ITU AI for Good

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

AI for Good
AI for Good Global Summit 2023
Begins	8 July 2025
Ends	11 July 2025
Venue	ITU-T
Location(s)	Geneva
Country	Switzerland
Years active	7
Most recent	2024
Attendance	20,000 (2022)
Organised by	ITU-T
Sponsor	Swiss Confederation, immersion4 Technology Innovation Institute, Monash University, ZTE
Website	aiforgood.itu.int

AI for Good was established in 2017 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations (UN) leading agency for digital technologies. The platform is co-convened with the Government of Switzerland and in partnership with over 40 UN agencies. Its founding mission is to leverage the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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.

Today, AI for Good is recognized as the UN’s leading platform advancing trustworthy AI for sustainable development.

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 to advance the SDGs. 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 only have 5 years to achieve the UN SDGs, and AI is impacting people and the planet. We are the AI generation, and it is our responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind.

The 2024 AI for Good Global Summit, held in Geneva on May 30 – 31, marked a decisive step toward inclusive AI governance and global collaboration. The event brought together leaders from governments, industries, and academia, alongside 10,000 online participants. Key highlights included the launch of a unified framework for AI standards by ITU, ISO, and IEC, addressing critical issues like AI watermarking and deepfake detection, and a groundbreaking compilation of over 400 UN-led AI projects tackling all 17 SDGs. The Summit also introduced the AI for Good Impact Initiative, aiming to scale AI solutions globally and foster regional engagement through competitions, accelerators, and policy guidance. Demonstrations showcased cutting-edge innovations, including generative AI and mind-controlled robotic prosthetics, underscoring AI’s transformative potential for humanity and the planet.

The 2023 events received some publicity due to the large gathering of humanoid robots that occurred, including Ai-Da, Nadine Social Robot, Geminoid, and Sophia.^[1]

In 2020 the Global Summit became an online-only event. In 2022, the summit moved to the "Neural Network" community platform.^[2] Speakers include:^[3]

The third AI for Good Global Summit took place from 28 May to 31 May, and gave rise to the ITU Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous and Assisted Driving with several Day 0 workshops and VIP events having taken place on May 27.^[4] Some of the speakers included:

The second AI for Good Global Summit took place from 15 to 17 May 2018 at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and generated 35 AI project proposals^[5][6][7] Speakers included:^[8]

The first AI for Good Global summit took place from 7 to 9 June 2017. Speakers at the event included:^{[9] [10]}

One of the outcomes of the 2017 Global Summit was the creation of an ITU-T Focus Group on Machine Learning for 5G.

The ITU-T Focus Group on Machine Learning for 5G Networks (FG-ML5G) was created following discussions at the 2017 AI for Good Global Summit. The FG-ML5G is produced several technology standards in this domain, including Y.3172, Y.3173, Y.3176, which were adopted by ITU-T Study Group 13. The FG-ML5G created the impetus for a new ITU-T Focus Group on Autonomous Networks, which is responsible for i.a. Y.3181.

The 2018 Global Summit led to the creation of the ITU-WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health with the World Health Organization, which created the AI for Health Framework.^[11]

Together with ITU-T Study Group 16 and 17, AI for Good has been developing technology specifications under Trustworthy AI. Including items on homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, and federated learning.

The ITU relaunched its Journal ICT Discoveries during the 2018 Global Summit, with the first edition being a special on Artificial Intelligence.^[12]

Payal Arora criticized AI for Good for its Paternalism towards the Global South.^[13]

• Official website