Closing Remarks

Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin champions inclusive AI governance at landmark event

In a stirring closing speech, Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin encapsulated the highlights and achievements of a landmark three-day event focused on the future and governance of artificial intelligence (AI). The event was marked by a momentous occasion when French President Emmanuel Macron engaged with the conference by retweeting a tweet composed entirely through thought power, signalling the innovative ethos of the gathering.

Bogdan-Martin emphasised the central theme of inclusivity, addressing concerns that certain nations were being sidelined in crucial AI discussions. She stressed the event’s dedication to equitable representation, particularly for developing countries, in the global AI conversation. This was underscored by substantial pledges from various entities, exceeding $1.7 billion, aimed at promoting digital inclusion for traditionally underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities, young girls, and women.

The Secretary General lauded the announcement of a unified AI standards framework, a joint initiative by the World Standards Cooperation. This framework is set to tackle the need for interoperability and security in AI, which are vital for AI to responsibly drive sustainable development. The initiative, spearheaded by the ITU, ISO, and IEC, seeks to convert AI governance principles into tangible, actionable standards.

Bogdan-Martin also addressed the urgent challenge of AI-driven misinformation and deepfakes, advocating for enhanced watermarking techniques and the establishment of technical standards for multimedia authenticity and deepfake detection. A new multi-stakeholder collaboration on AI watermarking technical standards was introduced as a proactive measure to protect copyrights and authenticate AI-generated content.

The AI for Good Impact Initiative was another highlight, aiming to bridge the gap between AI innovators and those facing problems to scale AI solutions globally across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bogdan-Martin celebrated the early financial commitments to this initiative and called for increased support to fund promising AI solutions to achieve maximum impact.

Bogdan-Martin reflected on the multifaceted nature of AI: its potential to inspire and create opportunities, the concerns it raises, and the challenge it presents in reshaping our relationship with technology and one another. She underscored the urgency of action to exploit AI’s potential for societal benefit and the attainment of the SDGs.

Concluding her address, Bogdan-Martin conveyed a message of hope and determination, asserting that the future trajectory of AI remains unwritten and that the collective endeavour of the AI generation can ensure the successful integration of AI in tackling global challenges. She implored the audience to intensify their efforts to foster inclusive AI innovation, to develop safe and trustworthy AI systems, and to expand AI solutions to safeguard the SDGs. With an eye on upcoming events like the Summit of the Future and the WSIS Plus 20 review, she called for sustained commitment to using AI for the common good.

Introduction:
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. A breathtaking selection of announcements and a flawlessly executed group photo afterwards as well. Well, later we have the CEO of Pulse9, the amazing company behind the K-pop virtual human sensation Eternity. But first, we are going to invite some closing remarks from the remarkable, amazing, incredible person. She is Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin:
What an incredible three days. Let me start, ladies and gentlemen, by thanking all of those that made it possible. Really, this has been a kind of whole of system effort with more than 40 UN partners, the government of Switzerland, our sponsors, and of course, all the amazing speakers, panelists, exhibitors. It’s been incredible. We’ve heard powerful stories. We’ve also made lasting connections. And we’ve had some very meaningful conversations, some that we will never forget. There were actually people lining up outside this building, lining up for more than a block to get in and see the action inside. And I’m told we’ve actually reached historic record levels of participants, which is actually tremendous. We even had what they call a viral moment. We had a viral moment this morning when the French President Macron, he retweeted the first tweet ever written and published using only the power of thought. History was made right here on our frontier stage. Women took over the youth zone to build their own robots. They’re tomorrow’s AI innovators and leaders. What Princess Beatrice said yesterday really resonated with me as a mom when she urged us to figure out how best to use these incredible technologies for our children. And then, of course, a moment I think no one will forget. We met extraordinary people like Luis. I hope you were in the room yesterday when he joined us remotely from Lisbon. ALS took away Luis’s ability to speak, but not his voice, thanks to AI. Connecting with him was moving. It was inspiring. And that’s what AI for Good is all about. AI for Good is where leaders from the UN, from government, from industry, from international organizations, academia, and the technical community, and of course, civil society came together, sat side by side over the last three days, and they called for all voices to be included in AI global governance processes. I share the concerns of ministers and many others who felt that their countries were being excluded from critical AI conversations. Let me say, we heard you. And we took action here over the past few days to move us in the right direction. And I thought I would just highlight three actions, three actions that we’ve taken. And the first action is about giving developing countries an equal seat at the table, both at the summit and at our first AI governance day. Inclusion is at the heart of everything that we do at the ITU as the UN agency for digital technologies. By bringing both the WSIS community and the AI for Good community together, we’ve actually shown the importance of building a digital society with and for everyone. I’m also pleased to see organizations step up their digital inclusion efforts around the world. We had seven organizations from government, from the UN, from industry, NGOs as well. They answered the call to our pledging campaign that we launched earlier this year by Partner to Connect and the AI for Good community. Together, they’ve committed over $1.7 billion to use AI to advance digital inclusion, especially for persons with disabilities, for young girls, for women. And that campaign will continue. And ladies and gentlemen, I encourage you to get engaged, take that example, and make your pledge. You can even make it now. The second action is strengthening standards cooperation and collaboration. And that’s something that we’ve heard repeatedly from the UNSG, from HLAB. We need to strengthen that standards collaboration. And that is the real essence. It goes to the core of the landmark collaboration that was just announced by the World Standards Cooperation to provide a unified framework for AI standards. We’ve heard repeatedly from participants about the importance of interoperability and security as being a necessity for responsible AI. They are a necessity if AI is to turbocharge sustainable development, as the UN Secretary General has called for, one that’s based on trust, on security, one that’s affordable. And of course, we need to be advancing inclusivity, especially in developing countries. Driven by ITU, by ISO, by IEC, this global initiative will ensure the effective translation of AI governance principles into practical, actionable standards. Ultimately, our goal is to fill existing gaps in AI standardization so that we can tackle our most pressing global challenges and advance and achieve the SDGs. Over the last three days, we’ve also heard about the urgency to stop the spread of AI-driven misinformation and deepfakes. We cannot sit idle as misinformation and deepfakes erode trust in our elections, in our institutions, and the very foundations of our societies. The problem with watermarking techniques right now is not that they don’t exist, it’s that they don’t work across different technologies. And that’s why I’m pleased that we have formed this multi-stakeholder collaboration on technical standards for AI watermarking, for multimedia authenticity, and deepfake detection technologies. By improving current standards and identifying the need for new ones, this collaborative effort will help to provide copyrights and recognize AI-created content on large scale. The third action is about building AI capacity around the world. That’s where the AI for Good Impact Initiative that was launched yesterday comes into play. This initiative is going to link AI innovators with problem owners to scale AI-driven solutions equally across the SDGs and every region of the world. And we need big capacity-building efforts like this one if we’re going to address and meet the scale of the challenge. Yesterday, we heard some early significant financial commitments to this new initiative on this very stage. And I think, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a great start. I’m calling on all of you to join us and help us to scale, to fund the most promising AI solutions so that we can achieve maximum impact. Over the past three days, we’ve come face-to-face with three dimensions of artificial intelligence. An AI that captures our imagination and promises great opportunities. An AI that concerns us and taps into our greatest fears. And an AI that challenges us to reimagine our relationship with technology and with each other. All three dimensions demand urgent action. Because if not now, then when? And if not for the SDGs, then what cause? Ladies and gentlemen, the UN Secretary-General reminded us about the need to build safe and inclusive AI that is accessible to all. And as I said yesterday, the AI genie is out of the bottle. And there’s no putting it back. But I think there is hope. You have sent a strong message to the world that the future of AI is not yet written. And as we look to 2030 and milestones like the Summit of the Future in September and next year’s WSIS Plus 20 review, I think now is the time. Now is the time that we have to redouble our efforts. Let’s redouble our efforts. Let’s make AI innovation inclusive. Let’s build safe, secure, trustworthy AI systems. And let’s scale AI solutions so that we can rescue the SDGs. Because I firmly believe we can do it. We can do it together. Because we are the AI generation. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.