Artificial intelligence can turbocharge sustainable development and bridge digital divides – or widen them. ITU is at the forefront of collective efforts to harness AI for humanity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept; it is transforming the digital world. From personalized recommendations to advanced medical diagnostics, language translation, and content curation, AI is shaping how we live, work, and interact.
In fact, it has the potential to accelerate progress for people, prosperity and the planet. It is driving innovation in agriculture, finance, medicine and education. According to ITU’s AI for Good Impact Report, nearly all business leaders surveyed (94%) say that AI will be essential within five years.
Yet challenges remain in harnessing AI for humanity. Ethics, equality, and environmental consequences are the flip side of this powerful digital wave. Unequal access to AI risks widening digital divides, rather than closing them. AI governance is fragmented, leaving countries with pressing issues like incompatible regulations, technical talent gaps, misinformation, job displacement and resource-intensive energy demands.
ITU has been a driving force in global technology cooperation, shaping the digital ecosystems we rely on today. Now, as AI presents new global challenges, ITU’s focus has expanded to address these issues.
Connecting the unconnected
As AI reshapes the digital landscape, its benefits must be accessible to all. A prerequisite for using AI is to connect the remaining third of the world’s population still offline, many of whom live in vulnerable, underserved regions.
ITU champions universal and meaningful connectivity as a cornerstone for development. Already in the 1980s, its landmark report The Missing Link outlined the value of connectivity for growth and development.
Today, its AI for Good Impact Report builds on extensive collaboration to offer concrete progress examples on the Sustainable Development Goals and address AI trends in investment, governance and skills development.
Expanding digital access remains at the core of ITU’s mission. From setting global connectivity standards to leading digital skills building initiatives, and providing technical assistance to expand telecommunications infrastructure in underserved areas, ITU continues to support member states in bridging digital divides. Its work ensures that as AI advances, no one is left behind in the digital age.
Sophia, Hanson Robotics Ltd. speaking at the AI for Good Global Summit, ITU, Geneva, Switzerland, 7 – 9 June, 2017.
Collaborate for AI for Good
ITU builds on its legacy of digital leadership, inclusivity and cooperation, as the international community works to harness AI for development.
The UN’s most important AI platform is AI for Good, which ITU co-hosts with the Government of Switzerland, and implements with over 47 UN partners. Begun in 2017, it is now a hub for over 37,000 contributors from more than 180 countries. Its AI for Good Impact Initiative encourages year-round collaboration across all parts of society touched by AI.
Meanwhile, ITU is working to build collective AI governance. The United Nations System White Paper on AI Governance, produced by ITU and UNESCO-led working group in 2024, sets out AI governance priorities.
ITU was instrumental in the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action in November 2024. The green computing component, backed by partnerships, aims to harness AI to reduce tech industry emissions. Moreover, ITU standards for AI applications in network orchestration and multimedia coding help optimize energy and reduce costs.
Shape the future of AI with standards
Long before AI became a buzzword, ITU was steadily laying the groundwork for this transformative technology through its work on network optimization, predictive algorithms, and pattern recognition, laying the foundations for machine learning applications at the heart of AI.
“ITU is driving the development of a trusted and interoperable AI ecosystem. Our AI standards are supporting innovation in areas from network orchestration and energy efficiency to multimedia coding and content authenticity. Our International AI Standards Exchange will help keep up global momentum on the technical underpinnings of responsible AI.”
Seizo Onoe, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
To date, ITU has published over 100 standards on AI, with more than 150 under development.
Today, ITU shapes the future of AI with standards that make a difference to daily lives. They amplify AI-enabled breakthroughs for climate action, agriculture, disaster response, healthcare, road safety and more. ITU launched the International AI Standards Summit in October 2024 and AI was high on the agenda at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) in October 2024.
To detect deepfakes and build trust, the World Standards Cooperation – led by ITU, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) – leads trusted and responsible standards on multimedia authenticity. Working together to advance the voluntary consensus-based International Standards system.
As AI continues to evolve, the standards work continues across various study groups in ITU, and will continue to drive meaningful cooperation to ensure AI serves the greater good for humanity.
Seizo Onoe speaking at the opening of the Global Standards Symposium (GSS-24), on the sidelines of ITU WTSA-24
A collective commitment
Shaping our AI future together
The future development of AI is too important to leave to the “experts.” Everyone has a voice when it comes to the dialogue on trustworthy AI applications, the need for skills and standards, and responsible AI governance for sustainable development.
The AI for Good Global Summit is happening 8-11 July, 2025. As the United Nations’ leading event on AI, it is free and open to the public. Join ITU to shape the global dialogue on AI to serve the greater good. Registration is open.
Youth are the next generation of AI innovators, and ITU is proud to be supporting 40,000+ youth this year with hands-on AI and robotics skills in the AI for Good Robotics for Youth Challenge.
The AI Skills Coalition has launched an open repository of learning resources on AI. Start your AI learning journey for free here.
