More than 2,000 participants from over 120 countries have joined leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and humanitarian action for the kick-off of the 3rd annual AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, 28-31 May. The summit is designed to generate ‘AI for Good’ projects able to be enacted in the near term, guided by the summit’s multi-stakeholder and inter-disciplinary audience. It also aims to ensure trusted, safe and inclusive development of AI technologies and equitable access to their benefits.
The 2019 summit will highlight AI’s value in advancing education, healthcare and wellbeing, social and economic equality, space research, and smart and safe mobility. It will host debate around unintended consequences of AI as well as AI’s relationship with art and culture. A ‘learning day’ will offer potential AI adopters an audience with leading AI experts and educators.
One of the 2019 summit’s highest priorities will be to propose actions to assist high-potential AI solutions in achieving global scale.
“This summit is the leading United Nations platform for dialogue on artificial intelligence. AI is being used to fight hunger, mitigate the climate crisis, or facilitate the transition to smart sustainable cities,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “AI also raises complex questions about privacy and trust and poses other challenges, from job displacement and potential bias in algorithms to autonomous weapons and social manipulation. What’s clear is that no one nation, no one organization, no one company and no one community can meet these challenges alone. The path to a transformative but also a safe, trusted and inclusive AI will require unprecedented collaboration between government, industry, academia and civil society.”
Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (IT U) – the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technology (ICT) – in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and 37 sister United Nations agencies, the AI for Good series is the leading United Nations platform for inclusive dialogue on AI. The goal of the summit is to identify practical applications of AI to accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .
The 2017 summit marked the beginning of global dialogue on the potential of AI to act as a force for good. The action-oriented 2018 summit gave rise to 35 ‘AI for Good’ projects, including an ‘AI for Health’ Focus Group now led by ITU and the World Health Organization (WHO). The 2019 summit will continue to connect AI innovators with public and private-sector decision-makers, building collaboration to maximize the impact of ‘AI for Good’.
“We need to ignite a bigger conversation centered around how to use AI and data to help find scalable solutions to the biggest challenges facing humanity,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “We’re inviting innovators from around the globe to together define new common knowledge and frameworks to accelerate solutions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. XPRIZE co-organized the first summit with ITU, as we believe creating safe, beneficial and ethical AI solutions can significantly improve life on our planet for all and lead us to a better future. We look forward to supporting the collaborative efforts that will come out of this Summit as we continue our partnership with ITU.”
“ACM is honored to be a partner and Gold sponsor for the 3rd annual AI for Good Global Summit,” says Vicki L. Hanson, CEO of the Association for Computing Machinery. “By bringing together AI technologists with leaders in government, industry, and humanitarian initiatives, new ways to apply AI to pressing world challenges are imagined and realized. Our work together here exemplifies a popular motto among ACM’s nearly 100,000 members: ‘We see a world where computing helps solve tomorrow’s problems, where we use our skills and knowledge to advance the profession and make a positive impact.’”
A dynamic show floor will demonstrate innovations at the cutting edge of AI research and development, such as the IBM Watson debater; the Fusion collaborative exoskeleton; RoboRace, the world’s first self-driving electric racing car; and AI-powered solutions to assist persons with disabilities. Summit attendees can also look forward to AI-inspired performances from world-renowned musician Jojo Mayer and award-winning vocal and visual artist Reeps One.
Please visit the summit programme for more information on the latest speakers, breakthrough sessions and panels.
The summit is organized in partnership with the following sister United Nations agencies: CTBTO, FAO, ICAO, ILO, IMO, IOM, UNAIDS, UNCTAD, UNDESA, UNDPA, UNECE, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFCCC, UNFPA, UNGP, UN Habitat, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNICRI, UNIDIR, UNIDO, UNISDR, UNITAR, UNODA, UNODC, UNOOSA, UNOPS, UNRISD, UNU, UN Women, UNWTO, WBG, WFP, WHO, WIPO, WMO.
The 2019 summit is kindly supported by Platinum Sponsor and Strategic Partner, Microsoft; Gold Sponsors, ACM – Association for Computing Machinery, PwC, the Kay Family Foundation, Mind AI and the Autonomous Driver Alliance; Silver Sponsors, Deloitte and the Zero Abuse Project; and Bronze Sponsor, Live Tiles.
