AI For Good Global Summit
Here’s what you need to know to follow the conversation
Artificial Intelligence, Sustainable Development, Technology, Innovation, Data — The 2024 AI For Good Global Summit has all the ingredients needed to get the SDGCounting team excited! Running from May 29–31, this event promises to bring together industry leaders and global decision-makers to discuss how the transformative power of AI can be used to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Along with our sister organization StartingUpGood, we will be bringing you live and post-event coverage of the conversations and key takeaways.
Want to know more? Read on for our take on What to Expect, How to Participate, and 10 Can’t-Miss Sessions!
What to Expect
This is the fifth AI For Good Global Summit organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Each year, they have solidified their reputation for bringing together innovators, policymakers, and stakeholders around rapidly emerging technology. While AI is on the lips of nearly every industry these days, AI For Good stands out for its focus on what these technologies mean for sustainable development.
Themes
In our recent coverage of the Science, Technology and Innovation Forum, we identified several key themes that we expect will carry over to this summit:
- AI can advance the SDGs:
- Accelerate Climate Action
- Improve Educational Tools and Systems
- Provide Innovations in Agriculture and Health Care - It also presents challenges to development:
- Ethical and Social Considerations need attention
- Digital Inclusion and Infrastructure needs addressed
- AI can contribute to Gender Disparity
- Conversations on AI security and responsible use are still vague
Looking at the 2024 Summit programme, it appears these conversations will continue. Additionally, we expect more attention will be paid to new technological developments and the day-to-day uses for AI.
How to Participate
Whether you will be participating in person or virtually, the first step is to register:
In-Person Attendance
If you happen to be in Geneva this week, you have the opportunity to attend this event live. A free pass is available for on-site participants, but access may be limited. For the full experience consider upgrading to the Gold or Leader’s pass.
Online Participation
We expect most people will be participating virtually. The virtual pass gives access to all Centre Stage sessions and allows the use of online tools. Unfortunately, this option does not provide access to thematic stages such as the SDG and Frontier stages or the Youth Zone. It also limits the ability to follow workshops, exhibitions, and demos.
Once you are registered, you will have access to the “Neural Network App,” which is your gateway to watch live and recorded sessions, participate in networking and chats, explore virtual demos and exhibits, and connect with other participants across the globe.
External Coverage
In previous years, it has been possible to follow main stage sessions via YouTube. If for some reason you are unable to register, we recommend you follow both the ITU Channel as well as the AI For Good Channel.
Live streaming has already been scheduled and you should be able to follow along here:
- Day 0 — AI Governance Day (Starting 29 May 2024 at 6:00a EDT)
- Day 1 — AI For Good Global Summit (Starting 30 May 2024 at 2:00a EDT)
- Day 2— AI For Good Global Summit (Starting 31 May 2024 at 2:00a EDT)
Additionally, content from alternate stages and presentations is often uploaded throughout the year to the channels listed above.
10 Can’t Miss Sessions
By our count, there are over 140 sessions and events available during the Summit. Here are the ones we are most excited about (in chronological order):
Day 0 — AI Governance Day
State of play of major global AI Governance processes
- H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Yoshida, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan
- Thomas Schneider, Ambassador and Director of International Affairs, Swiss Federal Office of Communications, Chair of the Council of Europe Committee on AI
- H.E. Mr. Dohyun Kang, Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea
- SHAN Zhongde, Vice Minister, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, People’s Republic of China
- Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary, Commerce for Communications and Information, NTIA Administrator
- Ebtesam Almazrouei, Founder and CEO, AIE3, Expert AI Executive and Tech Visionary Leader
To share or not to share: the dilemma of open source vs. proprietary Large Language Models
- Jim Zemlin, Executive Director, Linux Foundation
- Melike Yetken Krilla, Head of International Organizations, Google
- Melinda Claybaugh, Director of Privacy Policy, Meta
- Chris Albon, Director of Machine Learning, Wikimedia Foundation
- Isabella Hampton, Policy researcher, Future of Life Institute
- Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy to the Director and Chief of Telecommunication, Standardization Policy Department, TSB, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Day 1 — AI For Good Global Summit
- HRH Princess Beatrice, United Kingdom
- Xu Chaofeng, Director General of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China
- Ebtesam Almazrouei, Founder and CEO, AIE3, Expert AI Executive and Tech Visionary Leader
- Werner Vogels, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Amazon
- Frederic Werner, Chief, Strategy and Operations, AI for Good, TSB International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Keynote interview with Sam Altman (remote) and Nick Thompson (in-person)
- Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI
- Nicholas Thompson, CEO, The Atlantic
As AI technologies have matured and been deployed in production settings for over three decades, the advent of large language models and other forms of generative AI represents a significant paradigm shift. This talk will explore how these cutting-edge technologies are not just enhancing existing applications but also pioneering new ways to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. We will delve into the transformative potential of generative AI across various sectors, including healthcare, environmental sustainability, and accessibility, highlighting specific examples where AI has driven positive change and innovation. By exploring the intersection of technology and social good, this presentation aims to shed light on how generative AI can continue to be a formidable ally in our pursuit of a better future.
- Juan Lavista Ferres, Corporate Vice President & Chief Data Scientist, Microsoft AI for Good Lab
Day 2 — AI For Good Global Summit
Making AI accessible: AI for All
Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute, renowned for its open source Falcon LLM models, has recently launched the non-profit Falcon Foundation to help bridge the digital divide and has committed $300 million in funding. The Falcon Foundation is dedicated to advancing the development of open-source Generative AI models and to building sustainable ecosystems around open-source projects that accelerate technology development. Hear from Dr. Hakim Hacid, who leads TII’s AI team on how they are advancing safe and responsible, open source AI for the benefit of society.
- Hakim Hacid, Acting Chief Researcher, Technology Innovation Institute (TII)
A workforce transformed: jobs and skills in the age of AI
PwC’s new Global AI Jobs Barometer, which analyses more than half a billion job adverts across 15 countries, sheds light on how AI is already transforming the world of work, and how it’s affecting wages, productivity and more. Please join our lunch event, where we will present the findings of the report and the implications for business and society. The presentation will be followed by roundtable discussions among participants.
- Andreas Braun, Director Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, PwC Luxembourg
- James Morris, Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Advocacy, PwC
- Malina Jankowska, Digital Transformation Director, PwC CEE
- Pierre-Antoine Balu Partner, Organisational Strategy, Strategy&
Now is an extremely exciting time to be an AI researcher in general, and to be working to address climate change, in particular. How did we get here? As a founder of the Climate Informatics Conference and the Environmental Data Science journal, I will share my perspectives from the early days through the accelerating growth of this transdisciplinary field. I will highlight lessons learned and look forward to a transformative future of using AI to help society confront climate change.
- Claire Monteleoni, Professor, Dept of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Research Director at INRIA Paris
- Philip Stier, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, University of Oxford
Next wave of AI for Good: from principles to implementation
- Virginia Dignum, Professor of Ethical & Social Artificial Intelligence, Umeå University
- Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley, Author ‘Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control’, UC-Berkeley
- Rumman Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, USA science envoy for AI, Humane Intelligence
- Anja Kaspersen, Senior Fellow, Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative (AIEI), Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
- Reinhard Scholl, Programme Chair, AI for Good Former Deputy Director, TSB,, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
AI for a sustainable and equitable future for all
- Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- H.E. Mr. Jürg Lauber, Ambassador, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
- Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- LJ Rich, Inventor, BBC “Click” Presenter, BBC News
Stay Engaged, Stay Informed
The 2024 AI For Good Global Summit promises essential discussions into how AI can advance the Sustainable Development Goals. By tuning into our coverage at SDGCounting and StartingUpGood, you ensure access to critical discussions and innovations shaping our future. Join us to stay at the forefront of technology and global development conversations. Social media links are listed below.
SDGCounting is a program of StartingUpGood and tracks the progress of counting and measuring the success of the SDGs. Follow us on social media:
For the latest on innovative entrepreneurship and social enterprise, check out StartingUpGood on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.
Disclaimer: Generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemini were used in the creation of this article to assist with summarization and proof reading.
