International. More than 2,000 participants from more than 120 countries today join the leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and humanitarian action to kick off the 3rd annual AI for Good World Summit taking place in Geneva this week.
The Summit is designed to generate "AI for Good" projects that can be launched in the short term, the result of the inspiration of the multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary audience attending this Summit. It also aims to ensure reliable, secure and inclusive development of AI technologies and equitable access to their benefits.
The 2019 Summit will highlight the importance of AI in driving education, health and well-being, social and economic equality, space research, and smart and safe mobility. Discussions will be organized on the unintended consequences of AI as well as on its relationship to art and culture. The "training day" will offer those who have the possibility of adopting AI contact with teachers and leading experts in AI.
One of the top priorities of this year's Summit will be to propose measures to support high-potential AI solutions so that they can reach a global scale.
"This Summit is the United Nations' most important platform for dialogue on AI. AI is being used to fight hunger, mitigate the effects of the climate crisis and facilitate the transition to smart and sustainable cities," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "AI also raises complex questions about privacy and trust, and other challenges, ranging from the displacement of workers and potential biases in algorithms, to autonomous weapons and social manipulation. What is clear is that no nation, no organization, no company, and no community can meet these challenges on its own. The path to transformative, but also safe, reliable and inclusive AI, will require governments, industry, academia and civil society to engage in an unprecedented collaborative relationship."
Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) – in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and 37 agencies of the United Nations system, the AI for Good global summits are the United Nations' most important platform for an inclusive dialogue on AI. The objective of this Summit is to identify practical applications of AI that accelerate the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2017 Summit marked the beginning of an inclusive global dialogue on the potential of AI as a force for good. The 2018 Action-Oriented Summit resulted in 35 "AI for Good" projects including the "AI for Health" Thematic Group now led by ITU and the World Health Organization (WHO). The 2019 Summit will continue to serve as a link between AI innovators and public and private sector decision-makers, and foster collaboration to maximize the impact of "AI for Good."
A dynamic exhibition will demonstrate innovations at the forefront of AI research and development, such as IBM Watson's Debater project, the Fusion collaborative exoskeleton, RoboRace, the world's first driverless electric race car, and AI-based solutions to help people with disabilities. Summit attendees will also be able to enjoy AI-inspired performances by world-famous musician JoJo Mayer and artist Reeps One, winner of awards for vocal and visual performances.
