"Current Development Challenges: The role of science, technology and innovation"
Remarks
G77 + China Summit
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin
15 September 2023
Remarks delivered by Bruno Ramos, ITU Regional Director for the Americas
Excellencies, Members of the Group of 77, Ladies and Gentlemen.
In a few months, the G77 will mark its 60th anniversary.
This milestone will be an opportunity to reflect on the common challenges — but also common aspirations — that brought those initial countries in Asia, Africa and Central and South America together at that first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva.
The Group has changed much since then — and so has technology.
The last few months have seen an unprecedented acceleration in digital transformation, driven by emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence.
Seemingly overnight, the global conversation on AI has shifted from technical circles to town squares.
We're now past the initial shock, and AI continues to spark hope and concern in equal measure.
But most of all, it raises key questions.
For me, one stands out: Who stands to benefit from the AI revolution?
And what does it mean for current development challenges midway through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
When just 15% of these goals' targets are on track?
When our planet just endured its hottest summer on record?
When one-third of humanity is still offline?
ITU's latest figures, released earlier this week, estimate that 2.6 billion people are cut off from the many advantages of connectivity — from access to information, education, and economic opportunity.
In G77 countries and around the world, many who do have access don't go online because it's too expensive, or the experience isn't beneficial enough.
Solving development challenges in the age of AI requires going beyond connectivity alone.
Today, connectivity must be affordable.
It must be safe.
And it must be meaningful.
While AI holds great potential to accelerate progress on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it also risks creating yet another divide in an already unequal digital world.
To rescue the SDGs before humanity's most pressing deadline, we need coordinated action at the global level.
That's why the UN Secretary-General's “SDG Stimulus to Deliver Agenda 2030" emphasizes digital as a core transition needed for sustainability, peace and prosperity.
We also saw digital top the agendas at LDC5, the G7 and recent G20 meetings — where development ministers highlighted digital transformation and data as vital accelerators of SDG progress.
While such advancements are welcome, we can and must do more.
For starters, we must harness development finance to build or improve digital infrastructure in underserved areas and communities.
Investing in universal and affordable access to the Internet, along with resilient hardware, software, and networks, is a fundamental first step.
Second, we must invest in digital skills development, particularly in developing countries and across the Global South.
Education, technology transfer and capacity-building initiatives must provide people with technical skills, from “prompt engineering" to data analysis; but also, soft skills like critical thinking and creative problem-solving, which will grow in value as technology advances.
Finally, we need to promote applications – including safe, responsible AI – that address the unique challenges faced by developing countries, from rising food prices to economic inequality.
Technology can enable more effective and efficient governance and public service delivery, as the Group of 77 and China have rightly highlighted.
Here, the role of science and innovation is pivotal.
By investing in scientific research and promoting innovation in key areas like agriculture, healthcare, and disaster management, we can help ensure AI and all digital technologies serve the needs of everyone, including the most vulnerable.
And this at a time when countries of the G77 are often the most adversely affected by the impacts of climate change.
This can only be done together — as one global family.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We meet at a moment when technology is moving incredibly fast.
This can feel unsettling.
But how our shared digital future unfolds — and who benefits — is up to us.
The true potential of digital lies in its ability to empower everyone, not just the privileged few.
It's the single greatest force redefining development as we know it.
And it's our once-in-a-generation opportunity to get the SDGs back on track.
For that — and for the 2.6 billion unconnected — let's harness science, digital technology, and innovation for the benefit of all, in G77 countries and beyond.
Thank you.
