Thu. Feb 13th, 2025

The AI for Good Global Summit tackles the rise of autonomous AI agents

Feb 13, 2025 , ,
technology, circuit board, face
How to regulate autonomous AI agents?Photo by geralt on Pixabay

Geneva, 6 February 2025

The UN agency for digital technologies rallies global AI leaders to address the opportunities and risks presented by AI agents, low-cost AI models, and the next wave of accelerated AI development.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​A new wave of autonomous AI—capable of reasoning, acting independently, and scaling at unprecedented speed—is rapidly reshaping the technological landscape. The rise of “agentic AI” and powerful, low-cost AI models is making artificial intelligence cheaper, more widely available, and potentially more energy efficient—but also harder to regulate. With some prominent CEOs predicting human-level AI within two to three years, concerns are mounting over safety risks, weakened guardrails, and the challenge of responsible governance.

These pressing issues will be at the center of the AI for Good Global Summit 2025, the United Nations’ leading platform advancing AI in service of sustainable development, in Geneva, Switzerland from 8 to 11 July 2025. The expanded, four-day gathering will also showcase progress on advanced robotics, autonomous mobility, quantum computing, AI in space, and brain-computer interfaces.

Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for digital technologies, the goal of AI for Good is to identify trustworthy applications of AI, build AI skills and standards, and strengthen global dialogue on AI governance for sustainable development.

“As AI development accelerates, so does the urgency to keep innovation aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “AI for Good is where the world comes together to ensure these technologies are safe, responsible, and leave no one behind.”

Tackling AI’s biggest questions

At the AI for Good Global Summit 2025, leading experts from governments, industry, academia, civil society, and the UN will explore how AI is reshaping our world, tackling urgent challenges such as safety, employment, sustainability, privacy, security, governance, and its broader societal and economic impacts.

Among the AI visionaries set to present are Geoffrey Hinton, AI pioneer and Nobel Prize winner; Yoshua Bengio, Founder and Scientific Director of Mila – Quebec AI Institute and Turing Award winner; Sasha Luccioni, AI & Climate Lead of open-source AI developer Hugging Face; and other prominent voices on AI.

Acting on global AI priorities

Responding to the Global Digital Compact, adopted last year by the UN General Assembly, the AI for Good Global Summit 2025 will provide a global platform for dialogue to advance AI governance, standards, and capacity building. As AI adoption accelerates, the Summit aims to inform policies and drive solutions that ensure AI is developed and deployed responsibly, fairly, and for the benefit of all.​

Yet, a global AI governance gap persists—an ITU survey found that 55 per cent of Member States lack a national AI strategy, and 85 per cent have no AI-specific regulations. To address this, the Summit will host ITU’s second AI Governance Day on 10 July, focusing on safety, trust, international standards, and bridging the regulatory gap, while also tackling the urgent need to build AI skills and capacity, especially in developing countries.

On 11 July, the Summit will host an International AI Standards Exchange, bringing together leading global standards bodies to strengthen AI’s technical backbone, ensuring interoperability, safety, and inclusive standards development.

“ITU is driving the development of a trusted and interoperable AI ecosystem,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “Our AI standards are supporting innovation in areas from network orchestration and energy efficiency to multimedia coding and content authenticity. Our International AI Standards Exchange will help keep up global momentum on the technical underpinnings of responsible AI.”

The newly established AI for Good Awards, presented in partnership with Tech To The Rescue​, will recognize groundbreaking AI solutions that contribute to global progress on sustainable development with categories including AI for People, AI for Planet, and AI for Prosperity. Applications for awards will open soon.

Combining the UN’s leading AI platform with the tech and development community

The AI for Good Global Summit is organized by ITU together with 47 partner UN agencies. The annual event, co-convened by the Government of Switzerland, is free of charge and open to everyone.

This year, AI for Good makes its debut at Palexpo, Geneva’s largest event venue and exposition centre.

Registration for media accreditation for reporters is open. Registration for the public is also open.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General
  • Ravi Kumar, CEO Cognizant
  • Geoffrey Hinton, Advisor for the Learning in Machines & Brains, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (presenting remotely)
  • Cherie Blair, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
  • Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley, and author of “Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control”
  • Nina Schick, Author, Entrepreneur, Speaker – AI Authority, Founder of Tamang Ventures
  • Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award winner. Founder and Scientific Director, MILA.
  • Gary Marcus, Scientist, best-selling author, and serial entrepreneur, New York University
  • Nicholas Thompson, CEO, The Atlantic
  • Alex Zhavoronkov, Founder & CEO, Insilico Medicine, world-known scientist and author working in biotechnology, regenerative medicine, and aging economics.
  • Sasha Luccioni, AI & Climate Lead, Hugging Face, Time 100 AI
  • Tristan Harris, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Center for Humane Technology (CHT), The Social Dilemma

See the full AI for Good Global Summit 2025 speakers here.

Demonstrations of robots, drones, and AI innovations will include:

The AI for Good Global Summit will take place alongside the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High-Level Event 2025​​, bringing a wide range of stakeholders together to advance global digital cooperation for sustainable development. A single media accreditation will be accepted for both the AI for Good Global Summit and the WSIS+20 High-Level Event.

The AI for Good Global Summit 2025 is supported by its partners and sponsors:

  • Co-Convener: Swiss Confederation
  • Diamond Sponsor: Microsoft Corporation
  • Gold Sponsors: Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of the Republic of Korea, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan​
  • Networking and Session Partners: Cisco Systems, Inc., International Health Charity Association (IHCA), FSAB Consulting, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
  • Innovation Factory Local Chapters: Mellifera, AkBank, Government of Catalonia, Innovate Australia
  • Supporters: Team Extension, Swisslog, KUKA​
Notes
  • Journalists can submit a request for AI for Good Global Summit 2025 media accreditation here. UN-accredited reporters with a valid UN badge can also write to pressreg@itu.int. Please review ITU guidelines to ensure that you qualify for media accreditation before registering.
  • The current programme is available here.
  • The digital media kit is available here. ​
  • Sign up here ​to receive media advisories and press releases related to the AI for Good Global Summit 2025.
  • Follow social media posts using the hashtag #AIforGood​
About ITU

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 194 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, it is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. Learn more: www.itu.int

About AI for Good

The goal of AI for Good is to identify trustworthy AI applications, build skills and standards, and advance governance for sustainable development. AI for Good is organized by ITU in partnership with over 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland. The landmark AI for Good Global Summit 2017 marked the beginning of a global movement to harness AI as a force for good. The action-oriented 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 summits gave rise to numerous AI for Good projects including several ITU “pre-standardization” initiatives advancing the standardization requirements for high-potential AI use cases. Registration is open for the upcoming AI for Good Global Summit 2025 happening from 8-11 July. With an expected 10,000+ in-person participants and online participation from the over 35,000 members of the AI-powered community platform, the AI for Good Neural Network, this is the UN’s largest and most inclusive AI solutions and matchmaking event. For more information, visit: https://aiforgood.itu.int/.​

 Source – ITU

 

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