A public art exhibition featuring artificial intelligence (AI) is sparking curiosity and conversations along the lakefront of the international district in Geneva, Switzerland.
The 160-metre stretch of lakeside promenade features AI-generated artworks from the annual AI for Good Canvas of the Future competition and photographs highlighting the world’s Digital Lifelines.
Together, the two sets of panels form a free public art exhibition put on by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) between 22 and 30 June.
Positioned to catch the eyes of Geneva-based diplomats, United Nations staff, international delegates, tourists and residents alike, the ITU Art Exhibition is open to anyone passing by.
The Canvas of the Future selections give a glimpse into the AI art to be displayed at the upcoming AI for Good Global Summit from 7 to 10 July as part of a high-profile new Geneva Digital Week.
The global AI art contest, now in its third edition, has attracted submissions from around the world. The 2026 edition invited creators, educators, technologists and artists to share, in a single original AI-powered or AI-enhanced digital image expressing their vision of how AI is shaping the future of education and work.
The pieces along Quai Wilson are from some of the finalists, with the winner to displayed at the summit.
Why AI and art?
Over the last nine years, the AI for Good initiative has sought out artists, visionaries and innovators to bring their perspectives to the ITU’s work to harness AI for sustainable development, the benefit of humanity, and communities worldwide.
“While AI is often discussed in terms of productivity, infrastructure or economic impact, this exhibition opens space for the other questions, the ones about what AI might mean for culture, for the rhythms of daily life, for the way societies tell stories about themselves,” says Kseniia Fontaine, Senior Business Development and Operations Manager at AI for Good.
This year’s summit programme includes an AI Creativity and Culture track around the Summit’s technical, artistic and entrepreneurship topics, putting arts in the spotlight at AI for Good.
The mix is deliberate, combining disciplines that rarely meet in the same room: engineers and artists, policymakers and cultural creators, scientists and storytellers.
ITU, broadly associated with standards and policy, aims to foster responsible AI for the good of everyone, everywhere.
“If AI is going to be developed responsibly, the work of imagining its implications belongs in the room alongside the work of building it,” says Fontaine. “The conversations on AI belong to everyone. A 160-metre stretch of public path is one way of widening the room.”
Why digital lifelines?
Along the same promenade, the Digital Lifelines posters centre on real-world photographs – many of them winning entries from past ITU and World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) photo contests.
These human-centred images convey the need to strengthen resilience in today’s connected world, in line with ITU’s annual theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), marking the organization’s founding as a telegraph regulator in 1865.
“Engaging communities in Geneva and around the world is essential to help people understand how ITU supports the digital systems we rely on every day – from submarine cables to satellite networks,” says Monika Gehner, Head of ITU’s Corporate Communications Division and lead of the Digital Lifelines campaign.
Digital connectivity is a prerequisite for AI use. ITU promotes resilient digital infrastructure, alongside responsible AI, as global assets to unlock better education, healthcare, communication and knowledge for all.
The combined exhibition underscores the need for innovation and cooperation to connect the world.
