Commitment document¹. This aims to build responsibility into Fujitsu’s work in the field of AI through five critical pillars: providing value to customers; human-centric AI; striving for a sustainable society through AI; AI that respects and supports decision making; and emphasizing transparency and accountability for the technology. Participation in the UNICEF pilot project is the latest opportunity to put this commitment into action.

Fujitsu is also a founder partner of the AI4People global forum, creating a platform for different stakeholders in shaping AI to discuss its social and ethical implications. The company is also closely engaged with the recently established EU AI Alliance, formed directly to contribute to the EU debate on AI and ensure good policies. The human rights of children and the ethical implementation of AI also form part of Fujitsu’s broader commitment to Responsible Business².

Notes to editors

• ¹ Fujitsu announced the Fujitsu Group AI Commitment in March 2019 to express its approach to AI ethics in a concrete and easy to understand manner, based on over 30 years of R&D and AI implementation.
• ² The Fujitsu Group promotes its Sustainability activities based on the Fujitsu Way – which aims to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/csr/

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Datum: February 24, 2021
City: Munich