Guterres called for an end to the digital divide, stressing “huge opportunities” ahead

That was the message from UN chief António Guterres ahead of World Communication and Information Society Day on Wednesday.

Mr. Guterres emphasized the need to face the dangers of technologyincluding increasing economic inequalities, the suppression of hate speech and information, and the lack of control and unsupervised development of artificial intelligence, or AI.

In his video message, the UN chief said that digital transformation is “defining power of our time.”

“Them There are many benefits: from transforming education and health, to accelerating climate action and the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals. “

The bridge is divided

He emphasized that technology must be a tool that can reduce divisions – not deepen them.

And while the internet becomes more central to value creation and innovation,”We must dramatically improve inspection and inclusivity and eliminating the digital divide. “

This starts with supporting digital public goods such as open source software, publicly accessible data, and open content.

“We must invest in the capabilities of public institutions so that they have the skills and resources to understand, monitor, design, and engage with Artificial intelligence and transformative technologies. other”, the Secretary-General added.

Global Digital Compact

It calls for countries to come together around a Digital Compact, and avoid division, protect human rights, and ensure that technology is a force for good.

He praised the specialized agency of the UN, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for working to increase global connectivity for all, by the deadline of the 2030 sustainable development goal.

A woman uses solar energy to charge her mobile phone in a camp for displaced people in Burkina Faso.

Advancing AI governance for multilateralism

Echoing the words of the UN chief, his Technical Representative Amadeep Gill told UN News in an interview in Geneva, why it is urgent and important, to get the management right when it comes to AI.

“If we can show the rest of the world that we can get our act together around AI, not just shutting things downstop progress, but manage it in a way that no one is left”, against the background of other global challenges, “then that is a great message on the success of multilateralism.”