Keynote
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
High-Level Informal Presidential Discussion on New Technologies, AI, and the Digital Divide
[As prepared for delivery]
Good morning.
Let me begin by thanking President Omar Zniber [President of the UN Human Rights Council 2024] for the invitation, and for his outstanding leadership at the Council, where he's prioritized the pressing issues of artificial intelligence (AI) and the digital divide to ensure that technological advancement doesn't come at the cost of human rights and human dignity.
Progress is underway
The national and regional initiatives and legal frameworks to establish protections around the development, deployment, and use of AI that we've witnessed in the past several months are a positive step forward in that direction.
Progress is also happening at the UN (United Nations) — from the General Assembly resolution on AI adopted in March − and the subsequent one in July − to the upcoming UN Summit of the Future and its Global Digital Compact
Member States are now working on Rev.5.
ITU and other UN agencies are coordinating to support the follow-up of the Compact, as a considerable share of the substantive work to implement its outcomes will happen right here in Geneva.
Dear colleagues,
We're just 19 days away from the Summit, and six short years from the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This is a turning point for the SDGs — “a fragile and special moment," as UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis has described it.
A moment of reckoning
As the head of the UN agency for digital technologies, I would also add: “a moment of reckoning."
Cyber insecurity is among the top 10 most severe global risks.
Photos of children are being scraped off the web to create powerful AI tools without the knowledge or consent of the children or their families.
Deepfakes and misinformation are blurring reality, eroding trust in our elections and institutions.
AI systems are showing gender bias and increasingly impacting our environment.
Meanwhile, not one of the top 100 high-performance computing clusters in the world capable of training large AI models is hosted in a developing country.
These are just some of the most complex and pressing challenges we're facing.
ITU is tackling many of them head-on.
Front and centre are the 2.6 billion people still offline around the world, even as the pace of AI development continues unabated.
Even among those connected, far too many people lack: the means, high-speed connectivity, digital skills, or trust to fully benefit from new and emerging technologies.
Closing the digital divide is central to the non-paper on AI presented by the co-facilitators and Permanent Representatives: of The Gambia, Luxembourg, and the Republic of Korea to President Zniber in April.
I want to recognize the Council's work in this critical area and reaffirm ITU's support.
Three fronts
Ladies and gentlemen,
The actions we take now will have a lasting impact for generations to come.
We have a historic — and narrow — window before us.
To succeed, we need to focus our energy on three fronts: 1) Harnessing digital and emerging technologies to rescue the SDGs; 2) Balancing innovation with safeguards that respect and protect human rights; 3) Ensuring international cooperation by bringing all stakeholders, including those from developing countries, to the table.
Rescuing the SDGs
Let's break them down quickly.
First, rescuing the SDGs.
Only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030.
Like all of you, I refuse to settle for a 17 per cent chance at a more fair and just digital future…
Especially when ITU has shown that game-changing digital solutions like AI can accelerate progress on 70 per cent of all the SDG targets.
Our latest UN Activities Report on AI highlights more than 400 projects covering all 17 SDGs.
ITU is already using AI to connect schools, improve early warning systems, advance healthcare, and more.
At our AI for Good Global Summit in July, we saw dozens of applications that are changing people's lives everywhere.
If I had to choose one, it would be the AI device connected to Luis' brain.
Luis is a 37-year-old with ALS, a disease that has made communicating near impossible.
When he told us from his home in Lisbon (fighting back tears) that he was very optimistic − the whole room in Geneva broke out in applause.
Striking the right balance
Second, balancing innovation with safeguards that respect and protect human rights.
ITU is a strong proponent of a human-centric and rights-based approach to emerging technologies — one that reflects the core UN principles of peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance, and solidarity. And continues building capacity to have meaningful multistakeholder engagement around these topics.
OHCHR's report on human rights and technical standards sends a powerful message: If we're going to harness the full potential of new and emerging digital technologies, we need to root them in a rights-based approach − and engage all stakeholders.
It builds on the resolution of the Human Rights Council calling for closer cooperation between the UN Human Rights Office and Standards Development Organizations like ITU.
The need for collaboration comes at a time when we're witnessing a strong call for harmonized AI standards.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at ITU just a few weeks ago that harmonizing AI standards will be crucial for both regulators and the industry. Warning that fragmentation would especially harm developing countries.
The Ministers, regulators, and leaders from the UN, industry, and academia who came to our first AI Governance Day in May also called for greater interoperability.
It's why standards feature prominently in the recent UN System White Paper on AI governance, led by ITU and UNESCO.
This is also why we're working closely with High Commissioner Volker Türk and his Office — as well as long-time partners at IEC and ISO — to develop standards based on a rights-based approach that addresses safety, security, and ethical practices.
An equal seat the table
Third, bringing all stakeholders to the table.
In December of last year, during the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I pledged, on behalf of ITU, to advance universal meaningful connectivity through a multi-stakeholder approach that's grounded in respect for human rights. Because we need to bridge the gap between policymakers and technical and human rights communities.
And because in today's increasingly polarized world. Open, inclusive, and secure access to means of communication is essential. it is essential to ensuring that different voices are heard, respected, and empowered.
Today, I renew this pledge and hope you will join us in making dignity and equality for all the cornerstone of a truly inclusive and empowering global digital space.
Dear friends,
When I was a young graduate student in Washington, D.C., I would often go to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
It's a quiet place − near the Potomac River − just a few blocks away from the hustle and bustle of Congress.
There's a quote there on one of the rotunda's walls that says: “As new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, laws and institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times."
It rings more true than ever. As we look to the Summit of the Future and its Global Digital Compact.
But also, the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly in October, and next year's 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society.
We must keep pace with the times.
This is an opportunity to not just follow where technology leads us, but to lay out our vision and to actively shape the path towards a digital future that's safe, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable for all.
Call to action
Let's rescue the SDGs.
Let's balance innovation and regulation.
Let's give everyone an equal seat and equal say at the table.
And above all, let's ensure that human rights are the bedrock of our collective digital future.
