IGF Summit opens with calls for governance and inclusion in digital technology

The summit officially opened on Monday and aims to bring together multiple stakeholders to chat about a digital future where technology is harnessed while balancing risks and enabling the inclusion of disadvantaged populations.

In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that unlocking the potential of digital technology requires guardrails and a collaborative approach to governance.

“Digital technology must serve humanity — not the other way around,” said Guterres.

The Secretary-General also told the conference that the Global Digital Compact, launched during the 2024 General Assembly encompasses a universal agreement on the international governance of Artificial Intelligence that will see all member states included in the global dialogue on AI governance.

Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) highlighted the importance of digital governance in navigating the future.

“It is important to ensure that digital technologies work for the people. Not against the people,” said Junhua.

Bridging divides

While the world moves towards adopting digital technologies and AI integration in various fields, experts remark that the road to bridging existing divides is still long.

The level of access to technology remains dependent on the geographical locations, economic status, age, and education levels of individuals.

As of 2024, 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have internet access, according to a report by the EDISON Alliance.

“It is going to take us 134 years to close the digital divide. The global gender divide is costing humanity $7 trillion,” said Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

With nearly a third of the world lagging behind in digital access, the Minister noted that there is a shortage of talents including cybersecurity, data and AI specialists.

Amer argued that advancements in airborne and space-borne networks offer an advantage of more ‘connections from the sky’ hence enabling digital access beyond physical infrastructural capabilities.

“Connecting the world from terrestrial networks is going to cost humanity half a trillion dollars…we could connect it from the skies.”

The Internet we want

Discussions on advancing human rights and inclusion through digital technologies also made part of the conversations at the annual summit.

Ivana Bartoletti, the Global Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer at Wipro noted that it will take a joint effort by individual players to make technology work for all and with respect to human rights.

“Privacy and innovation can go hand-in-hand, and we must consider privacy as a fundamental public good that allows anyone to be more respected in the digital space,” she said.

Bartoletti notes existing exclusion in digital technologies and AI models.

To counter this and eradicate inbuilt bias, the AI governance officer advocates for the inclusion of all genders and vulnerable populations not only in training data but also in decision-making and assessing models.

“Who is designing output? You have to have diversity at the table where you audit the systems,” she added.