Cuba Position Paper
Cuba Position Paper
Cuba Position Paper
Position Paper
The idea of Artificial Intelligence began to inspire scientists after humanoid robots
started playing roles in movies, plays and television shows. The first scientist to really
dive into the topic of artificial intelligence was Alan Turing, who wrote about the
mathematics and possibility of artificial intelligence in his 1950 paper, “Computing
Machinery and Intelligence” (Anyoha). However, AI didn’t take off in the recent years
following Turing’s paper because it was so expensive to lease a computer that no one
could afford it except for the top universities. The first computer program involving AI
was the Logic Theorist, designed and developed by Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw and Herbet
Simon and it was first showcased at the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on
Artificial Intelligence (Anyoha). Over the years, AI has continued to be improved to think
almost like a human but not make mistakes. AI is now being used in self-driving
vehicles, virtual assistants, manufacturing and production, healthcare and more (“Where
AI”).
Cuba’s Permanent Delegate at UNESCO, Yahima Esquivel expressed Cuba’s
support in developing AI from an ethical perspective to be used in the country (“Cuba
Favors”). Yahima Esquivel wants to focus the development of AI to being the most
useful it can be to society and supporting all groups of people in Cuba. One of her
points included that she doesn’t want artificial intelligence to reinforce past issues with
prejudice or stigmas (“Cuba Favors”). Cuba and Chinese Universities are now working
together to develop an International Artificial Intelligence Institution and is expected to
open in 2020/2021 (“Cuba and China”). Cuban Doctor of Science Yaile Caballero is
recognized as an “international expert” in China and is the one leading the AI projects
between the two countries (“Cuba and China”).
Cuba fully supports the use of artificial intelligence in their country and in their
healthcare. However, Cuba does not want to create more of a divide between the less
fortunate citizens and less developed countries. Cuba wants to approach artificial
intelligence in an ethical way as to avoid the potentially dangerous effects and impacts
of using AI in a threatening way. Cuba would also support working with China on this
topic because they have already created an institute together and agree on the topic.
Committee: World Health Organization (WHO)
Anyoha, Rockwell. “The History of Artificial Intelligence.” Science in the News, 23 Apr. 2020,
sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/.
“Cuba and China Agree to Develop Artificial Intelligence on the Island.” OnCubaNews English,
29 Oct. 2019,
oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-and-china-agree-to-develop-artificial-intelligence-on-the-
island/.
LLC, Cogito Tech. “Where Is Artificial Intelligence Used Today?” Medium, Becoming Human:
Artificial Intelligence Magazine, 3 Feb. 2020,
becominghuman.ai/where-is-artificial-intelligence-used-today-3fd076d15b68.