AI for Good Global Summit
Closing Remarks
Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin
The time has come — I would say somewhat unfortunately — to bring this summit to a close and I want to, of course, thank all of you that have made this possible.
Of course, so grateful to the Swiss government for co-convening this event with ITU — and, of course, a huge thanks to our UN partners, over 40 partners strong, thank you, as well, thanks, of course, to our sponsors, our speakers and you the participants here physically and also joining us virtually.
I think you have helped us to take another step forward towards building an inclusive, a safe, and a responsible AI.
Thousands came to Geneva, thousands joined us online — and of course, that includes our robots. I hope you got to meet and engage with the robots.
I would say engagement, more than numbers, really tells the story of what we have experienced over the last two days.
It builds on a wide range of perspectives, ideas at different stages of maturity. But I think it is fair to say there is certainly one thing in common.
That would be a commitment to finding practical solutions together, in particular when it comes to global AI governance frameworks.
So let me share some of them with you.
We have heard calls for new bodies modeled on existing ones like CERN, like the International Atomic Energy Agency, like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — as well as proposals to empower existing organizations.
We had conversations on things like how a registry of new or anticipated AI applications might work. We also heard calls for a Global Observatory, how an AI Observatory could look.
I think we have some great ideas to start to think about and move forward.
So where do we go from here?
It is about making the right choice. We have to make the right choice. It is time to roll up our sleeves and we need to analyze what is feasible, what is already available and, of course, what can be done.
That's what you have called on us to do and I think it puts us on a path to be able to create a roadmap for the short term, for the medium term, and also of course, for the long term.
The United Nations group on AI led by ITU and UNESCO is geared up, ready and charged to help move this dialogue and conversation forward.
But, of course, the work does not stop here. It is fair to say that we are just getting started. And we must continue to push inclusive dialogue, inclusive dialogue on AI governance and we must engage with stakeholders to develop these ideas further.
From the ITU perspective, we will, of course, continue to do our part, we will continue to focus on AI standards development and policy assistance.
We will also be integrating AI capacity support into our digital transformation offerings together with partners like UNDP and others, especially in countries with low technological capabilities.
We will also be complementing UNESCO's efforts on AI readiness by doing Sectoral Deep Dives.
We will advance universal health through our new Global Initiative on AI for Health with WHO and WIPO.
And, of course, we will support responsible AI development and deployment at the country level, and we will work to drive strong collaboration with other parts of the UN.
We have an incredible opportunity as a UN system to pull together and help support this process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Yesterday, we kicked off with an opening message from the UN Secretary-General who made a strong call, and he urged us to continue to explore the practical applications of AI to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
And I think that what we saw over the past two days, it brings us a lot of hope. We would not be here if we had not hope. I am an optimist by nature. It does give us a lot of hope.
We saw how robots can go into situations that might be too dangerous for humans.
We saw them bring comfort and support and interact with us and also with each other on a whole new level.
We had the world's first robots press conference and diplomatic meet and greet.
We saw how AI can help farmers to adapt to climate change.
We saw how AI can transform and tailor education.
We saw how AI can unleash a whole new wave of personalized healthcare.
And how AI can help us use outer space peacefully over the long term and for the benefit of all.
I think that is where the opportunities lie. They are tremendous. And each one of the SDGs can benefit.
That is one of the scenarios that I described yesterday — the one where AI lives up to its promise, and where we manage to put the right guardrails in place.
That was the future I chose, and, most of you, if I heard you, said you were with me.
It is now time for collaboration, it is time for co-creation, it is time for stakeholders and disciplines, and this includes scientists.
Because this is the AI moment.
This is our moment.
Let us put human values first.
Let us stay true to our core UN values.
And let us show the world what an inclusive, a safe, and a responsible AI can do for humanity.
Thank you very much.
