AI For Good
AI Can Help Achieve The UN Sustainable Development Goals
“With the acceleration and democratization of AI, we recognize the tremendous opportunity for an emerging generation of problem solvers to tackle global challenges.”
— Marcus Shingles, CEO of XPRIZE
XPRIZE believes Artificial Intelligence will be central to solving humanity's grand challenges. Solutions to pressing problems related to health and wellbeing, education, energy, environment, and other domains important to XPRIZE can be found by capitalizing on the unprecedented quantities of data and recent progress in emerging AI technologies.
To support our mission to build a bridge to abundance for all, XPRIZE, together with the United Nations (UN) specialized agency, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), hosted the inaugural AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva from Jun 7–9, 2017. This annual summit gathered government officials, UN agencies, NGOs, industry leaders and AI experts to address how artificial intelligence can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). At the summit, they designed the first UN-backed “AI Guiding Principles” that provides guidelines on ethical, technical, standardization, societal and policy issues related to AI.
Proposed actions and strategies to ensure Human-AI collaboration
The AI for Good Global Summit in June 2017 discussed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help to assist the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Co-organized by ITU and the XPRIZE Foundation, the event convened 500 representatives of government, industry, academic, and research institutes, United Nations agencies, and civil society to explore the potential of AI to accelerate progress in fields such as health, education, energy, and the protection of our environment.
XPRIZE believes that AI will help to solve some of the most pressing challenges to our planet and its people. We believe in AI’s promise of a better life for all. We also believe that this will only be achieved if government, industry, and civil society work together to develop the positive aspects of the technology and manage related risks.
This report summarizes these discussions and proposes actions and strategies to ensure the continued collaboration necessary to ensure that we take full advantage of emerging AI technologies. For a full report.
Watch the Webcasts
For those of you who were unable to attend the summit, there are recorded webcasts of the event available for watching through the link below. All 28 sessions were recorded live from Geneva and are broken up for you by title, time and date, making it possible for you to watch the webcasts best in line with your interests and goals.
Day One Highlight Video
Day Two Highlight Video
Day Three Highlight Video
62%
62% of organizations will be using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
50%
Global demand for data scientists will exceed supply by more than 50%.
50%
Physicians will use cognitive solutions to identify the most effective treatment for 50% of complex cancer patients, resulting in a 10% reduction in mortality and 10% in cost.
Supporting Agencies
About ITU
As the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies, ITU is well placed to guide AI innovation towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are providing a neutral platform for international dialogue aimed at building a common understanding of the capabilities of emerging AI technologies and consequent needs for technical standardization and policy guidance.