Emerging technologies – ITU managing their development for the greater good
ITU actively monitors new/emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and quantum information technologies (QIT) and works with other UN agencies to ensure such technologies develop along lines that will contribute to the greater good.
Artificial intelligence
ITU provides a global platform for all stakeholders to address the opportunities and challenges relating to the safe and inclusive development of AI technologies and applications.
ITU’s work in the area of AI includes, amongst others:
- AI in standardization, including the relevant ITU-T focus groups.
- AI for Good.
- UN Activities on AI Report. UN High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) Interagency Working Group on AI (IAWG-AI): The IAWG-AI, established during the 40th HLCP session in October 2020 to focus on policy and programmatic coherence of AI activities, is co-led by ITU and UNESCO.
- Global Initiative on AI and Data Commons.
- AI/ML Competitions (“Challenges”): In 2022, The ITU AI/ML Challenges were hosted in three main themes: AI/ML in 5G Challenge; GeoAI Challenge; and tinyML Challenge.
Internet of Things
ITU continues the development of standards related to interoperable IoT technologies and applications. This includes topics relating to big data aspects of IoT and smart cities and communities (SC&C) and digital transformation relevant to IoT and SC&C aspects.
See also the ITU-T SG20 homepage and List of Recommendations.
Quantum information technology
Quantum information technology (QIT) improves information processing capability by harnessing principles of quantum mechanics. ITU’s work in the area of QIT includes:
- QIT in standardization: Several ITU-T study groups, including SGs 11, 13 and 17 are developing ITU-T Recommendations in this field. Nine standards have been developed since 2022 including X.1715 and Y.3809-3814.
- Joint Coordination Activity on Quantum Key Distribution Network (JCA-QKDN), established by TSAG in January 2023, coordinates the standardization work on QKDNs within ITU-T and acts as the point of contact within ITU-T and other standards development organizations, consortia and forums also working on QKD related standards. JCA-QKDN’s first meeting was held on 22 March 2023.
Metaverse
The ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse (FG-MV) was established under the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) on 16 December 2022. The lifetime of the FG-MV is one year, with the possibility of an extension. The FG-MV lays the groundwork for international standards for the metaverse. The group is analysing the technical requirements of the metaverse to identify fundamental enabling technologies in areas from multimedia and network optimization to digital currencies, Internet of Things, digital twins, and environmental sustainability.
The first meeting of the FG-MV took place on 8-9 March 2023 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and had over 650 participants – a record attendance for an ITU-T focus group.
During this first meeting, the FG-MV established eight working groups, ranging from General, Applications & Services, Architecture & Infrastructure, Virtual/Real World Integration, Interoperability, Security, Data & Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Protection, Economic, Regulatory & Competition Aspects, to Sustainability, Accessibility & Inclusion. A Task Group on Collaboration has also been established under the FG-MV.
The initial FG-MV Workplan was agreed, including the FG-MV structure, the list of deliverables and information concerning the designated Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen for the working groups (WGs) and task groups (TGs).
The first FG-MV meeting was preceded by the first ITU Forum on Embracing the metaverse. The forum provided a platform to stimulate global dialogue on the challenges and opportunities generated by the metaverse. More than 600 participants joined the forum in person and online. The Outcome Document and video highlights can be found here.
