Consumers International

Involving consumers in building fair and responsible artificial intelligence is essential. For World Consumer Rights Day 2024, Consumers International has outlined the priority areas that combine the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection with a set of actions for developers and deployers of commercial generative AI. The four priority areas drive toward a vision of digital markets that are truly open and accessible, support high benchmarks for consumer protection, feature inclusive and representative governance frameworks, and maintain the guarantee of redress and representation for consumers.

Any approaches to develop AI should be informed by the consumer experience of the technology. The priority areas outlined above are informed by the work of our consumer advocates, researchers and intergovernmental agencies. They include the Norwegian Consumer Council, the Consumer Policy Research Centre, the Foundation Model Transparency Index, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The global consumer movement calls for urgent action to improve consumer understanding and trust in digital finance services through greater transparency. Consumers need relevant, timely and inclusive information to make informed decisions and be better protected from harm.