WSIS+20 Forum and the ‘AI for Good’ Global Summit

Recently, India participated in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) Forum held at ITU Geneva from May 27th to 31st, 2024.

Additional Secretary (Telecom) led a delegation at International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Geneva, also participated in the ‘AI for Good’ Global Summit held alongside the WSIS+20 Forum.
The event was co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation, with the support of remote participation.
India is leading in drafting global standards for responsible and trustworthy AI, and the Telecommunication Engineering Centre, TEC, (Standard’s body of DoT, India) has released a Standard for assessing and rating fairness in AI Systems.
TEC is now framing another Standard for assessing and rating the robustness of AI systems.
India to host WTSA 2024 in New Delhi from 15-24 October 2024 during the AI for Good Global Summit at ITU Geneva and extended a warm invitation to foreign delegates from across the globe to attend the upcoming WTSA in New Delhi.

It will mark a significant milestone of twenty years of progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in two phases — Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005.
It will serve as a platform for multistakeholder discussions with the objective to take stock of the achievements and key trends, challenges and opportunities since the Geneva Plan of Action in 2003.
WSIS is a two-phase United Nations (UN) summit, first introduced by Tunisia in 1998. It aims to create an evolving multi-stakeholder platform to address issues raised by information and communication technologies (ICTs).

It is the leading action-oriented United Nations platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure, and other global development priorities.

AI holds immense potential to revolutionize digital governance by enhancing efficiency, improving service delivery, and supporting informed decision-making, however, it is essential to address ethical, privacy, and inclusivity challenges to fully realize the benefits of AI in governance.
The Indian delegation urged the International Forum to prioritize making these technologies accessible and affordable for developing nations, as this is essential to closing the sustainability gap.