Artificial Intelligence and E-Government: Opportunities, Challenges and the Future Landscape


Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITO), and Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)

Session 186

Friday, 31 May 2024 10:00–10:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room H2, ITU Montbrillant Building ICTs and Emerging Technologies Interactive Session

In the fast-growing digital era and moving toward the information and knowledge societies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key driver that advances the ever-growing number of ICT applications. Among them, the e-services offered by governments, known as e-government, have a significant impact on people's lives. AI brings significant opportunities to transform the delivery of public services and improve governance. By addressing challenges and ensuring ethical AI deployment, governments can exploit the full potential of technology to deliver effective and inclusive governance, thereby boosting the socio-economic situation of countries. The move towards AI-powered e-Governance is underway, and its positive impact on information and knowledge societies will be transformative.

This workshop focuses on success stories, current challenges, and opportunities of smart e-services in general, and e-government services in particular. The panelists, including policymakers from government and international bodies, as well as researchers from academia with experience in e-service providing companies, will first outline the framework for the e-government ecosystem, their deployed projects, and their success stories. Subsequently, they will discuss the future landscape, including opportunities and challenges at national and international levels. Important issues such as required regulations, the evaluation process for e-government services, as well as ways for knowledge transfer and sharing best practices through regional and international cooperation, are discussed by the panelists.

Panellists
Dr. HadiShahriar Shahhoseini
Dr. HadiShahriar Shahhoseini Associate Professor and Head of IUST Research Center for ICT Strategic and International Studies Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) Moderator

Hadi Shahriar Shahhoseini received BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering in 1990, 1994, and 1999 respectively. He is an associate professor in the School of Electrical Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). His areas of research include networking, supercomputing, and network management. More than 180 papers have been published from his research works in scientific journals and conference proceedings. He is the founder and director of IUST Research Center for ICT Strategic and International Studies (ICT-SIS). Dr. Shahhoseini served as IUST Vice Chancellor for International Affairs from 2016 to 2023. He was the Director of International and Scientific Cooperation for IUST from 2014 to 2016. He served as Program Chair and member of the Iran National Committee for WSIS and coordinator of the Iran delegation in WSIS Forums from 2012 to 2018.

Dr. Shahhoseini received the IEEE Computer Society Award in 2007 for outstanding and sustained services to the IEEE Computer Society's Technical Committee on Scalable Computing (TCSC) as the regional coordinator for the Middle-East region. He has been an executive committee member of IEEE TCSC and IEEE TCSC's regional coordinator in Middle-East Countries since 2004. From 1999 to 2004, he was an executive committee member of IEEE TFCC and its regional coordinator in Middle-East Countries. Additionally, he received the Best Professor Award of IUST e-Learning Center in 2008. Furthermore, he is the winner of the Best Researcher Award in the 3rd National ICT Festival, ICT Ministry, 2013; and received the certificate of the Best Industrial Researcher of the Iran University of Science and Technology in 2014. Dr. Shahhoseini was the manager of two research projects carried out by IUST that succeeded in being the Winner of WSIS-Prize-2012 in action line C-11 (International and Regional Cooperation) and Winner of WSIS-Prize-2015 in action line C-7 (e-Science).


H.E. Dr. Mohammad Khansari
H.E. Dr. Mohammad Khansari Deputy Minister and Head of Information Technology Organization (ITO) Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Iran

Mohammad Khansari is Deputy of ICT Minister and Head of Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITO). He received his BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering all from Sharif University of Technology, in 1996, 1998, and 2008 respectively. He served as a faculty member of Sharif International Campus, Kish Island; and director of IT and Cyberspace Center of University of Tehran. He was director of ICT Research Institute of Iran (ITRC) from 2013 to 2019. Dr. Khansari is an associate professor at University of Tehran. Since 2021 he has served as Deputy Minister of ICT and Head of Information Technology of Iran (ITO) that is the body in charge of developing the information technology within the country in general, and accelerating smart government services in particular. Dr. Khansari, on behalf of ITO, received the WSIS Prize 2023 championship certificate in action line C7 (e-Government) for implementing the project of “National Window of Smart Government Services”.


Mr. Deniz Susar
Mr. Deniz Susar Governance and Public Administration Officer United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)

Deniz Susar is a Governance and Public Administration Officer, Digital Government Branch, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government is a Governance and Public Administration Officer at the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of UNDESA. Deniz's main work areas include digital government and preparation of the biannual UNDESA flagship publication 'United Nations E-Government Survey'. As part of his current role, he also supports the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). His main research areas include e-government, open government, citizen engagement, internet governance, artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies and open government data. Deniz holds a Master Degree on International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University, New York, United States and a Computer Engineering degree from the Bosphorus University of Istanbul, Turkiye.


Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Kharusi
Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Kharusi Director General of Digital Transformation & Sectors Enablement Ministry of Transport, Communications & Information Technology, Sultanate of Oman

Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Kharusi is Director General of Digital Transformation & Sectors Enablement, in Ministry of Transport, Communications & Information Technology of Sultanate of Oman. Mr. Al-Kharusi is a digital transformation professional with 30 years of experience in diverse organizations, fulfilling challenging responsibilities in the domain of Information Communication Technology. He led the Government National Digital Transformation Program from concept design to execution and delivery of national initiatives & projects with over 50 government entities, ensuring compliance with the program’s guidelines and policies. Mr. Al-Kharusi is an active member in developing various sectorial digital transformation strategies such as Digital Education Strategy, Digital Health Strategy, and Finance Central System. He leads the semi-annual evaluation of digital maturity across all government entities. Additionally, he leads the National Change Management Strategy and Capacity Building Programs for government employees, as well as the execution of the Communication Strategy of the Government National Digital Transformation Program. Mr. Al-Kharusi also supervises the Process Simplification Labs with a focus on Life-Cycle-Events of government shared services, taking the initiative to improve laws, legislation, and procedures related to improving the quality of government services.


Dr. Haleh Amintoosi
Dr. Haleh Amintoosi Associate Professor, Department of Computer Engineering and Head of the E-Learning Center Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran Remote Panellist

Haleh Amintoosi is Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and leads the E-Learning Center at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. She is a distinguished co-founder of the FUM Blockchain Research Lab and holds a senior position in the FUM CERT lab. Her tenure as a Visiting Fellow at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, Australia, spanned from 2014 to 2023.

Dr. Amintoosi earned her BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Engineering from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and completed her PhD at the University of New South Wales, Australia, in 2014. Her doctoral research delved into trust and privacy in social participatory sensing systems. A prolific researcher, Dr. Amintoosi’s expertise lies in human-computer interaction, decentralized systems, and cybersecurity. She has contributed over 30 journal articles and 20 conference papers to prestigious publications and forums. Her excellence in academia and research has been recognized with several accolades, including the “Ferdowsi University Technician of the Year” award in 2023, the “Ferdowsi University Top Teachers” Award in 2022, and the distinction of Best Instructor in the Computer Engineering Department at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2020.


Dr. S.Mohammad Razavizadeh
Dr. S.Mohammad Razavizadeh Head of the ICT Research Institute (ITRC) Iran

S. Mohammad Razavizadeh is the Head of the Iran ICT Research Institute (ITRC), the largest national research and educational organization in Iran specializing in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 2006. Dr. Razavizadeh joined ITRC as a research faculty member and also assumed the responsibility of leading the wireless communications research group in 2006. In 2011, he joined IUST as an assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering, eventually advancing to his current position as an Associate Professor. Throughout his professional journey, Dr. Razavizadeh has gained valuable experiences in academia and has had the opportunity to hold visiting positions at esteemed institutions such as the University of Waterloo, Korea University, and Chalmers University of Technology. Additionally, he is recognized as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).


Topics
Artificial Intelligence Digital Transformation Machine Learning
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C3 logo C3. Access to information and knowledge
  • AL C4 logo C4. Capacity building
  • AL C7 E–GOV logo C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-government
  • AL C11 logo C11. International and regional cooperation