91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ

In 2021, the was adopted by the 193 Member States of the Organization. This Recommendation calls for the development of tools to support its implementation at the country level, such as the . RAM helps Member States evaluate the existing frameworks, laws, and policies that promote the ethical use and development of AI, in alignment with the Recommendation.

In 2023, the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia (UNESCO Beijing) conducted a landscape analysis of AI policies and applications in Mongolia, paving the way for the establishment of a national stakeholder team to implement the AI readiness assessment.

Building on these efforts, UNESCO Beijing plans to carry out further landscape analyses and comparative studies of AI legal frameworks, policies, and applications in China, Japan, and South Korea. The goal is to assess capacity gaps, develop policy recommendations, and assist these countries in creating national AI roadmaps tailored to their unique circumstances, while also recognizing shared characteristics within the region.

China launched the â€˜â€™ in 2017, demonstrating its proactive approach to AI and its ambition to become a global leader in the field by 2030, with a focus on ethical development. In August 2023, China introduced the ‘,’ one of the world’s first laws governing generative AI services.

Japan’s AI policies emphasize improving quality of life, exemplified by the ‘’ initiative, which began in 2016. This initiative aims to create a ‘super smart city’ where AI is integrated into various aspects of daily life to address societal challenges such as public transportation, healthcare, and urban development, ultimately making cities more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.

South Korea’s AI strategy emphasizes the ethical use of AI and governance frameworks that balance innovation with human rights. Its , titled ‘AI World Leader Beyond IT,’ has been instrumental in promoting public-private partnerships to enhance AI’s ethical use in society, with a focus on combating bias in AI algorithms and ensuring transparency.

The project aims to assess the AI landscape in China, Japan, and South Korea by examining existing legal frameworks, policies, and initiatives at the national level. It seeks to help Member States tailor their capacity-building efforts to the unique needs of each country, enhancing their ability to evaluate AI systems in line with UNESCO's Recommendation. The goal is to ensure that each country has the necessary legal frameworks, human capital, financial resources and policies in place to address the challenges posed by AI technologies, while keeping people and their interests at the core of AI development.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Raise awareness among government, industry, academic, and civil society representatives in China, Japan, and South Korea about the importance of building internationally recognized AI standards, frameworks, policies, and initiatives, tailored to the national context and specificities.

  • Strengthen the national need for AI readiness assessments in China, Japan, and South Korea to help them develop AI standards, frameworks, policies, and initiatives that consider the needs of diverse stakeholders.

  • Identify gaps in AI capacity development related to AI and propose innovative solutions. To identify gaps in the countries' AI capacities and assess existing resources, training needs, and institutional capabilities. Innovative solutions will be proposed, such as developing targeted training programs, fostering public-private partnerships, and enhancing legal frameworks to strengthen AI governance and ensure ethical development.

  • Improve existing policies and regulatory frameworks to support sustainable and ethical AI in China, Japan, and South Korea. As part of the final country-level report, a roadmap with concrete policy recommendations will be developed in consultation with the participating countries. This will outline key conclusions and suggest a path forward, reflecting national priorities and identifying the specific institutions that need to be built or enhanced to implement the Recommendation.

  • Engage National Commissions of UNESCO in China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as other stakeholders, to integrate UNESCO’s work into UNCT, strengthening UNESCO’s leadership in AI governance within the UN system.

The country-level analysis may include following areas subject to results from research and consultation with key stakeholders:

• Legal and regulatory

  • Social and cultural

  • Scientific and educational

  • Economic

  • Technological and infrastructural

The countries included in this project are China, Japan, and South Korea. The project will be led by UNESCO in collaboration with the relevant ministries and national stakeholders in each of the respective countries.

1. Identify, supervise, and coordinate the national expert in each country (national experts have sound knowledge on AI ethics and existing relationship with relevant local stakeholders), who will collect data and information, and engage the national stakeholders.
2. Ensure overall coordination between UNESCO, national stakeholders, and other relevant stakeholders involved.
3. Develop the roles and responsibilities for National Stakeholder Team that should serve as the entry-point and national coordination group during the exercise.
4. Identify stakeholders to be engaged in close coordination with UNESCO and the responsible Ministries.
5. Critically revisit the global RAM Questionnaire with a view of contextualizing it to the context and realities of each of the countries involved. This may involve articulation with existing Index/National assessment methods in use, identifying knowledge gaps from the specific angle of ethics of AI, fitting into existing national Strategy, etc.
6. Consult with National Commissions for China, Japan and South Korea before finalize the methodology.
7. Identify relevant data required, and in coordination with UNESCO and National Commissions, obtain access to the necessary relevant data and information (primary and secondary), using questionnaire.
8. Lead in data collection, data curation and analysis, ensuring quality and harmony across all report. Where relevant and necessary, articulate regional and/or comparative perspectives and analysis for the purposes of cross-learning and exchange of good practices.
9. Develop the template for report, in alignment with UNESCO’s global template (also used in other parts of the world), including qualitative and quantitative information, boxes, examples of good practices, highlights, etc., in close consultation with and support of UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia.
10. Draft the report, including an executive summary, and manage an iterative exchange with UNESCO for consolidation.
11. Compile workshop results and lead analysis and the development of policy recommendations in the report.
12. Arrange reviewal meetings of the report with national stakeholders until the finalization stage.
13. Responsible for all editing, and layout of the final report in English.
14. Conduct and be responsible for all logistical and technical arrangements during the launch, the mid-term review, and the validation workshops with different stakeholders.

The core deliverable of this project is a report that analyzes, compares, and contrasts the readiness of China, Japan, and South Korea to implement the UNESCO Recommendation on AI. This report will include a roadmap with policy recommendations to support ongoing implementation efforts and address capacity gaps, in line with the Readiness Assessment Methodology outlined in the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.

The report will be prepared in English. The report will provide a state of the art in AI ethics in terms of existing and proposed regulatory frameworks, capacity and regulatory gaps, and a roadmap detailing steps to be taken at a national level to advance full implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation.

1. Deliverable 1:

• Research work plan and outline
• List of the national experts with their ToR and Cvs
• Country-level mapping, legal frameworks, and policy and landscape review for 3 countries
• Stakeholder mapping database
• Description of roles and responsibilities for National Stakeholder Team
• Questinnaire with the adjustments that may be needed for each of the countries
• Consultations with National Commissions for UNESCO and Ministry of Education to finalize the methodology
• ³¢¾±²õ³Ù&²Ô²ú²õ±è;´Ç´Ú&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²õ±ð³¦´Ç²Ô»å²¹°ù²â&²Ô²ú²õ±è;»å²¹³Ù²¹&²Ô²ú²õ±è;°ù±ð±ç³Ü¾±°ù±ð»å&²Ô²ú²õ±è;´Ú°ù´Ç³¾&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±ô±ð²¹»å¾±²Ô²µ&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²Ñ¾±²Ô¾±²õ³Ù°ù¾±±ð²õ’&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±è²¹°ù³Ù²Ô±ð°ù²õ

2. Deliverable 2:

• ±·²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô²¹±ô&²Ô²ú²õ±è;³¢²¹³Ü²Ô³¦³ó&²Ô²ú²õ±è;·É´Ç°ù°ì²õ³ó´Ç±è&²Ô²ú²õ±è;´Ú´Ç°ù&²Ô²ú²õ±è;³Ù³ó±ð&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±·²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô²¹±ô&²Ô²ú²õ±è;³§³Ù²¹°ì±ð³ó´Ç±ô»å±ð°ù&²Ô²ú²õ±è;°Õ±ð²¹³¾&²Ô²ú²õ±è;–C´Ç²Ô³¦±ð±è³Ù&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²Ô´Ç³Ù±ð&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹²Ô»å&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹²µ±ð²Ô»å²¹
• Synthesis of the National Stakeholder Team meetings
• Mid-term review policy dialogue(s)– Concept note and agenda
• °Â´Ç°ù°ì²õ³ó´Ç±è&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹³Ù³Ù±ð²Ô»å±ð±ð²õ’&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±ô¾±²õ³Ù²õ&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²¹²Ô»å&²Ô²ú²õ±è;²õ²â²Ô³Ù³ó±ð²õ¾±²õ
• Draft report including 3 countries with the data review and analysis
• Consultation with stakeholders in 3 countries and consolidate feedback from stakeholders, including government institutions, the private sector and civil society. 
• Consultation with and support of UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia

3. Deliverable 3:

• Validation workshops invitation lists, concept note, and agenda
• Final report including 3 countries in English 
• The report laid-out and ready for printing
• High quality presentation slides of report

Please refer to the below table.

The contractor (s) shall send their application proposal (in English) to UNESCO Beijing Office no later than 18 February 2025, 00 midnight, China Time via email to beijing@unesco.org with a subject titled ‘AI Research Application’, with the following elements:

1. A letter of interest, demonstrating the relevant expertise and capacity of the partner to carry out the activities mentioned above. Please mention any similar works your organization has completed in the past and existing networks in the four countries of where the work will undertake.

2. Organizational profile (main priorities, structure, type of legal entity, etc.)

3. A technical proposal with detailing the approach/methodology, ToR of the Lead expert(s) and of the national experts, work plan, activities, timeline, allocated human resources, possible risks, and mitigation measures to implement the above-mentioned activities.

4. A CV of all the personnel involved, including Lead expert(s). The Lead expert(s) must have at least 5 years of demonstrable experience within the region and beyond in AI ethics and policy, including digital policy and data protection law/data policy; at least a Masters degree in a relevant social science degree (including law, public policy, etc.), and at least 2 relevant academic publications, or lead authorship on related research reports; and a wide networks in AI and digital spheres across research, civil society, regulatory bodies and political institutions, within the region.

5. CVs of the national experts, who must have experience working with national level policy- makers, with understanding of how to support evidence-led decision-making and engage in national policy-making processes; and solid networks in AI and digital spheres within the country.

6. A detailed itemized financial proposal for works described in the Terms of Reference, based on the form provided as part of this ToR.

The partner should have specific technical expertise, professional skills, adequate staff resources, reasonably sound financial status, and appropriate internal control procedures and management practices. In addition, it should fulfill the following requirements:

1. Registered as a legal entity.
2. A legal and practical ability to conduct research work in the countries involved.
3. An ability to effectively do remote work in coordinating, advising, and backstopping the national experts, thus reducing the travel costs to the minimum necessary.
4. At least 5 years of Industry experience in technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI ethics, AI governance, and relevant fields.
5. A vast network with government, academia/think-tank, industry and CSOs across the three countries.