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AI for Good was established in 2017 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations (UN) leading agency for digital technologies. AI for Good is identifying innovative AI applications, building skills and standards, and advancing partnerships to solve global challenges.

AI for Good is organized by ITU in partnership with over 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland.

Filmed by Pier Blattner

The spark of AI for Good rose from the collaboration between ITU and IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. The landmark moment in AI for Good’s journey was the inaugural AI for Good Global Summit 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together over 400 top-minds in AI, including Stuart Russell, Yoshua Bengio, Fei-Fei Li and others. Over the years, the platform has grown far beyond its origins, evolving into a vibrant multi-stakeholder community including governments, academia, industry, civil society and UN.

With the historic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and global shutdowns, AI for Good swiftly moved online in March 2020. It launched hundreds of virtual sessions to sustain its mission to continue fostering collaboration on practical AI solutions. Under the motto “All Year, Always Online,” the platform leveraged technology to connect innovators with problem owners.

In 2022, the AI for Good Neural Network launched an AI-powered community and content platform designed to connect thought leaders, industry professionals, policymakers, researchers, innovators, and civil society from around the globe. This free platform offers inclusive access to all original AI for Good content since 2017. This shift marked a significant milestone that served as a dynamic space for collaboration, innovation, and capacity development on AI.

During this time AI for Good has delivered on its action oriented promise, giving rise to the Global Initiatives on AI and Data Commons, AI for Health (in partnership with WHO), on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions (former ITU/WMO/UNEP Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management (FG-AI4NDM)),  AI and Multimedia authenticity standards collaboration (under the World Standards Cooperation ), AI for Road Safety (in partnership with UNECE) and pre-standardization focus groups on Artificial Intelligence Native for Telecommunication Networks (FG-AINN), AI and Internet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture (in partnership with FAO), concluded focus groups on AI and Environmental Efficiency, Machine Learning and 5G.

Currently, with a thriving community of over 37,000 active contributors spanning more than 180 countries, AI for Good is now executing an ambitious programme on AI, guided by Resolution 214 (Bucharest, 2022) of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, and amplified by the new landmark Resolution A/78/L.49 of the UN General Assembly (New York, 2024). These AI resolutions underscore the necessity of developing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems that contribute to sustainable development. The recent adoption of Resolution COM4/AI at WTSA-24 (New Delhi, 2024) further emphasizes ITU’s mandate and AI for Good’s role in establishing trusted AI and providing capacity development to member states.

AI for Good continues to host the flagship annual Global Summit in Geneva, along with regional impact events across the globe, engaging youth through Robotics for Good Youth Challenges worldwide, Innovation Factory and Machine Learning (ML) Hackathons, Governance Day and International AI Standards Summit. All of this is to address urgent calls from global entities like the UN Global Digital Compact, the High-Level Advisory Body on AI, and the G20 to lead in AI standards and capacity-building.

As the platform continues to evolve, AI for Good remains firmly aligned with the collective priorities of the international community, advancing the transformative potential of AI for the benefit of all.

We are the AI generation, and it is our responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind.