Bridging AI divides: capacity-building, access and digital foundations

45 intervenants
Résumé

Résumé

La discussion s’est centrée sur la « réduction des fractures de l’IA », les intervenants soutenant que la question va au-delà du seul accès pour englober les fractures en matière de calcul, de compétences, d’adoption, de gouvernance et de préparation institutionnelle.

Le PNUD et l’UNDRR ont présenté l’IA comme un défi de mise en œuvre et de systèmes, soulignant que les pays ont besoin d’infrastructures numériques, d’institutions de confiance, d’expertise locale, de cadres de gouvernance et d’un renforcement durable des capacités pour utiliser l’IA de manière sûre et inclusive.

Plusieurs intervenants ont souligné que l’inégalité des investissements est un moteur central de la fracture. La CNUCED a fait valoir que les dépenses d’infrastructure liées à l’IA connaissent un essor mondial, mais qu’elles sont concentrées dans quelques économies et entreprises, tandis que les pays à faible revenu n’en captent qu’une faible part et font face à des obstacles cumulés tels qu’une alimentation électrique peu fiable, la bande passante, les compétences, l’eau et la capacité de gouvernance.Des représentants gouvernementaux d’Afrique du Sud, du Bangladesh, du Népal, des Philippines, d’Oman et d’Éthiopie ont de même identifié la connectivité, l’électricité, les données, la capacité de calcul, le financement et le capital humain comme des prérequis à une participation réelle à l’IA.

Un thème récurrent a été que le renforcement des capacités doit aller au-delà de la simple culture de base en IA ou de l’usage par les consommateurs, pour s’orienter vers la création, l’adaptation et la supervision locales. Shikoh Gitau a soutenu que le renforcement des capacités doit signifier créer une IA « pour nous, par nous » et doit inclure les emplois, les normes, le financement, la langue, la culture et le contexte.Les panélistes et intervenants de la salle ont ajouté que la qualité des données, la fragmentation des ensembles de données publiques, le contexte local, les écosystèmes de terrain, la participation aux normes, la confiance et la capacité d’évaluation sont tous essentiels si les pays doivent devenir des co-créateurs plutôt que des utilisateurs dépendants.

La langue et l’inclusion culturelle ont été mises en avant comme des lacunes majeures non résolues. Les intervenants ont noté que la plupart des langues du monde restent insuffisamment prises en charge dans l’IA, que seules environ 1 000 des 7 000 langues disposent des bases nécessaires à une inclusion significative, et que les communautés sous-représentées et autochtones doivent être directement associées à la recherche, à la gouvernance et à la gestion des données.

D’autres ont réaffirmé que les langues locales, les cultures et les savoirs communautaires doivent façonner la conception de l’IA, au lieu de supposer que des modèles conçus pour des contextes dominants peuvent simplement être réduits d’échelle.

La conversation a également mis en lumière des réponses concrètes aux niveaux national et multilatéral. L’UNESCO a décrit sa recommandation sur l’éthique, son vaste travail de formation et ses initiatives éducatives axées sur les enseignants, tandis qu’El Salvador a présenté l’usage de l’IA dans l’éducation et la télémédecine, parallèlement à une nouvelle agence nationale de l’IA et à un cadre juridique.

Tout au long de la discussion, les participants ont appelé à la coopération internationale, aux normes ouvertes, aux modèles ouverts, aux partenariats public-privé, aux stratégies régionales et, dans plusieurs cas, à un fonds mondial pour l’IA afin d’aider les pays en développement à bâtir des infrastructures, des institutions et des capacités souveraines.

Points clés

L’objectif général de la discussion était d’examiner comment réduire les fractures mondiales de l’IA en identifiant les principaux obstacles à une participation équitable à l’IA et en faisant émerger des actions concrètes en matière de renforcement des capacités, d’infrastructure, de gouvernance, de financement et de coopération, afin que les pays, en particulier les pays en développement, puissent non seulement utiliser l’IA mais aussi la façonner, la gouverner et en tirer des bénéfices de manière responsable . - Réduire la fracture de l’IA exige plus que l’accès ; cela requiert des infrastructures, des institutions, des compétences et une gouvernance fondamentales. Les intervenants ont répété que les fractures de l’IA concernent l’accès abordable à la capacité de calcul, à la connectivité, à l’électricité, aux compétences et à une adoption sûre, et non le seul accès aux outils . Loretta Hieber Girardet a souligné que les pays ont besoin d’infrastructures numériques, de capacités institutionnelles, de compétences techniques, de cadres de gouvernance et de solutions pilotées localement pour utiliser l’IA de manière responsable et efficace . Plusieurs intervenants gouvernementaux ont fait écho à cette idée en affirmant que l’IA ne peut prospérer sans haut débit, électricité fiable, infrastructure de données et capacités humaines . - Le renforcement des capacités devrait aller au-delà de la culture de base en IA pour s’orienter vers la création locale, la mise en œuvre et le développement à long terme des écosystèmes. Shikoh Gitau a soutenu que le renforcement des capacités en IA doit aller au-delà de l’apprentissage de l’utilisation d’outils comme ChatGPT et, à la place, soutenir une « IA pour nous, par nous » grâce à l’investissement dans les compétences, les emplois, les normes, les systèmes ouverts et un financement durable . De nombreux intervenants ont réaffirmé que les pays en développement doivent devenir des co-créateurs plutôt que de simples consommateurs, en mettant l’accent sur l’expertise locale, les compétences du secteur public, la recherche et la préparation institutionnelle . Le panel ultérieur a également souligné que le renforcement des capacités doit être durable, fondé sur les écosystèmes et lié à de véritables opportunités plutôt qu’à des formations ponctuelles . - L’inclusion du contexte local, de la langue, de la culture et des communautés sous-représentées est essentielle pour une IA équitable. Plusieurs participants ont averti que les langues dominantes et les écosystèmes de données dominants excluent une grande partie du monde. Girmaw Abebe Tadesse a soutenu que « le contexte détermine le résultat » et qu’une IA finalisée et consciente des réalités locales doit s’ancrer dans la culture, la diversité et les réalités de communautés spécifiques . L’UNESCO a mis en avant la nécessité de remédier à l’exclusion linguistique et de soutenir les initiatives en faveur de la diversité linguistique . Valts Ernštreits a souligné qu’environ 6 000 communautés linguistiques ne disposent pas des bases nécessaires à une inclusion significative dans l’IA et a appelé à la participation des communautés, à une recherche dédiée et à une gouvernance des données qui protège ces groupes . D’autres interventions ont, de la même manière, appelé à une IA qui reflète les langues locales, les cultures et les savoirs autochtones . - La confiance, la sécurité, la supervision et les normes sont au cœur d’une adoption et d’une gouvernance équitables de l’IA. L’UNESCO a décrit son rôle d’établissement de normes à l’échelle mondiale et ses efforts pour passer de principes éthiques à leur mise en œuvre au moyen de formations, de cadres et de coopération internationale . Gilles Thonet a soutenu que les normes internationales constituent une « infrastructure invisible » reliant le droit, la gouvernance et la pratique technique, et que la participation à l’établissement des normes aide les pays en développement à devenir des co-créateurs . D’autres intervenants ont mis en avant la gouvernance responsable, les cadres juridiques, la supervision humaine et la confiance du public, y compris dans l’application de la loi et l’administration publique . Un message récurrent a été qu’une adoption de l’IA sans confiance, supervision et redevabilité risque d’entraîner dépendance, préjudices et perte d’autonomie . - La coopération internationale et le financement ont été jugés indispensables pour éviter un monde de l’IA à deux vitesses et soutenir une propriété partagée. Pedro Manuel Moreno a présenté la fracture de l’IA en termes d’investissement, notant que les dépenses d’infrastructure liées à l’IA sont immenses mais géographiquement concentrées, les pays plus pauvres n’en captant qu’une faible part . De nombreux intervenants ont appelé à un renforcement de la coopération internationale, au transfert de technologie, aux partenariats public-privé, à la coopération Sud-Sud et à un fonds mondial ou à d’autres mécanismes de financement pour aider les pays en développement à accéder à la capacité de calcul, aux infrastructures et aux opportunités d’innovation . D’autres ont plaidé pour des modèles ouverts, des infrastructures partagées et des mécanismes coopératifs qui préservent la souveraineté tout en réduisant la dépendance et en permettant une copropriété du développement de l’IA . Le ton général a été sérieux, collaboratif et tourné vers les solutions tout au long de l’échange. Il a commencé par un cadrage formel et stratégique de la question en tant que priorité majeure pour l’ONU et à l’échelle mondiale . Il est ensuite devenu plus urgent et concret à mesure que les intervenants décrivaient l’aggravation des inégalités en matière d’investissement, d’infrastructure, d’inclusion linguistique et de capacité de gouvernance . En même temps, la discussion est restée constructive et tournée vers l’avenir, avec de nombreux exemples d’initiatives nationales, de coopération multilatérale et de propositions concrètes en matière de financement, de normes, de formation et de développement d’écosystèmes . Vers la fin, le ton est devenu plus réfléchi et inclusif, mettant l’accent sur la sagesse humaine, les savoirs autochtones, l’autonomie d’action et la collaboration régionale comme principes directeurs pour la suite .

Intervenants

- Robert Opp - Chief Digital Officer and Director of the Digital AI and Innovation Team au Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD). - Loretta Hieber Girardet - Chief of Risk Knowledge au Bureau des Nations Unies pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe ; co-responsable et maîtresse de cérémonie du groupe thématique 2. - Samba Diouf - Ministre des Communications, des Télécommunications et du Numérique, République du Sénégal. - Jovan Kurbalija - Directeur exécutif de DiploFoundation et responsable de la Geneva Internet Platform (GIP). [S90][S91] - Khaled El-Enany - Directeur général de l’UNESCO. - Félix Ulloa - Vice-président de la République d’El Salvador. - Shikoh Gitau - Fondatrice et CEO de Qhala/Kala ; modératrice du premier panel. - Pedro Manuel Moreno - Secrétaire général par intérim de la CNUCED. - Kanono Ramashamole - Vice-ministre du Lesotho ; président du panel d’experts du Comité technique spécialisé de l’UA sur les communications et les TIC. - Girmaw Abebe Tadesse - Membre du Panel scientifique indépendant de l’ONU ; chercheur au Microsoft AI for Good Lab à Nairobi. - Gilles Thonet - Secrétaire général adjoint de la Commission électrotechnique internationale (IEC). - Arutyun Avetisyan - Directeur de l’Institut Ivannikov de programmation des systèmes, Académie des sciences de Russie. - Katharina Frey - Co-fondatrice et directrice exécutive de ICANN/ICAN (tel qu’indiqué dans la transcription) ; travaille sur une IA inclusive et durable pour le Sud global. - Mondli Gungubele - Vice-ministre de la Communication d’Afrique du Sud. - Huanzhang Fu - Représentant d’Interpol. - Niamh Smyth - Ministre d’État au Department of Enterprise, Irlande. - AHM Bazlur Rahman - Chief Executive Officer ; partie prenante du Bangladesh. Il est également identifié dans des sources externes comme participant bangladais à la politique numérique et au WSIS/IGF. [S110] - Yohei Onishi - Représentant du gouvernement du Japon. - Valts Ernštreits - Représentant du Forum permanent de l’ONU ; intervenant sur les communautés linguistiques autochtones et sous-dotées. - Amb. Vladimir Cuc - Ambassadeur et représentant permanent de la Moldavie auprès des Nations Unies. - Diera Gala Paksi - Chef de projet, programme AI Ready ASEAN. - Amb. Nahida Sobhan - Ambassadrice du Bangladesh. - The smart city - Representative - Représentant de Smart City ; est intervenu sur la formation à l’IA, l’absorption et les lacunes d’accès. - Whitney Baird - Hôte/modératrice de la session. - Crystal Rugege - Directrice générale, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Rwanda. - Sid Ali Zerrouki - Ministre de la Poste et des Télécommunications de l’Algérie. [S70] - Urvashi Aneja - Fondatrice et directrice de Digital Futures Lab. - Vukosi Marivate - Membre du Panel scientifique international indépendant sur l’IA ; professeur associé et expert en IA, Université de Pretoria ; dirigeant lié au Conseil consultatif d’experts en IA d’Afrique du Sud. [S51] - Alessandra Sala - Senior Director chez Shutterstock ; présidente mondiale de Women in AI. - Eugenio Vargas Garcia - Ambassadeur du Brésil pour la technologie et l’innovation ; diplomate brésilien et chercheur sur l’IA et la gouvernance mondiale. [S63] - Amb. Ram Prasad Subedi - Représentant permanent du Népal à Genève. - David Tshere - Ministre de la Communication et de l’Innovation du Botswana. - Sarah Maria - Représentante des Philippines. - Diego Rodrigo Beleván Tamayo - Représentant du Pérou. - Diego Belevan - Même intervenant mentionné sous une forme abrégée ; représentant du Pérou. - Carlos Mendoza Alvarado - Secrétaire à la planification et à la programmation de la présidence, Guatemala. - Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani - Sous-secrétaire, ministère des Transports, des Communications et des Technologies de l’information d’Oman. - Shaza Fatima Khawaja - Ministre des TIC, Pakistan. - Emma Theofelus - Ministre des TIC, Namibie. - Amb. Fu Cong - Représentant permanent de la Chine auprès des Nations Unies. - Darkhan Zhazykbayev - Président de l’Agence des affaires de la fonction publique du Kazakhstan. - Amb. Jessica Hunter - Ambassadrice de l’Australie auprès des Nations Unies. - Ahmed Hefnawi - Est intervenu au nom de Dr. Hoda Barka d’Égypte. - Amb. Tsegab Kebebew Daka - Représentant permanent de l’Éthiopie. - Interpreter - Interprète de conférence. Intervenants supplémentaires : - Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay - Nom officiel complet utilisé dans l’introduction pour Félix Ulloa ; vice-président d’El Salvador. - His Excellency Antonio Guterres - Secrétaire général des Nations Unies.

Intervenants
RO
Robert Opp
85 wpm · 9 min
LH
Loretta Hieber Girardet
167 wpm · 3 min
SD
Samba Diouf
98 wpm · 10 min
JK
Jovan Kurbalija
124 wpm · 12 min
PM
Pedro Manuel Moreno
131 wpm · 3 min
AB
AHM Bazlur Rahman
125 wpm · 2 min
SM
Sarah Maria
119 wpm · 3 min
AN
Amb. Nahida Sobhan
116 wpm · 3 min
SF
Shaza Fatima Khawaja
150 wpm · 3 min
AT
Amb. Tsegab Kebebew Daka
115 wpm · 3 min
KR
Kanono Ramashamole
99 wpm · 3 min
GT
Gilles Thonet
130 wpm · 4 min
SA
Sid Ali Zerrouki
120 wpm · 2 min
MG
Mondli Gungubele
127 wpm · 3 min
NS
Niamh Smyth
129 wpm · 3 min
AR
Amb. Ram Prasad Subedi
97 wpm · 3 min
CM
Carlos Mendoza Alvarado
92 wpm · 3 min
AB
Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani
124 wpm · 2 min
AJ
Amb. Jessica Hunter
138 wpm · 3 min
AH
Ahmed Hefnawi
111 wpm · 3 min
KE
Khaled El-Enany
161 wpm · 9 min
FU
Félix Ulloa
120 wpm · 12 min
SG
Shikoh Gitau
134 wpm · 10 min
DG
Diera Gala Paksi
131 wpm · 2 min
AS
Alessandra Sala
123 wpm · 4 min
AV
Amb. Vladimir Cuc
144 wpm · 5 min
TS
The smart city - Representative
132 wpm · 2 min
DB
Diego Belevan
118 wpm · 30 s
ET
Emma Theofelus
132 wpm · 2 min
GA
Girmaw Abebe Tadesse
135 wpm · 3 min
AA
Arutyun Avetisyan
156 wpm · 5 min
HF
Huanzhang Fu
146 wpm · 3 min
VE
Valts Ernštreits
137 wpm · 3 min
UA
Urvashi Aneja
183 wpm · 4 min
DR
Diego Rodrigo Beleván Tamayo
116 wpm · 2 min
KF
Katharina Frey
169 wpm · 3 min
DT
David Tshere
125 wpm · 1 min
EV
Eugenio Vargas Garcia
109 wpm · 6 min
VM
Vukosi Marivate
161 wpm · 5 min
AF
Amb. Fu Cong
118 wpm · 3 min
DZ
Darkhan Zhazykbayev
101 wpm · 3 min
WB
Whitney Baird
95 wpm · 2 min
I
Interpreter
185 wpm · 4 s
CR
Crystal Rugege
134 wpm · 7 min
YO
Yohei Onishi
120 wpm · 3 min

La session sur « combler les fractures de l’IA » s’est articulée autour d’une ouverture par Robert Opp et Loretta Hieber Girardet, de brèves réflexions des coprésidents Samba Diouf et Jovan Kurbalija, d’un entretien informel entre Khaled El-Enany et le vice-président Félix Ulloa, d’un premier panel modéré par Shikoh Gitau, d’une série d’interventions de la salle dominée par les gouvernements, d’un second panel modéré par Crystal Rugege, et de réflexions de clôture menées par Kurbalija et Diouf.

Dans l’ouverture, Opp a déclaré que la discussion devait se concentrer sur les raisons pour lesquelles les bénéfices de l’IA restent inégalement répartis et a explicitement distingué une fracture d’accès d’une fracture d’adoption, faisant valoir que l’IA atteint les pays par le biais des achats et des fournisseurs plus rapidement que les institutions ne peuvent suivre.Hieber Girardet a ajouté que l’IA transforme déjà l’évaluation des risques de catastrophe, les systèmes d’alerte précoce et l’investissement fondé sur les risques, mais que combler les fractures exige que les pays soient capables non seulement d’accéder aux outils, mais aussi de les développer, de les adapter, de les évaluer et de les gouverner au moyen d’institutions solides, de systèmes de données fiables et d’une prise de décision responsable.Les coprésidents ont ensuite élargi le cadrage. Diouf a soutenu que l’IA façonne déjà la vie des personnes et qu’elle devrait devenir un moteur de prospérité partagée plutôt qu’un facteur d’aggravation des inégalités entre développeurs et consommateurs.Kurbalija a déclaré que la fracture ne porte pas seulement sur les données ou la technologie, mais aussi sur le savoir, attirant l’attention sur les traditions littéraires, les savoirs oraux et l’Ubuntu comme faisant partie de l’héritage humain qui devrait éclairer le développement de l’IA.Ce thème est revenu à la fin de la session, lorsqu’il a de nouveau souligné la nécessité de préserver et de développer la sagesse humaine, y compris les savoirs autochtones et locaux, grâce aux technologies avancées.L’entretien informel a fourni un exemple national et institutionnel détaillé. El-Enany a présenté la Recommandation de l’UNESCO de 2021 sur l’éthique de l’IA comme un cadre mondial désormais en phase de mise en œuvre dans les États membres.Il a mis en avant des formations et des outils destinés à plus de 50 000 fonctionnaires et acteurs judiciaires dans 192 pays, un appui à des cadres de compétences en IA pour les enseignants et les étudiants, l’objectif de former plus d’un million d’enseignants d’ici à 2028 avec la Varkey Foundation, des travaux menés dans 40 pays sur l’éducation aux médias et à l’information, ainsi que des initiatives en faveur de la diversité linguistique telles qu’un dictionnaire d’IA anglais-kiswahili.Ulloa a décrit le programme plus large de transformation numérique d’El Salvador, notamment d’importantes dépenses dans l’éducation, le déploiement de Google Classroom, la distribution de plus de 1,2 million d’ordinateurs portables et de tablettes, l’accès gratuit aux outils xAI en tant que tuteurs personnalisés pour les élèves, et la plateforme de télémédecine « Dr. SV », qui, selon lui, a permis 1,6 million de consultations en six mois.Il a également présenté un cadre national de gouvernance de l’IA fondé sur une agence nationale de l’IA et quatre lois portant sur l’IA et la promotion de la technologie, la protection des données, la cybersécurité et la robotique, ainsi que sur des bacs à sable réglementaires, des laboratoires et des centres de formation.El-Enany a indiqué que l’UNESCO avait publié le rapport d’El Salvador sur la Readiness Assessment Methodology le 18 juin.Ulloa a déclaré que l’UNESCO avait attribué au pays « 100 sur 100 » dans l’évaluation RAM, tout en recensant des lacunes en matière de connectivité rurale et de participation des femmes, en particulier dans les zones montagneuses où la distribution d’appareils avait initialement devancé la connectivité.El-Enany a conclu cet échange en qualifiant la coopération internationale de « chaînon manquant » de la gouvernance de l’IA et du renforcement des capacités.Le premier panel s’est concentré sur le diagnostic de la fracture. Gitau a déclaré que, bien que près des trois quarts du monde soient désormais en ligne, l’Afrique se situant autour de 60 pour cent, d’importantes lacunes subsistent en matière de connectivité, de calcul, de données, de compétences, de financement et de capacité institutionnelle.Elle a structuré la discussion autour de l’idée que le renforcement des capacités devrait aller au-delà de l’apprentissage de l’utilisation d’outils tels que ChatGPT et soutenir plutôt une approche d’« IA pour nous, par nous », ancrée dans l’emploi, les normes, les systèmes ouverts, le financement, ainsi que la langue et la culture locales.Pedro Manuel Moreno s’est concentré sur la dimension investissement de la fracture de l’IA, appelant les participants à « suivre l’argent ».Il a décrit des investissements mondiaux extrêmement importants et en croissance rapide dans l’infrastructure de l’IA, mais a averti qu’ils sont très concentrés géographiquement et au niveau des entreprises, tandis que les pays plus pauvres ne reçoivent qu’une faible part de l’investissement stratégique.Il a soutenu que l’investissement dans l’IA se dirige vers les lieux capables d’offrir simultanément une alimentation électrique fiable, de l’eau, de la bande passante, des compétences et une gouvernance, et que si l’un de ces éléments manque, les capitaux se déplacent ailleurs.D’autres intervenants ont exposé le même point structurel à travers des exemples pratiques. Le vice-ministre du Lesotho a déclaré que les chiffres nominaux de couverture peuvent être trompeurs lorsque seule environ la moitié de la population a accès à internet et que certaines personnes doivent encore se déplacer simplement pour recharger un téléphone.Il a identifié l’électricité, les compétences numériques et les données fragmentées du secteur public comme des obstacles majeurs, et a soutenu que des cadres de données interopérables et fiables faciliteraient la circulation des solutions d’IA entre les marchés.Girmaw Abebe Tadesse a déclaré que « le contexte détermine le résultat » et a soutenu que l’impact de l’IA dépend de ceux qui y ont accès, de la manière dont elle s’insère dans les flux de travail institutionnels, et du fait qu’elle reflète ou non les réalités linguistiques et culturelles locales.Gilles Thonet a décrit les normes comme « l’infrastructure invisible » reliant le droit international, le droit national et la pratique technique, et a soutenu que la participation à l’élaboration des normes est en elle-même une forme de renforcement des capacités.Il a également rappelé à l’assemblée que cette infrastructure invisible dépend toujours de l’électricité et de la connectivité, déclarant clairement que « sans électricité fiable, il n’y a pas d’IA ».Arutyun Avetisyan a mis l’accent sur la confiance, les modèles ouverts, un travail commun sur la sécurité et les systèmes d’étiquetage, tout en préservant un espace pour les spécificités culturelles nationales.Katharina Frey a souligné des dispositifs pratiques de mise en réseau reliant la demande de calcul, les jeux de données de qualité et l’expertise à des partenaires universitaires, y compris des collaborations impliquant la prévision météorologique africaine et des ressources suisses de supercalcul.Après le premier panel, Diouf et Kurbalija ont modéré une série d’interventions de la salle largement menée par les gouvernements ; plusieurs participants inscrits étaient absents, et Kurbalija a relevé la faible participation des autres groupes de parties prenantes.

Dans l’ensemble de ces interventions, les orateurs ont décrit à plusieurs reprises la fracture de l’IA comme multidimensionnelle : non seulement un écart en matière d’outils, mais aussi d’infrastructure, d’électricité, de calcul, de données, de préparation institutionnelle, de capacités du secteur public, d’inclusion linguistique, de financement et de pouvoir de façonner les normes et les règles.

L’Afrique du Sud a identifié l’infrastructure numérique, le développement des capacités humaines et l’accès aux données et au calcul comme des priorités essentielles.L’Irlande a déclaré que l’IA open-source et à poids ouverts peut élargir l’accès et soutenir la souveraineté, mais seulement si elle s’accompagne d’une gouvernance inclusive et fondée sur les risques.AHM Bazlur Rahman, s’exprimant au nom du Bangladesh, a soutenu que lorsque l’IA arrive avant les compétences, les garanties et les institutions de confiance, la fracture numérique devient une fracture de l’IA, et que l’écart est aussi institutionnel, linguistique, financier et relève d’une question de pouvoir.La langue et les communautés sous-représentées ont constitué un fil conducteur majeur. Valts Ernštreits a cité des résultats indiquant qu’environ 1 000 seulement des 7 000 langues du monde disposent des bases nécessaires à une inclusion significative dans l’IA, laissant quelque 6 000 communautés linguistiques sans ces fondements.Il a soutenu que ces communautés ont besoin d’une participation directe à la conception et à la gouvernance de l’IA, de recherches et de ressources dédiées, ainsi que d’une gouvernance des données non extractive.Diera Gala Paksi a déclaré que la « préparation humaine » doit inclure les éducateurs, les étudiants, les décideurs politiques et les communautés, et pas seulement l’infrastructure technique.Nahida Sobhan, également du Bangladesh, a proposé un fonds mondial pour l’IA, un accès concessionnel pour les PMA, des modèles open-source légers entraînés dans des contextes du Sud global, des pôles locaux d’innovation et une représentation significative des PMA dans la gouvernance.Un représentant de Smart City aux Philippines a déclaré que l’organisation avait formé plus de 400 000 Philippins dans plus de 60 unités de gouvernement local, mais a soutenu que les fractures de l’IA ne sont pas seulement « un problème de formation avec une solution de formation » ; elles concernent aussi l’absorption par le marché du travail, les systèmes de passation des marchés, l’accès au calcul et aux données, ainsi que la participation à l’élaboration des normes.Le second panel s’est orienté plus explicitement vers les solutions.Sid Ali Zerrouki a soutenu que, pour les pays en développement, le défi central n’est pas simplement d’utiliser des applications d’IA, mais de développer une « capacité de souveraineté » afin qu’ils puissent façonner les normes, évaluer les risques et protéger les citoyens, au lieu de devenir dépendants de systèmes qu’ils ne peuvent pas gouverner.Urvashi Aneja s’est concentrée sur ce qu’elle a appelé le « déficit de supervision », soutenant que les États et les acteurs du développement sous-investissent dans l’évaluation, les normes d’achat, le signalement des incidents, le suivi continu et les institutions nécessaires pour rendre la supervision effective.Elle a proposé de financer les organisations locales de recherche, les groupes de civic-tech et les organismes professionnels, ainsi qu’une infrastructure locale ouverte d’évaluation permettant aux communautés de façonner l’IA selon leurs propres valeurs et objectifs.Pendant ce panel, Rugege a brièvement marqué une pause pour souhaiter la bienvenue au Secrétaire général de l’ONU António Guterres, dont la présence a ensuite été de nouveau saluée par Zerrouki.

D’autres panélistes ont élargi le programme de solutions. Vukosi Marivate a mis en avant des communautés africaines d’IA à la base, telles que Data Science Africa et Deep Learning Indaba, en disant qu’elles ont réalisé une grande part du « travail le plus lourd » du renforcement des capacités locales depuis 2015.Il a exhorté les gouvernements à travailler directement avec ces écosystèmes, à passer de la « fuite des cerveaux à la circulation des cerveaux », et à créer des conditions propices au travail approfondi et à la R&D locale afin que les pays ne restent pas seulement des consommateurs.Alessandra Sala a soutenu que la culture de l’IA devrait être liée à la refonte du travail, à la création de valeur et au passage des travailleurs de rôles réactifs à des rôles proactifs, tout en soutenant également la participation des femmes aux compétences et à la prise de décision en matière d’IA.L’ambassadeur du Brésil, Eugenio Vargas Garcia, a déclaré que la souveraineté numérique ne devrait pas signifier l’isolement, mais plutôt la réduction de la dépendance structurelle grâce à des partenariats diversifiés, à un renforcement sélectif des capacités nationales et à une participation accrue du Sud global aux discussions internationales.Rugege a conclu ce segment en déclarant que « la capacité d’agir est la nouvelle capacité », entendant par là non seulement l’aptitude à utiliser l’IA, mais aussi une capacité d’action locale durable permettant de la façonner par l’intermédiaire des gouvernements, des communautés de base et d’écosystèmes plus larges.La dernière série d’interventions de la salle a apporté d’autres exemples nationaux et des propositions politiques concrètes. Le Népal a décrit les défis cumulés auxquels fait face un pays montagneux et enclavé comportant des zones reculées, des contraintes d’accessibilité financière et un accès limité aux données et au calcul, et a soutenu le Fonds mondial sur l’IA proposé par le Secrétaire général.Le Botswana a déclaré qu’il ne fallait pas simplement dire aux pays en développement de nouer des partenariats et de « se débrouiller », mais qu’ils devraient être soutenus par un fonds mondial spécifique pour l’IA.Les Philippines ont décrit la fracture comme le reflet de conditions de départ inégales en matière de connectivité, de calcul, de données de qualité, d’expertise, de systèmes de recherche, de financement et de préparation institutionnelle, tout en soulignant l’inclusion des femmes, des jeunes, des personnes handicapées, des peuples autochtones et des communautés rurales.Le Pérou a déclaré que les modèles ouverts ne peuvent aider que si la capacité institutionnelle nationale existe pour les utiliser.Oman a identifié les talents, l’infrastructure de l’IA et la coopération comme trois fondements pour combler la fracture et a décrit une stratégie de « triangle numérique » construite autour de pôles numériques verts et de grappes de calcul à haute performance.Le Pakistan a soutenu que l’asymétrie fondamentale réside dans la capacité à façonner les règles, les normes et l’infrastructure fondamentale, mettant en garde contre « deux écosystèmes parallèles de l’IA » à moins que les économies émergentes ne soient incluses dans la conception des jeux de données, des référentiels, des régimes de sécurité et des capacités fondamentales ouvertes.Plusieurs interventions ont également mis en lumière des initiatives concrètes du secteur public et de la coopération internationale. La Namibie a souligné les besoins urgents de financement pour l’infrastructure numérique et a appelé à une responsabilisation concernant la violence fondée sur le genre facilitée par la technologie, ainsi qu’à un accès plus large aux normes ouvertes et aux modèles légers.La Chine a mis l’accent sur la souveraineté numérique comme droit des pays de choisir leurs propres trajectoires en matière d’IA sans coercition, a évoqué son Initiative mondiale de gouvernance de l’IA, son AI Capacity Building Action Plan for Good and for All, son soutien à une résolution de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies sur le renforcement des capacités en IA, ainsi que la prochaine World AI Conference à Shanghai.Le Kazakhstan a déclaré que la confiance dans l’IA commence par la confiance dans le gouvernement et a décrit l’écosystème numérique de RH eQyzmet, couvrant 80 000 fonctionnaires, plus de 400 processus RH et plus de 100 systèmes intégrés, ainsi que des plans pour une planification prédictive appuyée par l’IA et des audits des fonctions gouvernementales selon les principes de transparence, de supervision humaine et de responsabilité.L’Australie a souligné que le renforcement des capacités pour une IA de confiance requiert des infrastructures, des compétences et une gouvernance, y compris un soutien adapté aux partenaires du Pacifique et de l’Asie du Sud-Est.L’Égypte a averti qu’une formation sans débouchés vers le revenu et le déploiement n’est pas une véritable capacité, et a déclaré que les systèmes ouverts n’égaliseront les chances que s’ils sont associés à des garanties et à une gouvernance locale ; elle a cité le modèle arabe Karnak en open source de l’Égypte et ses lignes directrices nationales pour une IA digne de confiance.L’Éthiopie a mentionné l’Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, l’initiative 5 Million Ethiopian Coders, des projets d’université de l’IA et le système national d’identité numérique FIDA dans le cadre de sa stratégie d’infrastructure publique numérique.Interpol a ajouté une perspective de maintien de l’ordre, en mettant l’accent sur la culture de l’IA, une boîte à outils révisée sur l’innovation responsable en matière d’IA dans le maintien de l’ordre, ainsi que sur le programme d’apprentissage en ligne TRAIL et l’offre de formation régionale.En clôture, Kurbalija est revenu sur l’argument selon lequel l’IA devrait servir à la préservation et au développement du savoir et de la sagesse humains à travers les civilisations, y compris les traditions autochtones et locales.Diouf a conclu que les petits pays ne peuvent pas chacun construire leurs propres systèmes d’IA et devraient donc coopérer au niveau régional, en particulier sur la gouvernance des données, tout en mettant l’accent sur le perfectionnement des compétences de leurs populations.Tout au long de la session, les intervenants ont convergé vers l’idée que la fracture de l’IA est multidimensionnelle, englobant l’infrastructure, le calcul, l’énergie, les données, le financement, les compétences, la capacité institutionnelle, la langue, la supervision et le pouvoir de façonner les règles.

Ils ont appelé à des fondations numériques plus solides, à un renforcement des capacités plus large et plus concret, à l’inclusion des langues et des communautés locales, à une coopération internationale plus efficace et, dans plusieurs cas, à un fonds mondial dédié à l’IA.

Le message d’ensemble était que l’objectif ne devrait pas se limiter à l’accès ou à la formation, mais viser une capacité durable et un véritable pouvoir d’agir afin qu’un plus grand nombre de pays et de communautés puissent contribuer à façonner l’IA dans des conditions plus équitables.

Robert Opp
Can I ask you to take your seats, please, those who are standing? Good afternoon, everyone, excellencies, distinguished co -chairs, distinguished guests, and colleagues. Good afternoon and welcome to this thematic breakout cluster focused on bridging AI divides. My name is Robert Opp. I'm the chief digital officer and the director of the digital AI and innovation team at the United Nations Development Program. It is a pleasure to be one of your emcees for this afternoon, together with my colleague Loretta Hibert -Girardet from UN Disaster Risk Reduction. I'm very pleased to be here today, especially in this session that is focused on an issue that is top priority for UNDP. 2026 is truly turning into a turning point for how the world responds to AI. This session is about bridging the AI divide, and there are likely many AI divides. We in particular see a divide around access, which is affordable and available access to compute power, capacity and skills, other things. And we see a divide around adoption as well, which is where AI is already entering countries through procurement systems, through other vendors, and outstripping and outpacing the ability of institutions to keep pace. And therefore, the divide around adoption is how we ensure that AI is safely and inclusively adopted at a country level. So in our work with more than 170 countries, UNDP sees that AI is evolving from a technology conversation. to an implementation and systems challenge, underscoring the importance of capacity building and good digital foundations. Before we move forward with an amazing lineup of intervenants and distinguished guests, I want to turn to my colleague Loretta for her opening remarks. Thank you very much.
Loretta Hieber Girardet
Excellencies, distinguished co -chairs, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. So as mentioned, my name is Loretta Heber -Geraday. I'm the chief of risk knowledge at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Together with my colleague, Robert Off, we are very pleased to support this session as the UN Interagency Working Group on AI co -leads and emcees for Thematic Cluster 2. Bridging AI divides is more than simply expanding access to AI. It is about strengthening the conditions that enable us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. It is about enabling us to be able to do what we want to do. and stakeholders not only to use AI, but also to develop, adapt, evaluate, and govern the technology in ways that respond to their own needs and realities. From a disaster risk reduction perspective, AI is already beginning to transform how we understand, anticipate, and reduce disaster risks, from risk assessment and early warning systems to risk -informed investments and actions with direct implications for public safety and the protection of critical infrastructure and services. Now, this creates an important opportunity to accelerate progress, but it also reinforces the need for sustained capacity strengthening and technology transfer, particularly in developing countries. AI cannot substitute for strong institutions, trusted institutions, data systems, local expertise, community engagement. or accountable decision -making, nor should countries become dependent on technologies that cannot be interrogated, adapted, or governed. The priority, therefore, is not simply to deploy AI tools, but to ensure that countries have the digital infrastructure, institutional capacity, technical skills, and governance frameworks, as well as locally -led solutions needed to use AI responsibly, safely, and effectively. So, today's discussion is, therefore, both timely and necessary. The task before us is to identify what it will take to build the foundations needed for inclusive AI development, deployment, and governance across different contexts. So, I look very forward to the conversations ahead and to hearing the priorities and solutions that emerge from these exchanges. And with this, I hand back over to Robert.
Robert Opp
Thank you very much, Loretta. It is now my pleasure to invite to the podium here with us His Excellency Samba Diouf, who is the Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Digital, Republic of Senegal, and Mr. Jovan Kurbalija, who is the Executive Director of Diplo Foundation. Minister, you have the floor when ready. Thank you.
Samba Diouf
Thank you very much. Good morning, everybody. I'm very happy to be here. I'm very honored. And it's a great honor for me to be here discussing about our exciting topics. AI today is shaping our lives. AI is shaping and driving our destiny. So we should be aligned on this. And it's a great honor for me to co -chair this session alongside with Mr. Yawal, Executive Director of Diplo Foundation, on these exciting topics, bridging the AI divide through capacity building, equitability access, and strong digital foundation. AI offers a lot of opportunities. And those opportunities can only be fully realized if they are unified access. Today, disparities in connectivity are very broad. People who develop AI do not align with the consumer. Our collective responsibility is to ensure that the transformative technology becomes a driver of shared prosperity rather than a source of deeper inequality. We must create the conditions that enable every country, particularly the developing countries, to build its own capability, adapt AI to its national priorities. In Senegal, this vision is rather hard of our New Deal technology, which is based on the big pillar of digital skills, AI, digital infrastructure, public platform, and so on. And innovation. Our country can meet a lot of challenges. We must strengthen our collective effort and so that the benefit will be for all of us. I hope today's session will help identify practical solutions for stronger partnership and generate ambition recommendations for more inclusive equitability and development -oriented or global AI. I thank you very much for your attendance and thank you very much for your time. Thank you.
Robert Opp
Thank you very much, Minister. Mr. Kurbalija.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I'm really honored today to chair today's session with Minister Diouf, Samba. When I was preparing for the session, I thought that we are lucky because we have to deal with a topic which is a concern of many. Education, writing essays, plagiarism, divides, cognitive and all sorts of divides. Therefore, our discussion is, if you walk outside the Pal Expo, is a concern of people's people in Pal Expo, people in Senegal, people in Japan, Balkans, everywhere. now what is the underlying in this two minutes intro which I'm asked to make what is the underlying point AI is about knowledge and I'm insisting not data, knowledge AI is created of knowledge of all people who live before us from Shakespeare, Dostoevsky to Goethe, to great Ubuntu tradition of Africa, oral tradition therefore this is the first aspect of knowledge, second aspect of knowledge is that we are generating knowledge today 500 of us in this room will generate some knowledge insights, reflections, ideas and this is excitement of both this point and topic that we cover let us finish today's session with new insights new ideas, new knowledge created for many people, communities, citizens and countries that are waiting for answers from education to divides, cognitive knowledge and other divides. Therefore, topic is important. It is a great moment in time. It is a great group of people and let us use it to the maximum to generate something new, not by AI, by human wisdom, creativity and empathy, I would say. Thank you.
Robert Opp
Thank you, Mr. Kurbalija. Okay, now I'm very pleased to introduce the next segment, which is a fireside chat with two incredibly distinguished guests. There's also a little bit of choreography involved. I'm going to introduce our fireside chatters and then the four of us are going to move off of this podium and we will invite our extremely distinguished guests to come to the stage. So with that, I am very pleased to introduce that we have for our fireside chat today a very special guest, His Excellency Felix Augusto Antonio Ulloa, Vice President of the Republic of El Salvador. And His Excellency. Sorry, you let me let me do your name again, Your Excellency. I apologize because I missed one of the names. Forgive me. His Excellency Felix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay, who is the Vice President of El Salvador. And His Excellency Dr. Khaled El -Enany, who is the Director General of UNESCO. So with that, let's welcome them as we move off and they come up. Thank you.
Khaled El-Enany
Thank you. Your Excellencies, Mr. Vice President, Your Excellencies, it gives me a great pleasure to be with you today and to meet again. I had the pleasure of welcoming you in Paris last February, and we had a very fruitful meeting once again this morning. I'm the new Director General of UNESCO, and I can tell you that more than 70 % of my invitation that I'm receiving in any panel, it's on AI. UNESCO is very well known for culture, for heritage, for some ideas. It's an aspect of the education. But the positive surprise when I joined UNESCO last November that I had nine assistant director general. Four of them are dedicated to science, natural science, social and human science, ocean theoretical physics. So science is very much present at UNESCO. We look to science from the lens of the human rights, that every people, every community had the right to participate, to get benefits and to share, including AI, of course. Having in mind to respect the human dignity, contributing to peace and sustainable development. Our objective is to make AI ethical, inclusive and safe. To do this, we cannot without UNESCO. We cannot without bridging the challenge, bridging the gap. And the gaps are many, including connectivity, infrastructure, skills and legal frameworks. If you allow me, Your Excellency, I'll be sharing with you in a few minutes what UNESCO is doing now with AI. First, you are a global standard setter. Our 194 member states adopted in 2021 the first worldwide recommendation on ethics of AI. And now it's our turn to turn from principles to implementation. We are working with the government, with the private sector, with the civil society to implement. And we are coming back to your very successful experience in your country. Capacity building, which is a very important topic that we cover. During the last few years, we organized more than training programs and tools for more than 50 ,000 civil servants and judicial actors all over the world in 192 countries. Inclusion and equality are very important for us. Everyone should benefit from AI. Particularly. Women, youth, Africa, and small island developing states. Now with my colleagues in the communication information sector, we are thinking launching soon a new instrument, normative instrument on youth in the era of AI. How we can use in the very positive way the social media, this online gaming and AI with our teenagers and youth. And by the way, recently, a couple of weeks ago, we published a very small booklet at UNESCO with our friends in France. It's a guide for parents, how to accompany the teenagers and the youth on social media and in the AI era. UNESCO also has a very, very big network across the globe, about more than 1 ,140 UNESCO chairs, 142 category 2 centers, experts. Academia, civil society, and a big number of private sector partners. Through the SPAR -KI alliance, we connect 53 schools of public administration and partner institutions in 116 countries And we are very happy to serve with ITU as secretariat for this very important dialogue that we launched today Education for us is the cornerstone And today I'm coming from Paris with a delegation from UNESCO From the education sector, the basic science, the social and human science, communication information Because as I said in the beginning, AI is everywhere in our daily life today Even when you speak about the future of education, it's in AI Culture, it's AI and culture So education is the cornerstone We believe that every country has the right to have well -prepared teachers, curricula, institutions and skills Our focus... Our focus is on STEM And we opened... We launched two months ago in Shanghai, China Our iSTEM, it's the International Institute for STEM Education With the priority on women and Global South Our first priority are teachers In 2030, the world will need 44 million teachers So we hope that AI can complement the work of teachers Not replace the teacher We developed AI competency frameworks from teachers and students Already used in more than 60 countries And now we are moving from guidance to scale With the Varkey Foundation We will train more than 1 million teachers by 2028 Another priority for UNESCO is AI and digital literacy We are supporting 40 countries integrating media and information literacy in their curricula We work also with the content creator To promote ethical use of AI and STEM critical thinking online Today it was mentioned the culture The cultural The language The language The language The language The language The language The language The language So this is a priority for UNESCO because only very few dominant languages dominate the cultural reference, excluding many communities. And we promote many projects, including initiatives such as the English Kiswahili AI Dictionary. And tomorrow we are celebrating at UNESCO the Kiswahili Language Day. Turning to you now, Your Excellency, Mr. Vice President, can you share with us some of the flagship AI initiatives in your country that are delivering tangible benefits for your citizens and that may serve as an inspiration for others around the world? I know that you had created an agency, you have your legal new law, and recently RAM report, but maybe I keep RAM for another part of the
Félix Ulloa
Thank you, Doctor. Sorry about that. We used to speak in French. But if you allow me on this occasion, I'll speak in Spanish. My pleasure. Because you don't have a phone for the translation. I'm sorry but with Mr. Director General I'm used to speaking in French and he surprised me because he spoke in English but I will be speaking in Spanish the simplest would be if you speak in Arabic Arabic and Spanish are two official languages of the United Nations so no problem there thank you very much to go on to the topic that the Director General of UNESCO raised I'd like to start by saying that under this government of President Bukele for the first time in the history of El Salvador we are investing some 5 % of GDP in education it's our largest budget item in the national budget and and And this support to education led us to reflect on the use of AI in our country's transformation. This was a commitment of President Bukele to enter into this revolution, as he called it in his first statement at the United Nations in New York in 2019, in which El Salvador was going to opt for integrating itself into the digital era, and AI was one of the most important vehicles to be used for that. So we started by signing an agreement with Google Cloud to be able to use Google Classroom, which is part of the Google Marketplace. Google Marketplace Plus. In order to educate all students in the public education system in El Salvador. And in order to do that... we distributed over 1 .2 million electronic devices, laptops and tablets, to students throughout El Salvador. Students and teachers are using Google Classroom on a daily basis in our country's classrooms. And then last year, in an agreement with Elon Musk, President Bukele managed to agree the free provision of the use of X, AI. This platform that pertains to Elon Musk, we were able to use this platform for free for personalization for each student. There is an AI tutor for each student within the public education system from El Salvador. This is positioning us as a country that is preparing its human talent so that new generations can be competitive in this modern world. in this contemporary world and in this world in its digital age. The use of AI, therefore, in education in El Salvador is a daily practice. But this is also true in health. In November last year, President Bukele announced the program Dr. SV. It's a telemedicine program by which all of the citizens of El Salvador will have access to a doctor 24 hours a day through this system. Through their telephone, from their laptop, they can consult with a doctor immediately at any time of day without having to go to a hospital. We have had 1 .6 million consultations in this first six months. We are, therefore... expanding out hospitals we would have needed thousands of doctors and hundreds of hospitals to reach that many people but we have been able to do that through an ai platform recently in a press conference just a month a couple of months ago the president also announced that we are now going to enter into a new phase in health care in el salvador treating more complex diseases such as diabetes and other illnesses allowing patients to consult with doctors doctors issuing prescriptions they can then go to pharmacies and network of pharmacies in the system in the system delivering that medicine for free and if laboratory tests are needed these are also done for free at that stage the doctor then reviews and refers to a specialist or not this is AI applied to help the health of citizens of El Salvador is guaranteed by AI which is then saving lives and we can say that making use of AI therefore is leading us to save a lot of lives of El Salvadorans as well as educating the new generation and preparing them for the new era but we cannot implement this public policy in a disparate way and so we established the National AI Agency there is a whole normative ecosystem in El Salvador based on our constitution and a normative corpus which consists of four laws the AI and Technology Promotion Act which established the National Artificial Intelligence Agency the Data Protection Act the Cyber Security Act and the Act Promoting Robotics Technologies. These are four laws that drew from our founding principles, which inspired the Republic, and this inspires our implementation of AI in our country. Responsible innovation, competitiveness, transparency, human oversight, non -exclusion, participation of the private sector. These are some of our founding principles on which we have built our AI policy, with a series of instruments from AI laboratories, training centres, academia, universities, sandboxes, through to a series of instruments applied across our institutions that are leading the way. Thank you. and this has an impact on the whole institutional framework, Ministry of Health, of Education, of Agriculture because we are using this in agriculture. Justice also. I was speaking today with the doctor about this possibility to start a school for training of judges because justice and the justice system are also moving toward the application of AI for extra certainty and security in hearings. The public prosecutor all of the institutions in our government that are making use of AI now. So this is why I wanted to share our current status and how far we have managed to go with AI in El Salvador to date. I could continue to speak about other areas in which the digital economy using AI . El Salvador since 2021 has been positioning itself as the first country of the world to adopt a digital currency, Bitcoin, as legal tender. We are one of the first countries in the world that has an agency which certifies and authorizes enterprises working with digital assets. 113 enterprises throughout the world have established themselves in our country, but that will be a topic for another discussion going away from it. Thank you.
Khaled El-Enany
Now, Vice President, I can only echo my congratulations to you, to your society, to the administration of your government for this transformation, this digital transformation of the country. AI, which is genuinely serving the people, this is an incarnation of exactly how AI can serve local populations. And I know that my colleagues with your teams have worked hand -in -hand closely over the last few months in order to launch the RAM report. This is a report which is a two -step report. It has to do with the local authorities to assess to what extent they're ready for the rollout, the implementation of ethical principles on AI, on infrastructure competencies, law enforcement. And I know that the state of the art is committed to making sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make sure that we're doing what we can to make and also identifying the priorities for the country and how they they can move forward. And at this time, there are some 80 different countries throughout the world who are working with UNESCO. Either they've either finished the process or they're in the process, they're finishing it. And so I think on the 18th of June, last, your country published this report, the RAM report. Could you please share with us your experience and if there are any lessons to be learned for the future? Go ahead, sir.
Félix Ulloa
With pleasure. For those who don't know the RAM concept, RAM stands for Readiness Assessment Methodology. That means that this is a methodology to assess the situation. And UNESCO, together with other partners, assess the status of readiness. I'd like to thank UNESCO, first of all, for having given us a perfect score, 100 out of 100. how far we have come in this area in El Salvador. But all the more important are the recommendations that the RAM report puts to the country. And I should highlight that one of the sub-indicators in legislation is where we stand out in score compared to other countries in the region. And some of the giants... in the industry such as Google have decided to set up a hub in El Salvador, in this area, in recognition of that. But there are also weaknesses. With every strength comes weaknesses, and these have also been flagged up by the RAM report. One is the gap between the use of these tools in rural and in urban areas. And we really do have to ramp up work in rural areas. We saw this when we started to roll out Google Classroom in schools. El Salvador is a small country in terms of land mass, but there are mountainous areas where connectivity is low. And we were seeing with students, we'd give a laptop and they'd start to play games because they couldn't connect. They started to play solitaire. So we've tried to find solutions to this. and one was white space a kind of router that the local governments the town halls were contracting in order to provide coverage in a limited area this was a limited solution then we saw President Bukele and Elon Musk discuss and establish Starlink and this has allowed us to connect across the country and so we were able to take advantage of that in order to bridge that gap to close that gap that RAM flagged up as an issue also women's empowerment and ensuring increased participation of women and all the more emphasis on rural women youth as well we spoke with the doctor in a bilateral meeting how our government could use all necessary tools expertise everything available academically that UNESCO has in order to address these gaps. The gap that exists in some of our country's sectors. Although we have been making great efforts to fill those gaps, we still have a lot to learn. And one of the fundamental principles that our country is working with is emphasis on international cooperation. And here we listen to UNESCO, we will take that to our President and we will see what is available to close those gaps that have been flagged up by UNESCO's RAM report. Thank you.
Khaled El-Enany
Thank you very much, Vice President. It's actually that last point which is very important. International cooperation, as you said, because the opportunities provided by AI that we all know with the challenges that come with it, I think that it outbases any institution, any single government. No one alone would be able to overcome these difficulties, these challenges of AI. I think that international cooperation is therefore essential. It's the missing link. And for us in the UN family, we have a major responsibility working between agencies, and we have this beautiful testimony of it through the dialogue. We're going to continue in our UN family to do that through the specialized agencies, through the different country offices of the UN in order to work closely with governments, with civil society, with the private sector, with scientists from around the world to make sure that we have AI, which is fundamental. For people, all people with no exception. I thank you very much, Vice President, Your Excellency. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I wish you an excellent working session. Thank you.
Robert Opp
okay well that was fascinating I want to thank very much our distinguished representatives for the fireside chat His Excellency the Vice President and the Director General I thought that the insights around what is going on nationally in El Salvador was particularly valuable and of course it is a pleasure of the UN to work with many partner countries around the world on these kinds of issues I want to transition us now into the next couple of segments for the discussion this afternoon it's going to be a series of two moderated panels and we'll do one and then we'll ask the co -chairs to come up and moderate a bit of discussion and then we'll do the second panel and then the same moderation. For the first panel, it's really a pleasure to invite my friend Shiko Gital. There she goes, Shiko Gital, who's the founder and CEO of Kala, to introduce and moderate the first panel. Shiko, over to you.
Shikoh Gitau
Good afternoon. Hi. Good afternoon. Some energy. It's the first day of the conference. Good afternoon, everyone. Again, good afternoon. Yes, some energy. It's my pleasure to be here. This is my first AI4D for good. And, of course, the first global dialogue. I'm really excited about this because we've been having this discussion for a long time. For a long, long time. it's time that the world comes together and speaks. For this session, I just want to give a bit of opening. Actual intelligence is reshaping economies, public service, and societies. But its opportunities and risks are not shared equally. Nearly three quarters, put a mark on that, of the world is now online. Yes, even Africa, we are at 60%. Yet, deep divides remain. Connectivity, compute, high -quality data, skills, financing, and institutional capacity. This gap shifts who gets to participate in and benefit from and help govern AI. And the prior side chart actually showed a bit of that. Our session tackles one of the most consequential questions in the global AI governance. How do we ensure AI transforms? potential reach and transformative potential reaches all countries and communities. And I'll double down on communities because Africa is a communal -led economy. Capacity building must move from beyond narrow. And I always tell people, if you've heard me speak, capacity building in AI should not just be just about how to use AI and chart GPT. It needs to be tailored towards a coordinated approach towards building and creating AI for us, by us. It means investments in skills, jobs, standards, open system, and sustainable financing, where a South -South cooperation and linguist, all our 2 ,000 languages in Africa and 7 ,000 languages worldwide, actually. Included. But beyond language, it's our culture and our context must be included. And the word is must. We have 25 minutes, and we hope to be able to tackle some of this. I have an amazing panel. I was looking for them before this session started because I needed to see all their faces. I'll start with Pedro. Pedro is the Acting Secretary General for UNCTAD. He leads the U .S. Voice on Trade, Technology, and the Digital Economy for Developing Countries. I did see Pedro. Okay. Yeah, he was. Next up is Girmaw. He's a member of the UN Independent Scientific Panel. He's also a researcher at one of my favorite labs, the Microsoft AI for Good Lab in Nairobi, emphasized on Nairobi, and researches on advancing locally relevant and data -driven solutions across Africa. The next few names. I'm going to butcher because I'm from Kenya, and my language. is quite hard. Gilles Thonet. He's the Deputy Secretary General for International Electronical Commissions. He shapes the global technical standards underpinning trustworthy digital systems. Welcome. The next, this one is proper butchering, Arutyun Avetisyan. He's the Director of Ivanovkov Institute for Systems. He'll tell us how it's named, his name and everything. And program from the Russian Academy of Sciences. They build open source and full lifecycle infrastructure for trustworthy AI. I saw some of his work. Quite impressive. Then there's Katharina Frey. She's the co -founder and Executive Director of ICANN. They lead a global initiative funding inclusive, sustainable AI. For the global south. and as I can see there's something missing in my panel there's no government representation and I took matters on my hand and invited a government person I want to invite Kanono Ramashamole, he's the deputy minister from Lesotho but while he's in the panel because there are many ministers from Africa on this session, thank you so much for coming he's the chair of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Communications and ICT the experts panel I've worked with him very closely on many issues and he's very good at representing Africa welcome everyone and I will take the liberty of sitting because this is going to be a great conversation so as I mentioned this is the scene setting session we want to be able to talk about capacity building beyond learning chat GPT. Pedro, you sat us off. We talk a lot about AI divide. From UNCTAD's perspective, what does that divide actually mean? Define for us divide. And is it widening or narrowing? And how do we close it is the most important question.
Pedro Manuel Moreno
Thank you, Chico. Vice President, it's a pleasure to participate. It's a pleasure to participate. Again, it's a privilege to address this global dialogue and let me go straight to the point. I will try to go very briefly. They divide from the investment perspective and from the cooperation perspective. On the investment perspective, I mean, to understand the AI divide, follow the money. We are living through what may become the biggest capital expenditure boom in modern history. Let me give you some figures on this. The world will spend close to $800 billion on AI infrastructure this year alone. Cumulative spending will approach $8 trillion by the end of the decade. Memory chips are sold out through 2027. Companies are installing their own gas turbines at their data centers to power their own electricity. And strategic sectors like AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, clean energy, now take half of all new investment in the world. Just to give you a reference, five years ago they took 20%. Now it's a half of all new investment in the world. But the geography of this boom is, as you can imagine, and that's why we are talking about divide, is narrow. Two economies host the majority of AI. And semiconductor investments, just 100 companies account for 40%. of global corporate research and development. And of course, least developed and lower middle -income countries have captured only 10 % of strategic sector investments, half the share they capture in other industries. So you can see the barriers compound each other. A data center needs reliable power, water for cooling, high bandwidth connectivity, technical skills, skills and predictable data governance, all at once in the same place. Miss once, miss one of those, and the investment goes elsewhere else. So this investment divergence is upstream from all the AI divides, and in a capex boom this large, it can have huge effects down the line. This is money I will maybe cover if we have time later, the cooperation aspects, where it's not a question of money, it's a question of money. It's a question of time. Okay.
Shikoh Gitau
And from what I'm hearing from you, like, follow the money, there is no money in parts of the world to be able to invest in this AI, which is pretty sad. So, Kanono, you are the chair of the experts group for the AU. From a national and a regional perspective, what conscience lets developing countries participate as AI consumers and co -creators? I need you to cover both. We are consuming right now, but we want to be co -creators. Every session I've gone today, whether it's an African minister speaking and a developing South -South minister speaking, they all want to be co -creators. But given what Pedro has painted, that looks like a very sad state of affair. How do we get there?
Kanono Ramashamole
Thank you, Chigou. Excellencies, colleagues. For us, as a nation, we now understand that we have to meet some basic conditions like affordable connectivity. What we have learned in the past is that connectivity alone is not enough. In Lesotho, we have 100 % connectivity, but only 50 % of the people have access to Internet. We also realized that reliable power is also very critical because some people have to walk distances just to charge their mobile phone. Of course, you talked about how do developing countries become consumers of AI and co -creation. One of the basic conditions is the digital skills. compute. What we have realized as the main barriers, of course most of the people will say access to compute, but we have noticed that data is the main barrier. Our Deputy Prime Minister actually proposed that this forum should consider coming up with a framework to deal with unstructured and fragmented data sets, because most of the public sector data is either fragmented or unstructured. Those issues can be solved technically they can be solved with implementation of interoperability platforms and the right systems but the question is can we can they be trusted? But if we have a common framework on how to deal with such data, then every AI solution can find its way into every market. The second barrier is the skills. Unfortunately, AI does not depend on a single skill. You need a specialist in cybersecurity, people who can manage data centers or even build data centers. If we can meet those two conditions, then we'll be able to drive demand. The demand will make compute available. What we have seen working in our environment is the investment in digital public infrastructure and open source. Just last. week, we participated in the Open Source Week in New York, where our developers interacted with their counterparts from across the world. to learn and to network. Thank you.
Shikoh Gitau
Thank you. Thank you so much, Deputy Minister. I'm writing notes and I'm seeing there's a story that is writing itself. Abebe, you're the researcher. You're everything that Kanono was speaking about, right? You're the scientist, the researcher. You're building AI for Africa. How should linguistics and cultural diversity be embedded in capacity building? And I know some of your work, so I will not put you on the spot, but I want you to speak from what's needed. Is it the data set that he's mentioned about? Is it application? Is it local expertise, the skills part? Is it standards and frameworks that he's talked about? We need AI to serve our world, and I'm very specific to our world because it's serving other worlds. How do you make it happen?
Girmaw Abebe Tadesse
Yeah. Thanks, Shiko. As you've probably seen in our preliminary report, which is in your chair, we had one liner that says, for AI to be successful, context is important. And we said, actually, context decides outcome. Because we all are here. With the agreement that AI is here, the technology is here, we could see what's possible. And ideally, we want to create an outcome which is positive, equally distributed across the region and populations. And for that to happen, of course, you need beyond the technology who access it, how we adopt it into existing workflows across institutions, how that diffuse into different sectors that would potentially make a positive impact. Beyond the technology to achieve that impact, what's very important is, what is the context? Professor Wangari Matai, which is a known... Kenyan environmentalist and sustainability expert said you may do the right thing but without context you are actually off track and I quote that because AI as a technology should refrain from repeating the same mistakes we had as many sustainability efforts in the past that means we have 7000 languages discussed today but it doesn't mean that a technology would equally serve all of them that means we need to be more practically driven, context dependent so that the way we build purpose driven, locally aware technology that is a way to make an impact going forward and nothing is more important to understand the context than what Shiko asked culture and diversity all these are the clear baseline to understand the context data which is called knowledge as the question mentioned. And for that to happen, let's not bring you know, let's not assume an AI model that understands all the context at once for all language that would be very difficult. Rather I'm an African, given the different challenges we have, it's very important to understand the problem the purpose, the actual resource, the infrastructure and how to come. That way of really bringing the promising technology into the actual problem we try to solve would be a best way forward. And as I said, context decides how to come and we only understand the context when we bring different stakeholders from the government from the private, from the youth from grassroots communities which are the driving forces in Africa. That way we put people at the center of the design process which enhance the chance of really bringing the technology for positive impact.
Shikoh Gitau
Awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much. That is amazing. Gilles, we had a quick discussion about your questions, but what is the role of international standards in developing countries to become AI creators? I'm not giving you the leeway to talk about consumerization. It's how do we make, what are the standards and frameworks we need to put in place for African and developing countries to be co -creators of AI?
Gilles Thonet
Yeah, well, thank you for the question. Your Excellencies, dear colleagues, I would like to make the case for standards and international standards as one of the most practical tools, actually, for developing economies and developing countries to become, as you said, not only AI users, but AI co -creators. But let me start by how we see the AI governance landscape. We see it in five normative layers, starting with the international law, international soft law, national law, international standards, and then the nomadic flower of what is possible technologically speaking, which is mostly shaped by the private sector. So the international standards actually form the link between those layers. They translate principles into practical tools. They provide the basis for regulation to governments, and they also give industry a common language to make products safer, to build interoperability, to make services and products more secure. So because the standards are developed by consensus, every country has an equal seat at the table, regardless of their economic size and regardless of whether they have a big AI industry or not. So a country doesn't need actually a big AI footprint. It needs a big footprint industry to shape the rules and the standards that will govern this area. So the participation itself... builds the capacity and they give national experts the knowledge they can use, they can leverage, they can adapt to build on these tools. If you look at the World Bank 2025 World Development Rapport, they call standards the invisible infrastructure. I think that's exactly right. The standards are largely hidden, they are unseen, but they power the world because they make actually products safer, they make products interpretable, and they make products operate across borders as well. But this invisible infrastructure relies on a very physical infrastructure. My neighbor mentioned data centers, for instance, energy efficient data centers, the great security, energy supply, all those elements are the base layers of AI. They're not compute. They're not, you know, memory sticks. There are energy. Without reliable power, there's no AI. That's as simple as that. So that's why standards are a really powerful bridge to co -create, and in particular also for developing countries, because the developers of AI, they don't start from scratch. They can leverage the collective experience we have in the standardization community. So at the IEC, we are committed to keep strengthening the participation of developing countries. We have training programs. We have dedicated actions. And actually, if we look at our AI standardization committee that we operate jointly with ISO, more than a third of participating countries come from developing economies. So that's already a milestone. So I therefore encourage all the nations actually present here to participate, to collaborate. Connect with the international standards community. and to make your voice heard. That's really an investment in the invisible infrastructure that holds everything together, including AI.
Shikoh Gitau
Awesome. I like that. That's a beautiful case. So, Atun, as you tell us how to say your name and the name of your organization, the idea, everybody's talking about data, energy and things, but nobody has touched about trust. And especially in a shared infrastructure, we talked about, somebody mentioned about DPI. So my question to you is, no single country can build an entire trustworthy AI stack, secure, benchmarked, verified, all these things. How can open shared infrastructure, such as the international repository that you mentioned in your deck, help developing countries become genuine co -creators? while each country develops common standards, building from what he said, to its own legal and cultural context.
Arutyun Avetisyan
Thank you for the question. I'm very glad to be here today and really very interesting that several years scientists send message that trust is most important than each other question but we need several years even in the AI area, not one month, but maybe more than five years for achieving this kind of meeting. Thank you. Thank you. It's very good. But let me speak one, two minutes by Russian. Is it possible? Okay. I will speak in Russian. The Russian language is one of the international cooperation languages and I do cherish the hope that... in the future, AI will make it possible that we can each speak in our native language and that we understand each other without any issues. When I was a small child, for example, there was a fantasy film of the Soviet Union where that actually took place. People were standing next to each other and they were able to speak their native languages and everyone understood each other. There were no barriers. So today, I hope that even smaller languages will be covered by AI. Now, with regard to the subject and the question that was asked, well, in order to respond to any challenges, what's important here is to understand what problem we are facing. So over the last decade, what's been really actively developing is a security life cycle, as it's called, and we're of the one of those who are developing that critically and trying to make sure our country is independent in that sphere. Over the last few years, we have seen that AI is presenting principally new challenges, which are not just difficult, but they're also challenging. And so I think that's a really important thing to think about. social development, deep fakes, of course, elections. And today, throughout the entire day, what we've heard is a number of examples of that and other impacts. Now, what I would like to say here is that for our country, we have a toolkit of technologies, and it's demonstrated that we can't just have individual campaigns or individual countries. We need to work together. So, of course, the few years ahead will be an open range for us to work on this. Firstly, I think we need to fix at the UN level and perhaps at today's meetings level, and this is a great meeting for this, we have to understand if there are some sort of open models and open codes should be equally accessible to any student, any university throughout the world. The second point is that we need to have institutes which... And at a standardized level, we... the fact that we work together on everything that links with security, because it's not just one tool, right? Today, you can open any tool on the Internet, but if you deploy it, you don't have enough security, you don't have enough knowledge to do that. It's a whole gamut of issues. And so we have to recognize this difficulty. One app is only one solution as part of this discussion, and it's just one that I'm mentioning here. We have many more, but is when dealing with AI, we're trying to, I'm sure you've seen in China, in the U .S., and also in Russia, we have to have labels, special labels, and we'll see that develop over the future, because we have to have equitable access, no matter the size of a company, the size of a country. That's the only way forward for humanity. Because this is a global challenge. Once again, it's a global challenge, ladies and gentlemen. So it's a very important point. And another point I wanted to raise is that, and it's personally for me an important one, is that despite the fact that we're calling for singular standards for all nations to work together, and there's cultural specificities of each country, each country needs to solve those issues themselves because we can have a single standard, but everyone has their own culture, right? We need to take into account the cultural specificities, the cultural richness of each individual nation. There are different understandings here. For example, we heard from Saudi Arabia or Europe, Brazil, Russia, everybody has their own cultural specificities, right, their own culture, and we can't overlook this step in history. We have to have 100 % reliable technology which would allow all at a national level, each individual country to solve the challenges that it's facing uniquely. Thank you very much.
Shikoh Gitau
Thank you so much for that. And to our last speaker, Katherina, I mean, we had a really interesting conversation. We had an interesting conversation with her. how do we create sustainable and locally anchored private and public sector capacity building initiatives. And it's this locally anchored part that I'd love to hear from you. And then we need to talk, all of us at some point, maybe not here, on how to finance everything we've spoken about.
Katharina Frey
Thank you so much. I feel I'm actually repeating what my neighbor has already said. I'm not so sure about you because it was so quick. I'm afraid I couldn't understand every single one of it. Now, allow me to maybe close the panel as well by saying that I think AI, and it has been said before, is moving so quick, and I think we also need agile networks. So at ICANN, the International Computation and AI Network, what we have tried since two and a half years now is really to connect the different actors because there's so much already out there. Many of it has been mentioned by my previous speaker. But I think it's a great idea. what you basically need is you need access to large, very powerful compute. You need access to knowledge or qualitative data sets, and very importantly, you also need access to experts, both domain, but also AI experts, and our members are all academic partners. I think that's also important. Sometimes when you have a global divide, it's helpful to work amongst researchers. We do have member states like Switzerland and also the Finnish foreign ministry have been patrons. I don't know how you say that in English of ICANN, but it's basically we connect demand and offer. So allow me to give me two or three examples. One is our founding members are Data Science Africa. You have mentioned in the African continent grassroots networks are very important. Deep learning in Daba we're discussing as well. So they have led work on AI weather forecasting systems for the farming communities. in this case specifically they didn't have access to a sufficient amount of computes we have linked them to the swiss supercomputing centers and then they created a fantastic research collaboration that then needs into direct impact locally um if we move around from from countries i think we're here at the un also the un organizations have needs sometimes they want to have their own independent solution maybe not being depending on one specific hyperscaler um so we have also with the with the support of the swiss foreign ministry we had just launched two months ago a program for the un organizations specifically the ones in geneva and we were completely overrun so basically what we did we linked uh different un organizations i think yours as well to researchers from the whole ik network which is basically you know the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the from from the african continent from from the european continent and in asia we have one member so far the end to singapore and they you so you see there's a huge demand of co -creating your own AI solutions. I could continue. I think we have to end, but I think if you allow me to also reach out to the room, you've seen Latin America is not being represented yet, so we would be more than happy to have also academic partners from Latin America,
Shikoh Gitau
Thank you so much, everyone. So to just give a quick summary, we said follow the money. Connectivity, power, data, and skills are important. Context, I love that sentence. Context decides outcomes. Purpose -driven, locally aware AI is what is important. The case for standardization, participation creates capacity. I love that line. And I got the last part of the Russian translation, and it says, we must push for equitable access. Trustworthy takes time. Trust takes time. And that's something I think the AI world needs to understand is trust creation takes time. and then you finish with, we have to start with the grassroots. Thank you very much, everyone, and thank you very much, my panel.
Robert Opp
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Shikoh, for running a very interesting panel. Can we just appreciate them again, please? Great. Now, my pleasure. I think we're starting to get into this issue of AI divides. I mentioned at the beginning there are many AI divides, and we're starting to hear some of those come out of the panel, and I expect that we'll continue to hear about those as we move into this next session, or next part of the session, which is the moderated discussion. And it's my pleasure to invite again our co -chairs to come sit at the podium at the front, His Excellency Minister Diouf and Mr. Jovan Kurbalija.
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. So let's move to our high -level government intervenants. And I would invite our representative from South Africa, Deputy Minister of Communication of the DGN. Thank you.
Mondli Gungubele
Thank you, Chairperson, Excellencies. distinguished guests, delegates ladies and gentlemen South Africa welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion artificial intelligence is arguably the defining technology of our time however the benefits of air will not be shared equitably unless we address the deep inequalities that continue to characterize the global digital landscape as South Africa we believe that AI must be a force for inclusive development economic transformation and social progress to achieve this we must first close the gaps that prevent many countries and communities from participating meaningfully in the AI ecosystem the first priority is digital infrastructure AI cannot flourish where there is limited connectivity, insufficient broadband access unreliable electricity or inadequate computing resources AI must be a force for inclusive development Investment in universal connectivity, data infrastructure, cloud computing capacity and digital public infrastructure must therefore be viewed as essential enablers of AI adoption The second priority is human capacity development The success of AI will ultimately depend on people and we must invest in skills as developing countries require not only AI users but also AI developers, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy makers capable of shaping the future of this technology South Africa's approach places significant emphasis on strengthening AI skills across government, industry, academia and society The third priority is access to data, computing resources and innovation opportunities Today, many developing nations face constraints and the need for a more inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, inclusive, in accessing data sets, computational infrastructure and financing needed to build local AI solutions. If left unaddressed, these inequalities risk concentrating AI innovation in a small number of countries and corporations. We therefore support greater international cooperation, partnership, knowledge sharing and investment mechanisms that enable broader participation in the AI economy. Equally important is ensuring that AI reflects the diversity of the world's people. Building local data sets and supporting indigenous innovations are critical to ensuring that AI solutions are relevant, effective and inclusive. Bridging the AI divide is not only a matter of technology, it is a matter of fairness, opportunity and sustainable development. Our country believes that no country should be left behind in the AI era. We therefore call for strength and global cooperation.
Samba Diouf
We just have three minutes. Okay. You mentioned about investment. You mentioned about investment, human capacity development, access to data. All this, we are aligned on this. We have a vision, and for sure we'll take care about it. The next stakeholder is from Interpol, Mr. Huan Zhangfu.
Huanzhang Fu
Good afternoon, Excellencies. Can you raise your hand? I'm here. Okay, thank you. Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great honor to be present here today as part of this dialogue. So you know AI is rapidly transforming every aspect of the society, including the way law enforcement protects communities and combats increasingly sophisticated crime. Yet as AI capabilities advance, AI literacy and readiness among law enforcement agencies vary considerably across countries. Bridging the AI divide is therefore not only a technological challenge, but also a capacity -building imperative. So at Interpol, we believe that effective AI adoption begins with knowledge, trust, and responsible governance. Technology alone is not enough. Law enforcement agencies should have the skills to understand AI's opportunities and limitations, the governance frameworks to deploy it responsibly, and the confidence to use it in ways that uphold the rule of law and public trust. These are the foundations for meaningful and sustainable AI adoption. Together with UN partners, Unicom, and the UK, Interpol has been actively supporting this objective. In 2024, we jointly published... that revised the toolkit of responsible AI innovation in law enforcement, providing practical guidance for police agencies around the world to adopt AI in a lawful and responsible manner. Building on this foundation, Interpol and Unicry are currently implementing the EU -funded AI project, which seeks to further embed responsible AI innovation across the global law enforcement community. One of its key outcomes is the development of practical training programs that strengthen institutional and human capacities. To support this effort, we launched the TRAIL e -learning program, Training on Responsible AI Innovation in Law Enforcement, which is freely accessible through Interpol's learning platform for law enforcement in all member countries. We also delivered webinars and in -person training programs to officers from different regions, helping translate principles into operational practice, including CARICOM, CIPO, OSE, just to name a few. Looking ahead, we remain committed to working closely with the EU -funded AI innovation program and the United Nations, member countries, academia, and industry to strengthen global AI capacities for law enforcement. By sharing knowledge, developing practical guidance, and fostering international cooperation, we can help ensure that AI becomes a force for safer communities and a stronger international cooperation. Because bridging the AI divide is not simply about expanding access to technology. It is about empowering people and institutions to use AI responsibly, effectively, and with trust. Thank you.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you for bringing us institutional capacity building as important, also safety and trust as a critical aspect. Our next speaker is Her Excellency Niamh Smyth Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Ireland. Please raise your hand and please go ahead.
Niamh Smyth
Excellencies, distinguished co -chairs, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. AI presents a significant opportunity to drive human development and economic growth, enabling individuals and communities to fully participate in economic, social, cultural and civic life in the ways encapsulated in the SDGs. But we see the benefits of digital technologies are often not experienced equitably, either within societies or between nations globally. If left unregulated, AI risks exacerbating these divides. Governments, businesses of all sizes, workers, civil society and communities must all be empowered to understand and consider how AI will affect us, so that together we can shape its trajectory. In Ireland, we are working to ensure that all citizens, communities and small businesses have the digital skills needed to thrive, as well as equitable access to technology, essential public services and high -speed broadband. Our national digital and AI strategy targets socio -economic, enterprise and geographic divides through infrastructure investments, business supports, digital literacy and other initiatives It aims to ensure that SMEs remain competitive, to empower citizens to access and to engage with technology developments and to guarantee equitable access to essential public services Internationally, we must recognise the potential benefits of AI are not universally available and countries with less developed AI infrastructure often have less influence over how AI is governed even when the impacts on their populations are significant Open -sourced and open -weight AI models can play an important role in widening access to AI capabilities supporting local innovation, language diversity, digital sovereignty and access to open -source AI Open AI models expands governing frameworks must also evolve Ireland has a focus on inclusive, multi -stakeholder models of governance, which are risk -based and take a human -centric and human rights -based approach. No single entity, whether government, tech company, academia or civil society, can alone navigate the complex societal and ethical impacts of AI. The UN can provide a critical platform for the global digital cooperation we need to address these urgent questions. All voices need to be included in the conversation on global AI governance to ensure that technology is safe, equitable, accessible and inclusive. The Pact for the Future affirms that bridging digital divides is essential in achieving SDGs' thriving progress and growth and allowing individuals and communities to fully participate. Within digital divides must be addressed urgently through meaningful global participation.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Minister. The technology doesn't have any mercy, but it was so great to hear from you. Ireland is an important player and hub of data and digital developments, and for bringing, for example, the issue of open source and open weights, which is one of the topics that will be covered. Our next speaker is coming from Banjul, my former students from Joko Labs CEO, Ponsulate Ilelei. Ponsulate, where are you? No? Is Ponsulate in the room? No, it's pity. He's my former students. I'm expecting him to be here. Okay. Then the next speaker is from Golden Gate University, Smrite Godheim. Come on. global professor of practice. Just raise your hand if you're in the room. Yes. No, he's a government representative. No, it seems that other stakeholders apart from governments are not present. Then we have the stakeholder from Bangladesh, Ahm Bazlur Rahman, a chief executive officer. Please, go ahead.
AHM Bazlur Rahman
Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Moderator, distinguished participants and excellencies. Let me add one simple question. What happens when AI reaches a community before skills, trusted information, safeguard and institutional capacity reach the community? The digital divide does not disappear. It becomes an artificial intelligence divide. I come from Bangladesh, where millions of people live in rural, coastal and climate -vulnerable communities. For them, The AI divide is not simply connectivity or computing power. It's divide in a language, data, skills, reliable information, institutional capacity and power. The problem is too much. AI capacity building is still treat developing countries and communities mainly as user and consumer of technology. But our ambition must be greater. This is the real AI capacity gap. It is not only technology gap. It is an institutional gap. It's a language gap. It's a financial gap. And it's ultimately a power gap in line with the political gap. So I propose three concrete priorities for the international community. First, build locally anchored AI capacity ecosystem. Second, invest in linguistic and cultural inclusion. Third, create sustainable and accessible financing. The fund should support local language. AI. AI literacy, synthetic content verification, prevention of technology, technology -facilitated gender -based violence, public interest AI, and meaningful participation in AI governance. My message is very clear. Access without capacity creates a dependency. Capacity without local ownership does not survive project cycle. And AI governance without linguistic culture and community participation will reproduce a very divide. We are here to breeze. AI should not simply risk communities. Thank you, sir.
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. Our next representative is Her Excellency. His Excellency from Japan, Yohei Onishi.
Yohei Onishi
Excellency, it is my great honor. to have this opportunity. to deliver a statement on behalf of the government of Japan. AI has significant potential to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals, including by promoting economic growth, enhancing productivity, improving education and healthcare services, and addressing disaster risk reduction and climate change. However, the benefits of AI are not enjoyed equally around the world. Many countries face challenges in terms of human resource capacity, computing resources and data, institutional development, and digital infrastructure. We must not allow disparities in AI utilization capabilities to give rise to a new digital divide. Japan is co -creating a new digital divide, a safe, secure and trustworthy AI ecosystem with the global south through international cooperation based on trust. Cooperation toward the cultivation of AI talent and capacity building in particular provide the foundation underpinning such an ecosystem For example, Japan is supporting the capacity development of a wide range of human resources in global South countries such as ASEAN and Africa, including through the use of various cooperation tools We are providing such support not only to AI engineers, but also to policy makers, government officials and education professionals A defining feature of Japan's international cooperation is that it helps building foundations that enable each country to harness AI based on its own ownership and development strategies This approach promotes close collaboration on joint research the development of AI and the development of AI technology that reflects each country's language and cultures and the co -creation of AI solutions to address the social challenges that each country faces. Achieving concrete results requires the engagement of multi -stakeholders, including the private sector and academia. Japan welcomes the participation of a diverse range of stakeholders in this global dialogue. Japan will continue to deepen cooperation with all stakeholders and work on co -creating AI ecosystems tailored to the realities of each country and region. Thank you very much.
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. Our next stakeholder is Shikot .ai. Christiana. Is Christiana around? No. The next one is from Moscow. Anna Abramova. Anna is not around The next one is from AWS Joshua Mr. Joshua Not here So the next one is from DPGA Leah Gimpel Leah is not around So where are you guys? The next one is from NetHop Michelle Parker Michelle is not around as well So the other one is from UN Permanent Forum Ernest van Welt.
Valts Ernštreits
Distinguished colleagues, as noted in the preliminary report presented earlier today, most of the world's languages and cultures remain underserved, with AI development concentrated among a handful of the world's major languages. The report also finds that of the 7,000 languages, just 1,000 have the foundation needed for meaningful inclusion in AI systems. To put it differently, 6,000 language communities, the absolute majority of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity, lack those foundations. These are communities that already face severe challenges, the majority of them indigenous or speaking languages that are severely or critically endangered. The report points out that the world's languages and cultures points to another, more alarming aspect. While AI develops at unprecedented speed, the performance gap between dominant and underrepresented languages persists and is not narrowing. This means there is a critical barrier that those 6,000 language communities cannot overcome alone. In addition to critical lack of resources and attention, one critical obstacle stands out. Developing AI for such communities is methodologically distinct. The common assumption that AI can be developed for large user groups and then scaled down does not hold, because the building blocks, data ecosystems, and usage patterns of these communities are not the same. differ from mainstream ones. Despite their number, a critical lack of knowledge remains about the methodology of building AI for such languages and cultures. This is a systemic issue that goes beyond AI and technology alone. It is a question of access, not merely to AI, but to the digital world itself and to responsible and responsive AI that supports these communities rather than marginalizing them further. Three parts could help close this gap. First, communities at the table. Indigenous peoples and other under -resourced language communities must be present when AI's development is discussed and shaped. Researchers, developers and policy makers need to listen and hear these communities, both to understand their realities, feedback, and to strengthen AI's own capabilities. Second, dedicated research, development and resources internationally and nationally, including technologically advanced countries, to explore how AI can be developed for under - powered communities. Closing this gap helps to build a more responsible and responsive AI ecosystems as a whole. Third, governance of data and technologies. Not simply because these communities are right holders entitled to stewardship of their data, knowledge and ways of life, but because such governance allows AI to be fit for purpose, non -extractive and supporting of communities struggling to compete with the world's major actors. Thank you.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you for reminding us of the relevance of indigenous communities and knowledge, which is probably not codified in texts, books, big writings, but equally important, especially wisdom of those communities. And I think it's a reminder for all of us that this knowledge is critical for not only for them, but also for the humanities as a whole. Our next speaker is an ambassador to the United Nations of Moldova. His Excellency Vladimir Tuk. Please, Ambassador.
Amb. Vladimir Cuc
I'm here. thank you very much first of all I believe this discussion is indeed reflects what the independent scientific panel has described in its report it's about gaps and gaps are creating disparities it's governance gaps, it's resource gaps, capacity gaps they create disparities and non -equal access it's also implication for human rights, for security for democracy, for environment increasingly and no country can deal with it on its own and we should also not allow that only some limited group of actors are controlling the AI I think these are the general principles which are pretty much supported by everyone in the room so we believe this dialogue is very timely and we hope this will go and lead to a concrete outcome my country, Republic of Moldova, is the advocate and the supporter of global governance of AI we've shown it in the Council Europe when we were among the proposers of the first framework convention on democracy, human rights, rule of law and AI and we were among the early signatures of this We also adhere to the UNESCO recommendation on ethics of AI, and we will be promoting human rights -based approach to AI during our Human Rights Council membership, but also in our presence in the UNESCO Executive Board. We are also EU candidate countries, and we are working now on adopting our legislation to EU, so Transposing EU AI Act. We will create an agency. We will follow up with the program. We have undergone the UNESCO Readiness Assessment Rapport, and what it discovered that, yes, we have an ecosystem that's developing, but we lack the capacity. It's in public sector, in private sector, in academia. So the lack of capacity is an issue, not for some areas, not only for the Global South, but for Europe, for many countries. It's an issue which we would like to... compensate. So that is why we believe that capacity building, investing should be at the core of AI dialogue and AI cooperation, international cooperation. So that is how it will make AI less disruptive and more transformative. This is what we should aim at. We welcome the announcement that the next AI dialogue will be in May next year in New York. So we hope really the discussion there will become more practical, focused on initiatives to bridge the capacity gap. And I believe one of the takeaways which you can suggest for your outcome for this discussion, invest in public private partnerships. The private companies, they are mostly now AI government are regulating. We need the partnership and we need everyone on board and all the stakeholders as well on board and at the table voicing their concerns and proposals.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Ambassador, for this timely reminder that capacity is needed everywhere, not only in developing countries, but in many developed countries, in institutions, and that this concern is shared across societies worldwide. Our next speaker is CEO of ICAM Talangana AI Innovation Hub. Raise your hand. No? No? We have to see what we are going to do with stakeholder participation. They're missing. Then next speaker is from ASEAN Foundation, Diera Paksi, project manager. Please, go ahead.
Diera Gala Paksi
Yeah. Oh, sorry. Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished guests. My name is Dira. I'm currently serving as a project manager for AI Ready ASEAN program, one of the largest AI initiatives across ASEAN. To date, we aim to empower around 5 .5 million people. million individuals, comprises of youth parents and also educators, through six key initiatives, such as awareness raising on AI, development of platform, training of trainers, policy roundtable discussion, and also development of the research and outlook. So I think my point is, today, we've seen that AI capacity building is not simply about increasing AI literacy, it's about building an ecosystem that enables government, educators, industry, academia, and communities. So from ASEAN's perspective, four conditions are essential. First, human readiness. Investment should not only focus on the infrastructure, but also on educators, students, policymakers, and also communities. Second, local partnership. Local organizations understand cultural context for better than regional organizations. That's why we are working with 23 civil society organizations across ASEAN. And third, government ownership. So capacity building becomes sustainable only when governments are involved from the beginning. So we have policy -run table discussion to combine the policymakers together with our local implementing partners to develop policy to ensure the sustainability of the program. So as of now, to date, we have empowered 8 million individuals across ASEAN. The numbers continue to grow to multi -stakeholder partnership. So I think based on our recommendation, we recognize human readiness as a core pillar of AI governance alongside innovation, safety, and regulations. While we need to also promote regional multi -stakeholder partnership that combine government, academia, industry, civil society to deliver locally relevant AI capacity building. This is the one that we have built so far. And lastly, invest in sustainable education ecosystem that strengthen not only... not only the people but also especially to the teachers, students, institutions, policy makers rather than focusing on the short -term AI training. So thank you
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. So we're going to have another two intervenants before moving to the second panel. So from Her Excellency from Bangladesh, Nahida.
Amb. Nahida Sobhan
Thank you, Chair. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, bridging the AI divide is ultimately about bridging the development divide. If AI is to become a force for sustainable development, it must be accessible, inclusive and governed in a manner that upholds human rights and places people at the center. The AI revolution should accelerate development, not deepen existence. We must also and and It must empower all people, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, age or income. AI must benefit everyone through education, employment, entrepreneurship and innovation. Bangladesh is investing in digital foundations to accelerate inclusive development. Government is taking initiatives to make mobile internet one of the most affordable in the world. Through more than 239 million mobile financial service accounts, we are expanding financial inclusion. Our digital public infrastructure is enabling innovation in health, agriculture, education, disaster response and social protection. Yet, infrastructure alone is not the answer. Frontier AI requires enormous computing power and investment. While AI talent remains concentrated in a handful of technologies, most AI models are trained on data, languages and context from the global north, often producing biased outcomes. Distinguished delegates, allow me to propose a few actionable pathways. First, democratize access to AI. We should operationalize the proposed global fund on AI and establish concessional pathways for LDCs to access AI compute and frontier technologies. Second, invest in building lightweight, affordable, resource -efficient, open -source AI models trained in diverse languages, data, culture, and contexts of Global South to democratize technology and prevent digital exclusion. Third, invest in people and local innovation. We should establish local AI innovation hubs, strengthen AI skills, support startups in developing countries. Fourth, invest in people and local innovation. Fourth, ensure meaningful representation of LDCs in global AI governance and standard -setting bodies. LDCs must become co -authors of global AI governance rather than recipients of decisions made elsewhere. Finally, for Bangladesh and many developing countries, implementing the aspirations of the Global Digital Compact is a key development imperative. With a pro -development and inclusive governance ecosystem, AI can augment human capabilities, create decent work, and raise productivity rather than replacing human judgment. Thank you.
Samba Diouf
Thank you. Thank you so much. I really like this sentence when you're saying, AI must be, benefit for everyone. I really like this sentence. We cannot have AI without internet access. So our government should invest and ask people. especially for operators to invest on the access, the universal access. Our next stakeholder is Tsinghua Law School, Weixin Sheng. It's not here. The next one is the smart city, Crystal An. Crystal is here. Yes.
The smart city - Representative
Thank you, co -chairs. Thank you, Your Excellencies. Most sessions frame AI and digital divides as a pipeline problem, more skilling, more training, and more capacity building. But we believe that that particular framing is incomplete. We at smart city have trained over 400 ,000 Filipinos across 60 -plus local government units in the Philippines. And I would say that the pipeline is really empty. What the pipeline thinking misses is what happens after the training. So what are the three gaps the pipeline training doesn't capture? Number one, absorption. We train people, but labor markets and procurement systems have no slot for them. Local government graduates, AI literate staff with no budget to hire or deploy them. Training without a destination is a holding pattern, not capacity building. Number two, a seat at the table. Communities that build AI literacy at scale are still absent from the rooms where standards, data sharing rules, and governance frameworks get written, which shows that using AI is not the same as shaping it. Three, the underlying assets. Compute, data, and the institutional way to negotiate for both. No volume of training changes who owns the infrastructure AI runs on. Number three, the pipeline thinking misses. With this, we believe that bridging AI divides or digital divide per se is not a training problem with a training solution. It is a power and access problem. Calling it a pipeline issue lets us declare success once training numbers look good while the structural question stays unanswered. For the co -chair summary and for the Zoom summary, three priorities I would like to put forward. Number one, tie capacity building to financing and to absorption as well. Jobs, procurement, enterprise pathways, and not only completions. Guarantee implementing communities a formal seat in AI standard setting. And number three, treat compute and data access as core to capacity building and not just adjacent to it. Thank you very much.
Samba Diouf
Thank you very much. So we're going to let our... The second panelist is okay to come here. So after that, we'll come for this last round. Thank you.
Whitney Baird
Thank you. This round of excellent comments from the floor, interventions from the floor, and thank you to our co -chairs, His Excellency Mr. Diouf and Mr. Jovan Kurbalija. So it is now my pleasure to kick off. I'll kick off today's second panel by inviting the moderator, Ms. Crystal Rugege, who's the Managing Director of C4IR Rwanda, to join me on stage. And Ms. Rugege will introduce the members of the next panel. Thank you very much.
Crystal Rugege
All right. Good afternoon, everyone. I know we're running a little bit behind schedule, so thank you for your patience. As she mentioned, my name is Crystal Rugeje. I'm the managing director of the Rwanda Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And it's my honor to serve as the moderator today. So as we heard earlier, you know, the first panel was really touching on mapping the barriers and really seeing what does it take to bridge the AI divides. And I think this afternoon in our panel, what we want to do is really touch on the solutions. What will it take to actually close those gaps? So that's what we'll be doing over the next 25 minutes. If you'll allow me to introduce myself. I hope they're all in the room. I'm looking for some of them. But starting with His Excellency Sid Ali Zerrouki, Minister of Post and Telecommunications of Algeria. You're most welcome. Ambassador Eugenio Vargas Garcia, Brazil's Ambassador for Technology and Innovation. You're most welcome, Ambassador. Professor Vukosi Marivate. He's one of the members of the independent international scientific panel on AI that we heard from this morning. Alessandra Sala, Senior Director at Shutterstock and Global President of Women in AI. You're most welcome. And lastly, but not least, Urvashi Aneja, Founder and Director of the International Association of Women in AI. And also the founder of Digital Futures Lab. Please join me in welcoming them. Thank you. Your Excellency, I will start with you. You know, Algeria has made digital foundations a national priority, and we really commend you on that, you know, from connectivity to data infrastructure and skills. And so from a government perspective, what conditions are necessary for developing countries to have equitable choices and opportunities, not only to use AI, but also to develop, adapt, evaluate, govern, and shape it as responsible? Thank you.
Sid Ali Zerrouki
Thank you So for Algeria the first point is very clear actually there can be no meaningful AI governance without strong digital foundation in fact if a country does not have connectivity does not have trusted data governance cyber security, digital skills cloud capacity or capability research and development access to computing capacity it will be asked to govern a technology that it cannot be fully shaped by this same country so definitely it's not an inclusion it's dependency so here for developing countries the challenge is not to use AI application the challenge or the real challenge is how to build sovereignty capacity and we can see today how AI is guiding us we are following it So most of the country and today, there's only two countries that are building AI or shaping the AI, while all other countries are just following the trend, with my respect to each one and everyone. So adapting national priorities is a must. Evaluating the risk and protecting citizens is our priority also. Practice and having standards and governance framework that will shape the future, future of the future generation. Thank you.
Crystal Rugege
Thank you, Your Excellency. I'd like to turn next to Urvashi from the Digital Futures Lab. You know, at your lab, you've studied how AI actually lands in the societies of the global majority and often beyond the headline numbers. And so, you know, we often frame the AI divide in terms of compute, connectivity, and skills. And from your work, is there a divide that we're not paying enough attention to? So you can shed light on that.
Urvashi Aneja
Thank you, and thank you for inviting me to be on this panel. I think the gap that we don't often talk about, but it's been very reassuring to hear it actually talked about a number of times today, is the oversight gap. And that gap is increasing as AI systems are becoming more complex. And this space of oversight is also something that is being routinely underinvested in the Global South by governments, by funders, by development agencies. Even as we push ahead with integrating AI into critical social sectors. And this gap, this oversight gap, I think runs at various levels. At the level of the state, evaluation, procurement standards, incident reporting, continuous monitoring, all of these remain underinvested areas. The Global South is seen as an area where we can use AI to leapfrog complex social economic development problems. But in the process, we're also skipping over the crucial step needed to build the relevant institutions that are in need of AI. We can enable that oversight for all. and building that domestic evaluation capacity and infrastructure is a way that countries in the global south can ensure that ai systems actually promote local values and priorities it's a key part of the ai stack and it's a key way in which states can actually extend sovereignty but that we don't talk about when we're talking about the digital divide as well as talking about ai sovereignty um and then i think that that oversight gap extends to the societal level as well civil society and independent media these are the checks and balances that make oversight real and so where civil society can't flourish we end up borrowing frameworks from the global north instead of building our own and without independent resource media there's no one building the public literacy that accountability depends on and i want to just end by saying that these divides on oversight actually compound the innovation divide because if we don't build that oversight mechanisms if we don't build that evaluation infrastructure we're actually harming people on the ground and we're reducing public trust in ai systems and slowing down adoption So the safety gap or the oversight gap is widening the innovation gap. And, you know, oversight is not only about risk management, but it's also about the foundations for inclusive development. Thank you.
Crystal Rugege
Thank you. Thank you, Avashi. Professor Vukosi, my friend, you've actually been doing a lot of the work that she's been talking about, not just recently with the AI scientific panel, but I think a lot of the work that you've been doing for many years on the continent of Africa. And you've also been, you know, you spent a number of years building open community driven AI research for African languages in particular. And, you know, as we as we look across the African continent, we see that much of the heaviest lifting in AI capacity building has been done by, by grassroots organizations like yours. And so how can we better connect global majority countries with their local ecosystems to give those communities doing the heavy lifting
Vukosi Marivate
Yeah, thanks, Crystal. And also, I'm very honored to be on this panel. So in some ways, we can go back about 11 years in 2015. And on the African continent, there was brewing of a lot of people thinking about, hey, we see these kind of ongoing air revolutions and we also see what's also coming on the horizon. What are we doing? Are we getting ready? On one part is that you could sit and say we're not building and we're not going to build. But on the other is a number of young people started and saying, how do we then build ourselves? Do the capacity building, build up capability. And that's where on one side in Nyeri in Kenya, you've got Data Science Africa starting in 2016, the beginnings of the ideas of the deep learning in Daba.
Crystal Rugege
I just want to, if I can get you to hold your thought for one second. If you can help me in joining us to welcome His Excellency, the UN Secretary General, for honoring us with his presence for this panel. You're most welcome. Yes, so if I can invite you to complete your thought, yeah.
Vukosi Marivate
Thank you. Yes, so seeing like the deep learning in Daba now, which has become the largest gathering of research, innovation, and development on AI and data science across the continent starting in 2017. The thing I would suggest is on two sides. On one, for policymakers to engage with these communities. There's many of them, but they do work in tandem to try and create a space where they can be able to engage with these communities. If you have young people, remembering that Africa, half the population is 19 or younger. right, they're looking for what are going to be the skills of the future so connecting with these grassroots organizations allows access of understanding the needs and then also looking at the future for the researchers and developers academics on the other side is you also must be involved in the policy making, I applied to be part of this AI panel because of that, of knowing that yes I might be one of the co -founders of the deep learning endeavor but I left it I left as a board member at the end of last year hoping that then I would be accepted to be on the panel to take up my next responsibility for the continent but these are things that people should be doing so that we can reduce that gap in understanding and enable more and more of using what we have to the point I wanted to say to the minister we have an Ndaba X Algeria and I am hoping after this you will connect to that community that is based in Algeria really doing so that you can see people are building in Algeria as well .
Crystal Rugege
Thanks, Vukosi. I'd like to turn next to Alessandra. You champion the human side of these divides, and that means the skills and the workforce that's really behind this technology. So how can capacity -building efforts and AI skills and AI literacy equip individuals, institutions, and workforces to adapt to and shape the future of employment in in an AI-driven economy?
Alessandra Sala
Thank you, Christo. It's an honor to be here with these panelists and with the esteemed audience that we have today. I'd like to start offering a practical perspective. At Shutterstock, I'm leading the AI transformation, and one of the pillars is literacy among aid auditors. At Women in AI, as president of Women in AI, we devote all our volunteering work to bring more women into skills, AI core skills, so that we can be at the table with the right background and with the right capabilities. And at Shutterstock, one thing that, while developing this literacy program I have experienced during my office hour, they come to me and they say, Ale, can you help me to use CoPi? I look to. and to save time, or any other AI agent. And I turn to them and say, do you want me to fire you too? And they look at me like this, say, no, today we'll do something different. We'll use the right tool that you need to solve your problems and we'll reinvent your workflow. So just to give you a very practical example, a person in sales comes to me, wanted to save time. I say, no, we will reach your customer with personalized offer. I will help you to reach out instead of 50 customer a day, 500 customer a day. So we go to scale together. And I'm enabling you to analyze your customer base so that you can reach those. Yes, they don't know. writing to you, but those are in need of your support. So we move you from proactive work to, from reactive work to proactive work. So at the end of the session, we haven't saved any time. We have just moved from a different way of working and doing your job. Why am I sharing this story? Because we should, as a leader in this room and in government, think that AI can be used to replace employees and save time and just follow these stories and these narratives that we have today, or think critically and design the workforce that we want to achieve. Each of us as an employer has a purpose and we can augment, empower and strengthen that purpose and therefore create a society, creating a workforce that works for all. Thank you.
Crystal Rugege
Thank you, Alessandra. Ambassador, if I can turn to you. Brazil has championed AI cooperation through several multilateral fora. And from that experience, what does it take for international cooperation to give developing countries equitable choices and opportunities to use and adapt AI and shape it in their context so they're not just consumers but also co -creators?
Eugenio Vargas Garcia
Thank you. Thank you for the invitation. I'm glad to be here. Yes, you mentioned equitable choices because I think we could perhaps think of digital sovereignty as something important to allow developing countries in particular to make sovereign choices about how they can invest, adopt, or have a more proactive role. In AI development. because I think it was said before that mastering the full AI stack is not for everyone. Maybe two countries in the world would perhaps be in a position to do so if this means complete self -sufficiency. And when we talk about digital sovereignty, it's not to be regarded as isolationism, that we're closing our borders or seeking to produce everything locally. But it's rather a continuous process of reducing dependencies. Some of them are structural dependencies, and we should gradually expand our political agency within the global digital ecosystem. And so this is a progressive increase in technological autonomy in a selective and incremental manner, because these countries should primarily focus on critical, and critical layers. of infrastructure and by doing so strengthening their national capabilities through international cooperation. So that's key for your question. So that's the point. International cooperation is like a strategic shortcut to access global knowledge infrastructure innovation networks. So this is key for digital sovereignty as well because these countries will seek diversification of partners and suppliers. They could develop national alternatives if this is possible fostering domestic solutions for strategic products or digital services particularly in technological niches where they could have some comparative advantages and some call this de -risking as well because we're trying to reduce the risk of the vulnerabilities in these countries, implementing measures to enhance their digital resilience. To conclude, I think also technology transfer is still important, but under favorable conditions, and developing countries should seek international partners and talking today, negotiating on a case -by -case basis so that they can have concrete trade -offs and then a win -win cooperation. And finally, developing countries should be more active in terms of their participation in international discussions in this regard. And this means elevating the voice of the global south to reduce asymmetries and democratize access to technology. I'll stop here. Thank you.
Crystal Rugege
Thank you, Ambassador. So as I mentioned, we're running a little bit short on time. So I want to use the last few minutes to give our co -chairs some concrete material. You know, they have to take this cluster and really distill all of the wonderful insights into two or three top priority actions. And so I want to give them some material to work with. So I'll pose this final question to all of you. What is the one concrete action, commitment, or cooperation mechanism that's achievable by 2027 that you would put on this list for the co -chairs to bridge AI divides before we reconvene in New York? So I think, Ambassador, since you last had the mic, I'll start with you. Then Alessandra will come back down this way and end with you, Honorable Minister.
Eugenio Vargas Garcia
Thank you. Yes. I think capacity building is not new for the UN. Just remember the... General Assembly resolution on AI capacity building. Sometimes it's a matter of implementation because the ideas and the examples of what should be done, they are already there. It's a matter of implementing them. But I think a good example is the global network of centers for exchange and cooperation on AI capacity building. It was just established yesterday, if I'm not mistaken, because this is a voluntary mechanism where institutions, universities, AI labs, research centers, they collaborate and pool resources and share available capacities, including courses and skill development. We have two Brazilian institutions joining this network. and I remember in the past people would talk about CERN for AI because we are in Geneva CERN is not far away but as a facility that would represent transnational and multinational collaboration so I think it's something that we should explore even more but the last point I wish to make to conclude is that we need to connect the Bletchley process with the UN global dialogue because you know that Bletchley had the first AI safe summit in Seoul, the Paris summit the last one was in New Delhi, AI impact summit the next will be in 2027 here in Switzerland but the Bletchley process has no connection with this global dialogue so I think to avoid duplication and streamline initiatives ... without creating yet another UN process. My suggestion is that for the next summit, try to connect Geneva and New York so that we can avoid the idea that this is just a standalone event with no follow -up process. Thank you.
Alessandra Sala
Yes, I'll keep it short. Investment for upskilling for literacy, women, kids, we need to bring them forward. We need to bring them along, not vanilla education. It's not to get an answer out of those AI systems. It's to reinvent the process. It's to create value. And value is not assured. Shortcut when answered. So investment in education to support the civil society. Thank you
Urvashi Aneja
I guess it's we need to also be honest about capacity building it's going to take a long time and we don't necessarily have that kind of time especially when we start thinking about this at multiple layers of government so I think the question for us is not just how do we train more officials and how do we build more capacity in government but what else works and I think the answer lies in an ecosystem approach so don't just fund individual capacity building programs for government or so on and so forth, fund the ecosystem the local research organizations the civic tech groups, the professional bodies in different regions in different contexts, these are the institutions that persist between governments between political parties and this capability then lives in that ecosystem not in these one -off training programs and the second thing that I would say is that we need to support the development of open and local evaluation infrastructure that is easy to use by non -technical folks And the reason I say that is because that is the way that local communities can participate in shaping the values and the goals of AI systems. And that's the ultimate capability. Dependency is inevitable. I think we should not assume that dependency is something that only exists in the AI ecosystem. We see it in all sectors. Dependency is not the problem. The problem is do you have the agency and the power to be able to manage that dependency on your own terms? And I think building open local evaluation infrastructure gives you a really important lever to be able to create a situation of managed and equitable dependency. Thanks.
Vukosi Marivate
Okay, thank you. Yeah, so I sit at the University of Pretoria as director of the African Institute for Data Science and AI. And we're always training the next generation of researchers in AI, also bringing together other researchers, professors in these spaces. The one challenge that you're seeing now as you're building up the capacity, especially at that level, is then you have to then... go and make peace with understanding how are we going to work from brain drain to brain circulation on our continent, right? The drain being that with Africa having the young population that it has, these future skills that people are looking for end up having to come from places like the continent. And as such, we must plan that, yes, people might leave, they might have mobility, but then how do we plan that they also add to the available capacity even when they are somewhere else in the world? On the other side, to keep this going, we need to have opportunities for people to be able to do deep work and deep innovation on the continent. And as was said, thinking about an ecosystem on one part, I also have to wear a hat as a startup founder at Lilapa AI. And the reason we started it, Lilapa means home. My mother's language. language, right, having a home for researchers to stay on the continent and work on some of our deepest challenges that are having to do with AI. We work on African languages. But it also requires the private sector to start investing, whether it's 0 .5 percent, 1 percent of their profits after tax in research and development. If you're not doing that, you're not preparing yourself for the future. All it is going to be is just consumption. And then seeing that most of the benefits of new technology or innovation keeps on accruing, not in the global majority, but in very small hands. And to spread that, we need more activity locally and then creating jobs locally, having vibrant ecosystem. And that's how I look at what it means to have sovereign AI. Thank you.
Amb. Vladimir Cuc
Thank you. In fact... Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In fact, the key word here is sustainability, because many countries have, and here we are talking about also capacity building once again, because we've seen a lot of countries that have seen capacity building projects where they spend money and have seen like reports, training small groups of people, and then having a report again, but it's just temporary. For AI, it's something completely different. It has to be sustainable. So we need to build cooperation mechanism and build institution, not dependency as we are today. So for this, we need to blend financing, public -private investment and partnership, and south -south cooperation. And last but not least, the real test for international cooperation today is not whether we produce or more declaration, as we did in the past. But how we test whatever countries leave this process with a stronger institution. stronger skills, stronger digital foundation and more capacity to govern this AI themselves and last but not least again, sorry, I would like to, I don't want to be remiss if I don't recognize the presence of Mr. Antonio Gutierrez UN Secretary General and I take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to him for all his effort in favor of humanity including the subject we are discussing today and please accept President Abdelmajid Taboun regards and full support to you here and to all the presidents. Thank you.
Crystal Rugege
So thank you all for your time today and for the wonderful contributions from our panelists. Thank you, Your Excellency Secretary General for making time in your busy schedule. I can imagine the number of places you could be but you decided to join us. for this important discussion, so we are very appreciative. You know, as I conclude, if I can just leave you with one takeaway from this cluster, I would say let it be this, that capability is the new capacity. And not just building capacity to use AI, but really investing in governments and the local ecosystems from the grassroots organizations, and really the entire ecosystem so we can build it sustainably, but really give people agency and the power to shape it in their context. So please join me again in thanking our panelists and for your time today.
Whitney Baird
Well, I would like to thank Ms. Crystal Rugege for her moderation and really thank all of the panelists today for the excellent discussion that took place, reminding us to think critically when it comes to AI in our workforces, to engage young people, to foster national solutions, and to close the oversight gap. It is now my pleasure to again invite our co -chairs, His Excellency, Mr. Samba Diouf. and Mr. Jovan Kurbalija to moderate a second round of interventions from the floor. So I invite you to please come again to the podium.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you very much. A lot of exercise today. It's almost healthy diplomacy and gym diplomacy. Thank you for organizers for doing it. It is innovation in diplomacy, you see, and you make a lot of moves. Thank you. Okay. I guess, Samba, you share my view about health diplomacy. Thank you. Good. Our next speaker is His Excellency Angel Banjo, Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United Nations. Ambassador? No? I can't see. No. Then, Ambassador of Nepal, his Excellency Ram Prasad Subedi, Permanent Representative of Nepal in Geneva. Ambassador, please.
Amb. Ram Prasad Subedi
Thank you, Mr. Co -Chair. I'd like to begin by the panel's report that provides a baseline for our discussion. AI capacities are highly concentrated. In a few countries and firms, the majority of the countries of the Global South are outside the global AI. They have always remained to the side of consumers, though we have been talking about mainstreaming them as a co -developer. And this AI divide is about capacity to influence and it's about infrastructure, it's about talent and a governance capability. For Nepal, this dialogue is especially important as a landlocked mountainous country and a graduating LDC. We continue to face real challenges in connectivity, infrastructure, affordability, digital literacy and access to reliable data and computing resources. These gaps are even more pronounced in rural and remote areas where communities often remain beyond the reach of basic digital services. Breaching AI divide therefore remains a strong challenge. Our national AI policy 2025 keeps digital technology at a high level. and the AI to be a human -centric and ethical lever to develop the country. Therefore, what is that we need the most is to build local expertise, strengthen institutions, develop AI application and address the national priorities and including disaster risk reduction, agriculture, education, health and public service delivery. Therefore, what we need is the open, interoperable, standard and thriving innovation ecosystem. Therefore, we support the Secretary General's proposal of the Global Fund on AI as a pooling mechanism for bridging AI divides. And we believe that this fund will accommodate the specific needs and situations and contexts. of the LDCs and developing countries and LLDCs. We have been discussing about the gap, discussing about investment and cooperation and therefore I leave you with questions what can be the appropriate way to do it. Thank you.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Ambassador. We will have to answer this question and it's a difficult one but timely and important. We have just one announcement and I hope that our interpreters who are doing very hard work will accept our plea from the participants to stay till 6 .15 and will then continue in English. Can I see the way from the interpreters?
Interpreter
Yes, of course, sir. Of course, of course, of course, sir. Of course.
Jovan Kurbalija
6 .15, then we continue after 6 .15 for 15 minutes in English. We have still a long list and it's important that we hear all voices. All voices in this session. Our next speaker is Tatjana Galdas -Lottinger, founder of the International Women X in Business in Ethical AI. Tatjana, is she in the room? No, I cannot see her. And then the next speaker is the Executive Director of the UNITAR, United Nations Institute for Training and Research. Nope, well, we may even finish faster. And then we will have from stakeholder list, let me see, stakeholder, stakeholder. That's the Ambassador of Botswana, no, I'm sorry, Minister of Communication and Innovation of Botswana, His Excellency David Tshere . Tshere, please, Minister.
David Tshere
Yes, I'm here, Chay. Thank you very much for the opportunity. Well, I gave my speech earlier on talking specifically. About how developing countries are. left behind and how this dialogue should formulate ways on how to assist developing countries and I hear the message coming out here saying developing countries should partner with other countries or organizations to basically figure it out but we still believe that this dialogue could perhaps come up with an idea to have a global AI fund for developing countries so that we make a deliberate attempt to get everybody on board including developing countries because like we mentioned the major issue is the infrastructure development in Africa and like intervenants who said who spoke here they highlighted how if you don't have that infrastructure you cannot really harness the benefit of AI so this is still a challenge and I think I think I think we should move just beyond recommending that we should partner with developing countries and come up with a specific and more actionable item to assist developing countries. Thank you very much.
Samba Diouf
Thank you. The next speaker is Her Excellency Sarah Maria from Philippines.
Sarah Maria
Thank you, Chairperson, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. The Philippines welcomes this dialogue on artificial intelligence governance and commends the United Nations for convening member states on a matter that now bears directly on development, public institutions, economic participation, and distribution of opportunities across and within nations. Artificial intelligence offers significant possibilities for innovation, public service delivery, productivity, education, health, disaster preparedness, and sustainable development. Yet these possibilities are not available to all countries on equal terms. For developing countries such as the Philippines, the question is not only how artificial intelligence should be governed. It is also whether countries have the digital foundations, institutional capacity, and human capital necessary to participate meaningfully in the AI economy. The AI divide is therefore not only a technological gap. It reflects differences in connectivity, computing capacity, quality data, technical expertise, research systems, financing, and institutional readiness. Countries with advanced digital infrastructure and mature innovation ecosystems are better positioned to benefit from AI. Countries still building these foundations face the risk of being placed further behind, not because of lack of ambition, but because of unequal starting conditions. The AI is the only tool that can be used to develop the AI. The Philippines continues to advance its digital transformation agenda through efforts to expand connectivity, strengthen digital government systems, promote digital literacy, and prepare the workforce for a technology -driven economy. Human capital development is central to this work. Education systems, training institutions, public agencies, enterprises, and workers must be supported as technology changes the organization of work and the demand for skills. Digital literacy, technical training, workforce reskilling, upskilling, and lifelong learning must therefore form part of any serious strategy for bridging AI divides. These efforts must also reach beyond major urban centers. Women, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, workers in transition, small enterprises, rural communities. and geographically isolated areas must be included in the design and implementation of capacity -building programs. Inclusion cannot be limited to access. It must include ability to use, question, improve, and govern technology. The Philippines reaffirms its commitment to international cooperation in shaping safe, secure, trustworthy, and development -oriented artificial intelligence governance. Thank you very much for your time.
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much, Maria. The next speaker is from Peru, Diego Belevan.
Diego Rodrigo Beleván Tamayo
Thank you and good afternoon distinguished colleagues participants in the current context we consider that this cluster for us is of the utmost priority for dialogue and allow me to explain why there is a simple reason without real capacity the principles that we might eventually agree upon simply cannot materialize the problem for many countries is not the absence of shared values but rather the impossibility of operationalizing them and therefore cooperation is of its greatest value when it complements the normative layer with concrete access to infrastructure tools, information and technical assistance addressing priorities and needs expressed by each country the logic should be of reciprocal benefit and horizontal cooperation not unilateral or directional transfer of predefined models and here allow me to share two elements from our national experience. The first is the National Strategy of the Government 2026-2030 which recognises data as a strategic asset and has three pillars regulatory framework, interoperability and affordability. Then in terms of our participation in the working group on governance and data IT for development of the United Nations together with other countries from our region our policies around data have been recognised as points of reference for the region. Open source, open models and open AI could significantly contribute to bridging divides provided that their adoption is accompanied with developing institutional capacity. This has been recognised. On the contrary, we risk transferring the gap from access to a gap for use.
Diego Belevan
Finally, I'd like to highlight the importance of training in the public sector as a cross -cutting issue, mainly because of its multiplier effect. In many countries, state services that want to implement these systems lack the necessary tools and knowledge to implement them in their institutions. Addressing that gap is as urgent as addressing the infrastructure gap. Thank you.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Director Belevan. Our next speaker is Her Excellency Sina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation of Togo. Minister? No, she's not here. And after her, His Excellency Carlos Mendoza Alvarado, Secretary of Planning and Programming of the Presidency from Guatemala. Please. Thank you.
Carlos Mendoza Alvarado
I will speak in Spanish. Moderators, distinguished delegates, Guatemala considers that closing gaps in AI is not a secondary issue. It is the very basic condition to ensure that these technologies can contribute to sustainable development and yield shared benefits. When we speak about AI, often we think firstly in models, algorithms and technological capacities. But for countries like Guatemala, the starting point is different. Connectivity, data, digital infrastructure, institutional capacities and human talent. There cannot be a true democratization of AI. If digital divides continue to be reproduced. and reflect economic, social and territorial divides that already exist. Therefore, for Guatemala, the development of capacities is not limited to training specialists. It also involves strengthening the state, improving scientific research, improving digital literacy and generating the conditions so that each country can develop, adapt and use AI solutions according to their own needs and their own priorities. From the Planning Secretariat, we are deploying efforts in order to strengthen information systems for planning, monitoring and evaluation of development. For us, data is not simply a technical input. It's a strategic asset. for better public decision -making and for better orientation of stake to action. The update of our National Development Plan, cartoon 2052, offers a concrete opportunity to incorporate digital transformation and AI into a national development agenda which is territorial, inclusive and sustainable in focus. Guatemala reiterates its commitment to international cooperation, the exchange of knowledge and the development of capacity as pillars to build an ecosystem which is fairer and more inclusive in AI because bridging divides today is the necessary condition to ensure that AI can expand opportunities tomorrow. Thank you.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Excellency, for bringing in particular non -technical aspect of AI developments, which has been echoing in today's discussion. Our next speaker is His Excellency, Undersecretary from the Ministry of Transport and Communication Information Technology of Oman. Please, Excellency, go ahead.
Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani
Thank you, Excellencies, distinguished guests. The promise of AI will mean little if it reaches only some nations and leaves others behind. Today the divide is real. It is a divide in model development, data, skills, and in access to computing infrastructure and power. Left unattended, AI could widen the gap between nations rather than closing it. For Oman, through the National AI Program, the first foundation to bridge the divide is talent. No nation can benefit from a technology it cannot use or build. This is why we have invested heavily in talents and skill development through several national initiatives focused on AI product management, data science, chip design, cloud services, and others. The second foundation is AI infrastructure. Oman is developing a national digital triangle to develop interconnected multi -gigawatt digital hubs to host green AI and high -performance computing clusters. Building on Oman's political neutrality, abundance of submarine cables, and green energy diversity, the digital triangle is a safe space to host and process the next generation of trusted intelligence. The third foundation is cooperation. No country can cross this divide alone. We emphasize on the importance of knowledge sharing and international collaboration. So that every nation equally benefits from AI. Excellencies Oman stands ready to play its role as a partner and as a bridge we are willing to share what we have learned work on joint projects and cooperate with the United Nations and member states so that no nation is left standing on the far side of this divide Thank you
Samba Diouf
Thank you Thank you so much The next speaker is from Pakistan Minister of ICT.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja
Excellencies Chair, Distinguished Co -Chairs Colleagues A very good evening As artificial intelligence reshapes power faster than governance can adapt allow me to frame the divide this cluster is really about It is not a divide in access to tools rather it is an asymmetry in the ability to shape the rules, the standards and the foundational infrastructure of this technology Our multipolar world is becoming increasingly technopolar, where power concentrates around those who control frontier compute, models and data When you look at what is at stake of this asymmetry, it is not only a development concern, it is a question of global stability If we do not take consequential decisions, the trajectory is clear Two parallel AI ecosystems and a permanent two -tier order in which most of the world's nations are structurally locked into the role of rule -takers In the interest of global stability, therefore, I want to offer a shift in the frame We should aspire to move towards a model of polycentric architecture of co -ownership The lesson from other complex global challenges is that governance works not through a single institution Issues are not always the same We are pursuing solutions from the top, but through many overlapping initiatives, orchestrated so that they reinforce rather than fragment This dialogue and its scientific panel can be that orchestrator A smart conveyor belt that turns scattered voluntary efforts and best practices into durable shared architecture And the emerging economies must be at the center of the design table for open foundational capabilities The models, the data sets, the compute access frameworks, the evaluation benchmarks and the safety regimes I call for an end to the you decide, we receive error As co -architects of what we build together, we will build an inclusive architecture That respects our cultures, our singularities and fully utilizes our strengths This is why interoperability and strategic openness are non -negotiable Open standards, open data and open models are the fair strategic equalizer That lets nations leapfrog while preserving their sovereignty and their right to choose Pakistan is already architecting this principle We have set our own national AI direction And invested in building capabilities across our public sector And we are ready to contribute our open source powered stack We are addressing real -world use cases in key economic sectors, climate resilience, agriculture, and inclusive public service delivery and multilingual data. We have a willingness to experiment openly and govern responsibly in service of the global commons. So let this dialogue catalyze the concrete mechanisms of co -ownership with a shared future co -created with emerging economies. Frontier economies are the drivers of the world economic growth. We will also be architects of its AI foundations that
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. The next speaker is from Namibia, the Minister of ICT,Emma.
Emma Theofelus
Thank you so much, Chair, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Namibia welcomes this global dialogue on AI, and like many other global south countries, Namibia is preparing its national, AI governance framework, taking into consideration the following. Human -centered governance, targeted public sector innovation, public -private and global collaboration, equitable infrastructure, and the globally accepted interoperable rules and shared standards. Yet these areas mean nothing if we don't address the following, now rather than later. First, financing and investment, unlocking the financing to strengthen digital infrastructure in developing states. We heard earlier from UNCTAD that only in this financial year alone, 800 billion spending for AI will definitely not go towards developing countries. Secondly, high technical skills, academia, especially twinning agreements between universities in the global north and global south to train as many young people across the global south as possible to add to the capacity. in that area. And third, access includes lean models, open standards, and greater accountability geared towards megatech companies, especially where matters of technologically facilitated gender -based violence is concerned. Ladies and gentlemen, just as electricity evolved from a dangerous, mysterious force into a universal, background utility that powers everything from healthcare to agriculture, AI must be shaped to elevate human potential rather than replace our core judgment. AI should perform the mundane tasks in order to free up human capacity to innovate, practice empathy, and unleash our creativity. That is the real test for capacity building for AI. Finally, Namibia welcomes the second Global Dialogue set for May 2027 in New York, because global cooperation is a key part of the global dialogue. Cooperation is strengthened through continued dialogue. Thank you very much.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Minister, for highlighting, again, empathy and other aspects of digital development. I can see that we are getting more and more human inputs and less and less algorithm and technology, which is an interesting echoing tone of discussion. Our next speaker is His Excellency, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ivory Coast. Let's see if the Minister could raise his hand. And next is His Excellency, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations. Ambassador, please.
Amb. Fu Cong
Thank you very much. Co -chairs, currently, AI is profoundly reshaping. The development landscape of countries and the global governance architecture. So we should take universal benefit and inclusiveness as our starting point to uphold the role of the United Nations as a main channel and focus on capacity building to shape an inclusive, open, sustainable, just, secure, and reliable digital intelligence future. China has the following suggestions. China has the following suggestions. Digital sovereignty means that countries have the right to independently choose AI products without being coerced into taking sides. Second, we should promote innovative development while guarding the red line of security. We should uphold the spirit of openness and sharing, promote the continuous emergence of innovative achievements and the accelerated expansion of application scenarios, thereby enhancing the level of AI innovation and development globally. Meanwhile, we should ensure both development and security, maintaining the steady and long -term development of AI with solid security safeguards. Thirdly, we should strengthen integrated development and improve global governance. We should accelerate the construction of digital infrastructure and improve the layouts of globally interoperable AI and digital infrastructure. Countries should proactively strengthen policy and regulatory coordination, oppose drawing ideological lines, and *** develop global AI governance frameworks, norms, and standards based on broad consensus. China has consistently been an advocate, promoter, and a pioneer in AI capacity building. China proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative and the AI Capacity Building Action Plan for Good and for All, which facilitated the adoption of the world's first UN General Assembly resolution focusing on AI capacity building, jointly initiated with the Group of Friends for the International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building, which was launched with Zambia, and successfully held workshops on AI capacity building on the subject, taking concrete actions to help countries share the benefits of AI. Now, from July 17th to 20th, China will host the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and a high -level meeting on global AI governance in Shanghai. We look forward to the action. Active participation of all parties, deepening exchanges and cooperation, and creating a better future together. Thank you very much.
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Ambassador, for also announcement of this important event in Shanghai later on during the month of July. And we have our next speaker is His Excellency Darkhan Zhazykbayev Chairman of the Agency of Civil Service Affairs of Kazakhstan.
Darkhan Zhazykbayev
Thank you. Dear colleagues, today global discussion only focus mainly on two dimensions, how to advance innovation and how to mitigate risks. But there is an important point. Is the state ready to govern effectively in the age of AI? You believe that public trust in AI does not begin with algorithms. It begins. We trust in government in how fairly, transparently and responsibly public steps are made. Ten years ago, we set the goal of ensuring that personal choice is paid and merit. This led to the creation of our digital HR ecosystem, eCosmet. Today, eCosmet serves more than 80 ,000 civil servants, supports over 400 digital HR processes, and is integrated with more than 100 government information systems. Today, Kazakhstan is taking the next step. The year 2026 has been declared the year of digitalization and AI. We have adopted the law. On AI and the digital code, our agency is employing AI to assess HR data and moving to predictive planning and the AI audit of government functions. At the same time, our position remains clear. AI may assist but never replace human responsibility. Our approach to AI in the public sector is guided by three fundamental principles. Transparency, human oversight and responsibility. Dear colleagues, Kazakhstan built its digital foundation step by step. That is why our experience is now attracting international interest. The XMED project has been published on the OSD OPSI platform as innovative public governance practice. The point is now whether AI can transform the state. The point is what values the state embodies in the... use of these technologies. Kazakhstan has chosen a way based on transparency and fair opportunity. And we're ready to share our experiences. Thank you for your attention.
Samba Diouf
Thank you. Thank you, Darkhan. Our next speaker is Her Excellency Jessica Hunter from Australia.
Amb. Jessica Hunter
Thank you, co -chairs and distinguished delegates. Capacity building is at the heart of Australia's approach to strengthening global connectivity. We're committed to supporting partners with the skills, tools and systems needed to connect communities and enable inclusive digital development. We see capacity building initiatives as essential to building the means and the mechanisms to ensure that the development and deployment of AI is not only widely accessible, but also adopted in a trusted manner that respects human rights and delivers benefits equitably. However, there is no one -size -fits -all solution. AI capacity building must be underpinned by a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in adopting AI across the AI lifecycle, including governance, skills and digital infrastructure. Australia is supporting AI capacity building programs across the Pacific and Southeast Asia through a focus on skills, governance and infrastructure. In the Pacific, our efforts focus on strengthening foundational digital capabilities through initiatives such as the Australia -Pacific Digital Economy Program. This sits alongside partnerships with governments to build public sector capacity and apply emerging technologies in other areas, such as disaster preparedness, climate monitoring and service delivery. It is further underpinned by investments in connectivity. In Southeast Asia, Australia works with governments in the field of digital technology and infrastructure and academia to advance inclusive digital transformation, including workforce training in AI -related fields. sharing best practices on AI governance, and supporting innovation through collaboration with start -ups and research institutions. We are also engaged regional organisations such as ASEAN to promote standards alignment and interoperability. Across all of our engagement, Australia is guided by the principles of inclusivity, trust and safety. Australia is committed to ensuring that AI systems are human rights respecting, safe and secure, and deliver benefits across all segments of society, including to women, children and linguistically diverse communities. Internationally, we already have a strong multi -stakeholder community and established international law to support the realisation of maximum benefits for the use of digital technologies such as AI. It is up to us, here in this room, to ensure that these benefits are available. The need to work together is clear. We must now be collaborative in our efforts to bridge the digital divides and ensure that our vision for a free, open and interoperable digital future is accessible and available to all. Thank you.
Samba Diouf
Thank you so much. Next is Her Excellency Larissa from Belarus. Larissa is not around. The next is Her Excellency Hoda Barka from Egypt.
Ahmed Hefnawi
Thank you very much, Chair. This is Ahmed Hefnawi on behalf of Dr. Barka. So I'll just focus my intervention on three very specific areas. Number one, equitable living. Equitable participation. which will not be achieved by closing gaps one at a time, infrastructure, then skills, then institutions. Because divides compound rather than sit side by side. Our view is that international cooperation should be structured around sequenced, connected packages. Financing, scaling, and market access mechanisms designed together, not funded separately, and hope to align. The most binding barrier is rarely a single missing input. It is the absence of a pathway from access to genuine participation. Training that does not lead anywhere is not capacity. It is a credential. We would ask this dialogue to evaluate capacity -building proposals against the pathway test, not against inputs delivery. In Egypt, our Digital Egypt Pioneers initiative was deliberately paired with the Industry Development Agency's GIGS program and the Freelancer .EG platform, now backed by formal freelancer taxation legislation, precisely so that rescaling would connect to real income, not stop at a certificate. The second topic that we wanted to highlight is open systems that can be genuine equalizers, but only under two conditions these dialogues should treat as a package, not a choice. Openness must be paired with governance that keeps trust intact, and it must be matched by domestic capacity to actually use what is open. An open model without local inference is not a good example. A structured structure or skill does not close a divide, it simply relocates the barrier from cost to capability. Our view is that international support for open AI should therefore always travel with support for the conditions of its use, and that safeguards against misuse should be designed alongside openness from the outset, not retrofitted once harms appear. In Egypt, we open -sourced Karnak, which is a national Arabic large -language model, while governing its downstream uses. A legal assistant, a language tutor, health care tools, under our national guidelines for trustworthy and responsible AI, so openness and safeguards...
Jovan Kurbalija
Sorry. Noise. That's good. That's good. Thank you for bringing all of this really rich... rich scene in Egypt. And we have our last speaker on the list, his Excellency, permanent representative of Ethiopia. Ethiopia, please. Ambassador.
Amb. Tsegab Kebebew Daka
Thank you, co -chair. Distinguished co -chairs, excellencies, distinguished participants. Ethiopia thanks the independent international scientific panel on artificial intelligence for their report and notes. The report in particular recognizes that one of the greatest global AI risks is not only the misuse of artificial intelligence, but also the unequal access to its benefits. For Ethiopia, bridging this divide is a national priority. Through our Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy, we are investing in the foundations necessary to build an inclusive AI ecosystem. These efforts include the establishment of the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, the launch of the 5 million Ethiopian Coders Initiative to develop digital and AI skills, and the planned Artificial Intelligence University to strengthen research and innovation, and the expansion of our FIDA digital national ID system as a key component of digital public infrastructure. We are also promoting AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, public service delivery, while supporting the development of AI solutions that reflect our language and context. Excellencies, no country can bridge the AI divide alone. That is why international cooperation and a genuine multi -stakeholder approach are very important. Governments, academicia, innovation. The private sector, international organizations, civil society, and the technical community. all have complementary roles to play in expanding access to artificial AI infrastructure, strengthening capacity, promoting knowledge transfer, and supporting responsible innovation. Developing countries like that of ours continue to face multiple digital and technological divides. However, we also recognize that we are at the early stages of the AI era. This presents a unique opportunity to address these disparities before they become entrenched. Investing today in capacity building, digital public infrastructure, equitable access to computing resources, and inclusive governance will help ensure that AI becomes a driver of sustainable development rather than a source of greater inequality. In closing, Ethiopia supports strengthened international collaboration to improve the development of AI and the development of the world. To ensure that every country has the opportunity to participate meaningfully in global AI ecosystem. bridging the AI divide is not only a matter of fairness it is essential to ensure that artificial intelligence serves all humanity and contributes to achieving the sustainable development Thank you
Jovan Kurbalija
Thank you, Ambassador. I don't know if there is a coincidence, but you're the last speaker on the list, and it leads me to one message with which I would like to conclude, at least from my side, and then my co-chair will continue. You're coming from the country where, allegedly, the Ark of Covenant is kept in Aksum, at the north of the country, and it is one of the earliest codification of human wisdom. And this is probably the message for us today, that knowledge and wisdom crosses across the eras and great civilizations from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America. And what we are doing today, we are revisiting. visiting this wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, there should be also that sense, historical sense of the discussion, and that knowledge and wisdom which is in core of AI is probably the critical challenge for all of us. Knowledge, what was said today, defines us as humans. Local knowledge, knowledge of indigenous communities, knowledge of the local communities worldwide. And the key challenge for us is to use technology, advanced technology, to ensure that that knowledge of the past is preserved and that future knowledge is developed in inclusive and enabling ways. We heard many excellent examples on capacity building, closing knowledge, and I would say cognitive gaps sometimes, use of open source, and excellent points on AI sovereignty as enabling approach, not necessarily... sort of restricting approach to digital development. inclusion and we have a really rich menu which we will codify with some sort of distance of few hours till tomorrow's concluding session but that would be my first comments based on let's say echoing themes in discussion and your excellent intervention and I would like to invite my co -chair and colleague to provide his concluding remarks before we make a good news for the interpreters that will finish exactly on the time
Samba Diouf
Thank you Jovan Thank you all of you guys we are really very happy to hear the great speech from each one of you and capacity building is something that we all align that the most important is how we gonna address it in our different environment We talk about digital Sovereignty For us we don't have the same Understanding of what is digital sovereignty For us it's about upskilling We don't have technology But we have people that can understand And execute the technology The technology is similar It's the same language We can understand it The other point is About bridging the gap We can see Where AI is Booming Is the big countries where they have Demography and they have A big investment In our countries Where I'm from We don't have such kind of demography First, second we cannot afford This big investment That means we should Collaborate and work together In different countries To build our own AI In our understanding the other one is what I call just now the regional strategy as small countries we cannot build our own AI so we should work together with different countries in order to build a regional strategy for the data governance I don't go to the technical aspect where they think about our LLM model how to strengthen it, how to improve it I will just finalize by saying AI is shaping our lives today tomorrow AI will drive our journey so we should be ready and prepare for it this is my last sentence to close and thank you very much for all your standing here Thank you.
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1

The knowledge base confirms that the thematic discussion on bridging AI divides at the Global Dialogue on AI Governance 2026 was co-chaired by H.E. Samba Diouf and Dr Jovan Kurbalija [S199].

2

This is corroborated by the event description, which lists “bridging AI divides: capacity-building, access and digital foundations” as one of the four main thematic clusters of the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance 2026 [S199].

3

The knowledge base supports this framing. Kurbalija’s GITEX Africa reflections explicitly stress the need for more diverse cultural and philosophical inputs in AI, including Ubuntu, and other Diplo materials attribute to him concerns about knowledge concentration and the importance of preserving oral traditions [S200] and [S204] and [S136].

4

The knowledge base confirms that UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in November 2021 and that it is being implemented by member states through tools such as the Readiness Assessment Methodology and Ethical Impact Assessment [S196] and [S205].

5

The report summary says UNESCO’s Recommendation is being implemented across member states, which is broadly correct, but it elsewhere implies UNESCO has 192 member states. The knowledge base states the Recommendation applies to all 194 UNESCO member states, and a UNESCO discussion transcript likewise says it was approved by all 194 member states [S196] and [S205].

6

The knowledge base adds useful detail: UNESCO’s implementation work includes a macro-level Readiness Assessment Methodology for national AI governance and an Ethical Impact Assessment for evaluating specific algorithms across their lifecycle, especially in public-sector uses such as welfare, education, and health [S205].

7

The broader knowledge base reinforces this framing by showing that AI divides are commonly understood as extending beyond simple connectivity to include affordability, quality of access, digital skills, readiness, and meaningful participation in governance and deployment [S212] and [S213] and [S211].

Ali Naseer Mohamed — Ali Naseer Mohamed
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Open Forum #82 Catalyzing Equitable AI Impact the Role of International Cooperation — How do we ensure that countries of global south also become part of the conversations at every forum, whether we make them, the way the efforts which are made to make GPA more inclusive, the efforts to involve the develo...
AI is here. Are countries ready, or not? | IGF 2023 Open Forum #131 — Structural inequalities pose a significant challenge to equal AI implementation. When AI blueprints from countries with different political economies are implemented in other societies, inequalities are deepened, leading...
Developing data capacities for policy makers and diplomats — We always see a strong push for more data, especially in discussions surrounding the SDGs. For example, it is vital to have dis-aggregated data to create a more fine-grained picture of regions or groups of people that m...
Guest blog: ICT for development: capacity building, employment, government initiative — Constant technological evolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is vital for developed countries to maintain their economic and scientific leadership. In developing countries, ICT is more like a heavy ...
Technology and innvation report 2018: Harnessing frontier technologies for sustainable development — United Nations publication. Sales No. E.17.I.5. New York. 8QLWHG1DWLRQV'HSDUWPHQWRI(FRQRPLFDQG6RFLDO$IIDLUV (OHFWULFLWDQGHGXFDWLRQWKHEHQHƄWVEDUULHUV DQGUHFRPPHQGDWLRQVIRUDFKLHYLQJWKHHOHFWU...
Local, Everywhere: The blueprint for a Humanitarian AI transformation — From there, successful pilots can be scaled step by step to other parts of the Movement and wider humanitarian community. The key to success will not be the computing power of AI models, but anchoring AI solutions in l...
Developing capacities for bottom-up AI in the Global South: What role for the international community? — This demonstrates the AI's attempt to establish appropriate boundaries and accurate understanding of its capabilities and role. Preuves States 'I'm not an advisor to the president of Lundia; I'm an AI model designed...
Keeping AI in check — A ten-step guide published by CoE starts with the need to conduct a human rights impact assessment on AI systems. Technology is a social product, and as such, it integrates values that orientate the way it operates, ev...
Will algorithms make safe decisions in foreign affairs? — Who makes the decisions was not separated from who bears the responsibility for the geopolitical tension at that time. In September 1983, the world was at the precipice of a nuclear war because of false alarms from a Sov...
DC-Sustainability Data, Access & Transparency: A Trifecta for Sustainable News | IGF 2023 — The analysis also raises the point that innovation tends to outpace regulation. It provides a case where a country banned cryptocurrency before fully understanding its potential as a foundation for new forms of money and...
WS #462 Bridging the Compute Divide a Global Alliance for AI — Instead, addressing the compute divide requires both expanding overall global capacity and ensuring more equitable distribution of resources.

Barriers to Equitable Access #

Infrastructure and Investment Challeng...

To foster human freedom and prosperity, Artificial Intelligence must be developed bottom-up! — ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are rising in popularity. If you’ve ever used these tools, you might have realised that you’re revealing your thoughts (and possibly emotions) through your questions and interactions...
AI Apprenticeship: 10 transformative lessons from learning AI by building it — When discussing sensitive topics, maintain a respectful and professional tone. Structure your response as follows: Begin with a brief introduction that frames the question in its broader context. Present your mai...
AI as a tech ally in saving endangered languages — According to the United Nations, an indigenous language disappears roughly every two weeks. UNESCO estimates that nearly half of the world’s 7,000 languages could vanish by the end of this century. When a language dies, ...
WS #254 The Human Rights Impact of Underrepresented Languages in AI — Point majeur de discussion Legal and ethical frameworks for AI inclusivity Knowledge sharing and capacity building by international organizations Explication International organizations can play a role in sharing kno...
Human rights — Clear frameworks for accountability and oversight are necessary to address issues arising from AI's use. 5. Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Guidelines and Regulations: Strong rules and guidelines are needed for develop...
Ethics and AI | Part 4 — Principles for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the United Nations system: New wine in old bottles? The United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB)1 produced, starting from the work ...
Reforms to the International Financial Architecture | Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 6  — FIGURE III IMPACT OF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. ACTION 7: MASSIVELY INCREASE CLIMATE FINANCE, WHILE ENSURING ADDITIONALITY Consolidate and increase cli...
Investment policy framework for sustainable development — A number of constraints hold back the expansion of impact investing in developing countries. Key constraints related to the mobilization of impact investment funds include: lack of capital across the risk-return spectrum...
Transforming Education | Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 10 — According to the latest data from the Global Education Monitoring Rapport Team, low- and lower-middle-income countries face an annual financing gap of $97 billion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets by 2...
The strategic imperative of open source AI — c. 1995: TCP/IP emerges as the de facto global standard, having won the "Protocol Wars" through widespread, bottom-up adoption. 1991: Linus Torvalds releases the first version of the Linux kernel, providing the missing p...
The open-source gambit: How America plans to outpace AI rivals by democratising tech — On 23 July, the United States announced an AI Action Plan with 103 policy recommendations. It does not bring many surprises. The Plan’s keyword is AI race, mainly with China, summarised in the words of David Sacks, Trump...
Digital sovereignty: The end of the open internet as we know it? (Part 1) — In the context of an offensive and chauvinist turn in US policy, the popular magazine The Economist suggested a range of potential choke points that could be adopted by the EU in retaliation. They included restricting ac...
Digital sovereignty stack: Infrastructure, services, data, and AI knowledge — That means shifting the conversation from slogans to strategy: Build resilience in infrastructure (redundancy, diversified routes, trusted vendors) Regulate platforms by applying existing laws on content, commerce, ...
AI diplomacy — AI also raises concerns regarding safety, security, and privacy. AI-driven systems, such as autonomous vehicles, must be designed to safely handle unforeseen situations, and the cybersecurity risks associated with AI tec...
Artificial intelligence: policy implications — The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen significant advances over the past few years, in areas such as smart vehicles and smart building, medical robots, communications, and intelligent education systems. Thes...
Enhancing rather than replacing humanity with AI — A grandmother in Poland and her grandson, growing up in Dubai, sit together on a video call. She speaks only Polish, and he's more comfortable in English. For years, their conversations have been limited to simple phrase...
The year of AI clarity: 10 AI Forecasts for 2025 — China: China has implemented strict regulations requiring platforms to label AI-generated content, especially deepfakes, and to obtain consent from individuals before using their likenesses. Which practices do social ...
DeepSeek: Some trade-related aspects of the breakthrough  — DeepSeek has developed models at a fraction of the cost incurred by major American AI companies, and this cost reduction can be transferred to companies developing their products and services upstream, making AIaaS more...
The Pact for the Future (Final text) — Digital public goods and digital public infrastructure 14. We recognize that digital public goods, which include open-source software, open data, open artificial intelligence models, open standards and open content tha...
Diplomatic policy analysis — Overdependence on algorithms without critical human oversight can lead to biased or incomplete conclusions, particularly in complex, nuanced scenarios. Digital divides: Not all countries have equal access to advanced an...
Governing AI for Humanity | Final Rapport — d. It should partner with and build on research efforts led by other international institutions such as OECD and the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, and other relevant processes such as the recent scientif...
Capacity development — https://dig.watch/wp-content/uploads/capacity-development-novi-72-dpi_0.png AI and capacity development AI impacts digital capacity development efforts both as a tool and a topic. AI as a tool for capacity development T...
What is the difference between training and capacity development? — The terms ‘training’ and ‘capacity development’ are sometimes confused or used interchangeably. Training is just one element of capacity development. It usually focuses on providing skills for specific problems (e.g. us...
Developing capacities for bottom-up AI in the Global South: What role for the international community? — Intervenants - Rudy Massamba- Baratang Miya Arguments Leveraging local genius and talent that exists in communities globally Importance of understanding what communities actually need versus external assumptions Topics D...
Digital skills and capacity development in Africa: Priorities, policies, and initiatives — The Smart Rwanda Masterplan mentions the establishment of ICT R&D centres in collaboration with international ICT companies as one of its focus areas. The Digital Senegal Strategy 2025 sees ‘human capital’ as one of th...
WS #462 Bridging the Compute Divide a Global Alliance for AI — Instead, addressing the compute divide requires both expanding overall global capacity and ensuring more equitable distribution of resources.

Barriers to Equitable Access #

Infrastructure and Investment Challeng...

The year of AI clarity: 10 AI Forecasts for 2025 — China: China has implemented strict regulations requiring platforms to label AI-generated content, especially deepfakes, and to obtain consent from individuals before using their likenesses. Which practices do social ...
AI for Good Global Summit — but very, very little documentation. So there's a lack of democratized knowledge, in my opinion. By the week, there's a new model, but there's no documentation. You can't get support as a developer. And the second one we...
From summer disillusionment to autumn clarity: Ten lessons for AI — One example is the push to develop domestic GPU chips after US sanctions. China is in catch-up and bypass mode – using whatever it takes (including open-source innovations like DeepSeek and large state R&D programmes) to...
To foster human freedom and prosperity, Artificial Intelligence must be developed bottom-up! — ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are rising in popularity. If you’ve ever used these tools, you might have realised that you’re revealing your thoughts (and possibly emotions) through your questions and interactions...
Developing capacities for bottom-up AI in the Global South: What role for the international community? — This approach would leverage existing institutions and create centers of excellence that can better serve ground-level requirements. Major discussion point Capacity Building Implementation Topics Development | So...
Jua Kali AI: Bottom-up algorithms for a Bottom-up economy — As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a cornerstone of the global economy, AI’s foundations must be anchored in community-driven data, knowledge, and wisdom. 'Bottom-up AI' should grow from the grassroots of society in...
AI Apprenticeship: 10 transformative lessons from learning AI by building it — When discussing sensitive topics, maintain a respectful and professional tone. Structure your response as follows: Begin with a brief introduction that frames the question in its broader context. Present your mai...
AI as a tech ally in saving endangered languages — According to the United Nations, an indigenous language disappears roughly every two weeks. UNESCO estimates that nearly half of the world’s 7,000 languages could vanish by the end of this century. When a language dies, ...
WS #254 The Human Rights Impact of Underrepresented Languages in AI — Point majeur de discussion Legal and ethical frameworks for AI inclusivity Knowledge sharing and capacity building by international organizations Explication International organizations can play a role in sharing kno...
Human rights — Clear frameworks for accountability and oversight are necessary to address issues arising from AI's use. 5. Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Guidelines and Regulations: Strong rules and guidelines are needed for develop...
Ethics and AI | Part 4 — Principles for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the United Nations system: New wine in old bottles? The United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB)1 produced, starting from the work ...
AI diplomacy — AI also raises concerns regarding safety, security, and privacy. AI-driven systems, such as autonomous vehicles, must be designed to safely handle unforeseen situations, and the cybersecurity risks associated with AI tec...
Ethics and AI | Part 3 — Since AI begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of ethics must be constructed 1. UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the Re...
Ethics and AI | Part 2 — Ethics is the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong.8 A simple enumeration of the notions that may accompany ethics – moral and immoral, right and wrong, good and bad, correct and inco...
Open Forum #82 Catalyzing Equitable AI Impact the Role of International Cooperation — Building comprehensive datasets requires numerous projects and significant investment. Preuves Provided examples of Togo's AI use during the pandemic using satellite imagery and mobile telco metadata, demonstrating ...
Diplo/GIP at the Global Dialogue on AI Governance 2026 — The inaugural edition of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance will take place on 6–7 July 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland. Established by the UN General Assembly following a commitment taken by member states in 2024 in th...
GITEX Africa 2025 — On 14-16 April 2025, Jovan Kurblaija participated in GITEX Africa in Marrakech, Morocco. He participated in the panel on AI and delivered the master briefing 'Demystifying AI for Diplomacy and Development' at the Swiss p...
Artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber diplomacy Table of contents Knowledge Graphe of Debate Rapport de session Intervenants Disclaimer: This is not an official record of the session. The DiploAI system automatically generates...
[Event summary] The impact of AI on diplomacy and international relations — Moderator: Eline Chivot, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Data Innovation 12:45 – 13:30 Panel 3: AI, human rights, and ethics in international relations: Nicholas Hodac, Government and Regulatory Affairs Executive, IB...
Addressing AI-driven Socio-economic Inequality — In March 2020, entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk stated that 'AI is far more dangerous than nukes'. This wasn't he first time the adverse effects of the scale of AI deployment has been discussed. Throughout the last...
The digital economy in the age of AI: Implications for developing countries (UNCTAD) — Topics: AI governance, International framework It's essential to uphold worker rights in content moderation Supporting facts: Workers in the content moderation industry sign NDAs, preventing them from discussin...
WS #45 Fostering EthicsByDesign w DataGovernance & Multistakeholder — Previously, we have promoted rigorous analysis and multidisciplinary and inclusive debate regarding the development and implication of emerging technologies with our scientific committees that we have. And this starte...
UNESCO Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence — Specifically, Member States, international organizations and other relevant bodies should develop international standards that describe measurable, testable levels of safety and transparency, so that systems can be obj...
The MANAV manifesto: Reclaiming agency for the majority — India AI Impact Summit 2026 offered something rare in the global AI conversation: a blueprint that begins not with the algorithm, but with the human. The word manav means 'human' or 'mankind' in Sanskrit. It is a deli...
Top digital policy developments in 2019: A year in review — United Arab Emirates telecoms company du indicated it had no concerns over the Huawei 5G equipment, which is already in use in the country. India decided to allow Huawei to participate in 5G deployment projects, together...
Harnessing AI’s power for health — Andreas underlines that there is a notorious digital divide across different countries but also within countries, engendering vast disparities in terms of access to digital health services across the population. Thus, wh...
Fixing Healthcare, Digitally — Rwanda's experience in implementing new technologies, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology, has informed the development of appropriate regulations and policies.By using AI models to ass...
Status of internet access and connectivity in Africa — And there is also the issue of affordability: a monthly residential subscription to Starlink could go up to USD$100, which is more often than not a prohibitive cost. Across Africa, barriers to access are not only rela...
Growing internet connections mask deep inequalities, says ITU report — According to a recent International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report, the number of internet connections continues to grow, but important inequalities persist across quality, affordability and usage. The ITU’s Fac...
HLPF 2020: Leaving the digital behind? — Austria, which has incorporated digitalisation as one of its three focus areas, launched the ‘fit4Internet’ initiative that aims to leave no one in the digital age behind, whereas Bangladesh has undertaken measures to ma...
Open Forum #54 Advancing Lesothos Digital Transformation Policies — The enabling environment pillar focuses on developing robust policies and regulatory frameworks, with significant progress including cabinet approval of the National Digital Transformation Strategy and completion of ICT ...
Artificial intelligence in Africa: National strategies and initiatives — (2019). Emerging Digital Technologies for Kenya. The 2022–2032 Digital Master Plan contains extensive references to AI. It starts from acknowledging that ‘AI technologies and capabilities will be the in thing in the ...
AUDA-NEPAD White Paper: Regulation and Responsible Adoption of AI in Africa Towards Achievement of AU Agenda 2063 — By providing students with practical experience, specialized training programmes, and government support, we can ensure that the next generation of AI professionals in Africa is well-equipped to address the challenges an...
Artificial intelligence in Africa: Continental policies and initiatives — Artificial intelligence (AI) is making it on the agenda of regional processes across the African continent. In 2019, African Union (AU) country ministers in charge of ICT called for the establishment of a working group t...

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