The technology of artificial intelligence, and debates over how much it should be regulated or reined in, have been hurtling forward on parallel tracks. The Boston Global Forum, founded in 2012 as a “hub for leaders, scholars, innovators and citizens committed to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges,” has taken its AI World Society initiative into high gear as a bridge between the two.
Concepts such as a Social Contract for the AI Age, Boston Finance Accord for AI Governance 24/7, and AIWS Digital Assets have come out of the project, which BGF chairman and co-founder Michael Dukakis attributed in a book foreword to the leadership of forum co-chair and CEO Nguyen Anh Tuan.
“Together, we continue to chart new courses for international collaboration in the AI age,” wrote Dukakis, a former governor of Massachusetts, noting that AIWS originated at a meeting in his home in 2017. “The invaluable friendship between Nguyen Anh Tuan and [his co-author and BGF co-founder] Thomas Patterson reflects the resilience of the human spirit to learn from the past, heal old wounds and forge innovative solutions for the future.”
Nguyen Anh Tuan
As Tuan puts it, “Our mission is to advance a world of global enlightenment by promoting ethical governance, particularly in artificial intelligence and digital technologies.”
The organization counts as collaborators academic institutions, including Harvard and MIT in its backyard, and Club de Madrid.
“Our global network, including partnerships with G7 nations, the United Nations and thought leaders such as Vint Cerf and Judea Pearl, ensures implementation-oriented solutions, setting us apart from purely academic or advocacy groups,” Tuan explains.
Among the dignitaries drawn to BGF is executive board member and former Japanese state minister Yasuhide Nakayama, who says: “This is not a theoretical pursuit but an action-based mission. It brings together global leaders, scholars and innovators to collaboratively address today’s most complex challenges – including artificial intelligence, peace, security and digital governance.”
According to Tuan, BGF differs from other AI think tanks by being human-centered and interdisciplinary, and keeping a practical eye on societal impact. Its AIWS City and AIWS Government 24/7, for instance, combine AI, governance and finance in the interest of continuous public service.
“We emphasize inclusivity through the AIWS Citizen Forum and ethical standards via the Social Contract for the AI Age and the Boston Finance Accord,” Tuan adds.
“BGF also maintains neutrality,” Nakayama points out. “It is not aligned with any specific nation or ideology. Instead, it serves as a collaborative platform for democracies, promoting ethics, transparency and inclusion.”
AIWS board member Cansu Canca, of Northeastern University’s Institute for Experiential AI, also founder and director of the AI Ethics Lab, co-authored a recent study, as described in Time magazine, on how large language models “may still output potentially harmful content despite safety features.”
The value of truly safe and responsible AI “lies in enhancing human welfare – improving healthcare, education and governance – while preventing misuse” such as in autonomous warfare or unchecked surveillance, Tuan says. The point is for technology to serve humanity. In Nakayama’s words: “AI should support people; it must never dominate them.”
Governor Michael Dukakis
BGF recently unveiled finance-related ecosystem components including AI-Finance Platform, Global Blockchain Network, Ethical Finance Charter, and AIWS Bank, each with relevance for risk management which Tuan considers potentially transformative. To Dukakis, the package represents “a new era in global finance, rooted in ethical AI, blockchain innovation and a deep commitment to humanity.”
The AI-Finance Platform leverages AI for real-time analytics, enhancing risk assessment, fraud detection and customer-centric services, reducing operational risks, Tuan says.
The Blockchain Network is designed for transparency, security and 100% transaction traceability.
Within Ethical Finance are green or eco-friendly initiatives and standards for fairness and inclusion, aligning with the Boston Finance Accord commitment to “ethical oversight around the clock” along with access for unbanked populations.
“From my perspective in defense and diplomacy, AIWS provides a much-needed bridge between visionary philosophy and actionable governance,” Nakayama observes. “It is indispensable to shaping the future of society in an AI-driven world. This is not just a concept. It is a practical foundation for a fair and sustainable financial future.”
“BGF addresses multiple risks: ethical, algorithmic, financial, and cybersecurity,” he goes on. “But more than that, BGF stands out for its political awareness and geopolitical foresight.”
Adopted In March at the 4th Shinzo Abe Conference in Tokyo – named for the late prime minister who was a winner of BGF’s World Leader for Peace and Security Award – was the AI and Finance Platforms accord. It is aligned with Japan’s Society 5.0 in terms of ethical AI governance, cybersecurity and financial-system innovation, according to Tuan.
The Abe Financial AI Protocol, meanwhile, is a standardized framework to prevent ethical arbitrage in AI-driven finance, addressing transparency, fairness and inclusivity across the G7 and G20.
Yasuhide Nakayama
More recently, BGF’s Boston Plurality Summit focused on redefining banking with AI and continuous governance.
Speaking on June 9, Nakayama cited the Boston Finance Accord’s scope of “a real-time, always-on ethical framework to govern AI in finance across borders, across time zones, across crises.”
He proposed a three-layered approach for cybersecurity: Real-time threat detection using “AI x AI – AI-powered systems that detect anomalies and prevent intrusions by interacting with other AI in real-time”; zero-trust architecture at every layer so as not to assume everything is “safe by default”; and an International Cyber-Command Cooperation Framework, which would be to cybersecurity collaboration what the Bank for International Settlements is to central banking.
“In today’s world, the line between physical conflict and digital conflict is disappearing,” Nakayama asserted. “We need systems that are resilient, decentralized and ethically grounded, so that even in times of geopolitical crisis, our financial systems continue to serve people, not power.”
“The question is not whether we will use AI,” says Tuan, “but whether we will shape it wisely, ethically and democratically.” Through BGF and AIWS, “we are building a model for the future of human beings with AI and advanced technology, the institutions, charters and technologies that reflect the best of human values.”
In July, they posted a comment on the enactment of U.S. stablecoin legislation, seeing it as “not only a breakthrough for the United States but also a call to action for global cooperation in shaping digital assets and financial innovation responsibly. The stablecoin law offers a model for how governance, innovation and ethics can converge to strengthen the digital economy for the benefit of all.”
AIWS offered a perspective on OpenAI’s ChatGPT-5 as “not just a technical upgrade – it resonates deeply with our principles of ethics, transparency and human-centered innovation . . . We call on policymakers, technologists and civil society to embrace this launch as a moment to reinforce safeguards, promote inclusive access and uphold transparency.”
Announced in July: The AIWS Brands and Values Board, which Dukakis described as “a platform to highlight brands, values and leaders who are shaping a human-centered, ethical future and driving positive influence in the Age of AI.”