The Davos AI agenda: ITU AI for Good's strategic engagements for a responsible future

The 55th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, held from January 20th to 24th convened under the topic of “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”. The event highlighted the rapid evolution of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, and their transformative impact on society and the global economy.

According to the organizers, around 3.000 leaders from over 130 countries were expected to attend this year's meeting, including around 350 top government officials and more than 900 CEOs.

A key focus of the event was the development of trustworthy AI for sustainable development. The Imternational Telecommunication Union (ITU) delegation actively participated in discussions, emphasizing the importance of digital skills and capacity-building to ensure inclusive and responsible technological progress.

ITU Open Wallet Forum: Towards global interoperability

As part of the WEF 2025, ITU organized a OpenWallet Forum High-Level Panel with OpenWallet Foundation and hosted by the Swiss government.

Among the convened leaders in standards developments were ITU’s Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin , Deputy Director of ITU’s Telecommunciation Standardization Bureau (TSB) Dr. Bilel Jamoussi and TSB Programme Coordinator Venkatesen (Vijay) Mauree .

This session built upon the collaborative, multistakeholder standardization initiative that was launched at the ITU’s WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event in May 2024.

“From making payments easier to proving identity, digital wallets can make meaningful differences in people’s lives,” said Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). “But to do so, they need to be interoperable, secure, and useful anywhere we take them.”

ITU and other organizations issued a call to action on 22 January to develop and promote interoperable wallet solutions and advance digital transformation worldwide.

Learn more.

Launching the AI Skills Coalition

The AI Skills Coalition, led by AI for Good in collaboration with over 25 partnering organizations was officially launched during the event.

This initiative seeks to bridge the AI skills gap, promoting inclusive participation in the AI revolution by providing open and accessible training in generative AI, machine learning, and the application of AI for sustainable development. This capacity-building directly supports the United Nations ' Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact, addressing global inequalities in AI education and training. Key partners include Amazon Web Services (AWS) , 微软 , the East African Community, and 高知特 Cognizant .

Fred Werner , Head, Strategic Engagement at ITU announced the AI Skills Coalition as a panelist at Imagination in Action s’ The Dome ‘AI for Government’ under the theme “Architects of the Global Future”:

“How do we bridge the AI Skills Gap? We developed a standards initiative to build collaboration around deepfake detection techniques and AI watermarking to handle the deepfake misinformation parts, that's been launched. And yesterday we launched the AI Skills Coalition with 30 partners including Microsoft, AWS, Deloitte and more, to really bridge that that skills gap, especially focusing on developing countries.”

Watch the full announcement.

He also invited organizations with AI learning resources to contribute to the initiative. The prototype is set to launch at the Mobile World Congress from March 3 to March 6, followed by a major partner meeting at the AI for Good Global Summit in July.

AI for Good team also engaged with existing partners of the AI Skills Coalition, such as 德国国际合作机构 ’s Fair Forward and Domenico Zipoli from Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights , to discuss further collaboration and expansion.

Learn more about the AI Skills Coalition.

Driving AI innovation and inclusion at Davos

Guillem Martínez Roura , Senior AI & Robotics Programme Officer, also took the stage at Davos Innovation Week, participating in the panel on “Transforming Industries and Shaping the Future: AI, 3D Metaverse, Robotics and Emerging Technologies”. During the discussion, he highlighted the critical issue of basic connectivity as a foundational requirement for emerging technologies.

“We don’t have the basic meaningful connectivity everywhere in the world, we have increasing inequalities, two-thirds of the people who are not connected come from the least developed countries. The ITU wants to be part of this conversation to showcase the positive use cases of AI for sustainable development […] but at the same time, it is important to bring all the stakeholders around the table,” said Martínez Roura.

Beyond this panel, Martínez Roura also spoke at Davos Lodge ‘s panel “Innovating the Future: Pioneers in AI, Telecom and Emerging Technologies” and Top Tier Impact ’s Panel on ‘Intelligent Age & AI’. Additionally, he introduced AI for Good in a fireside chat with Julien Weissenberg at Wisdom Accelerator for Youth (WAY) .

As the Davos meetings convened this year, Werner stood at the forefront of pivotal discussions on the intersection of AI and ethics. His contributions across multiple high-profile panels highlighted the urgent need for a nuanced approach to AI, one that harmonizes cutting-edge innovation with deep-seated ethical principles.

Early in the week, Werner moderated a significant panel at the CNBC The Centaurs - AI Summit & Podcast on “AI Solutions for Positive Social Impact” which brought together Pierre-Alexandre TEULIé , CEO of ODDIFACT ; Yalda Aoukar , President of the Bracket Foundation ; Sam Gregory , Executive Director at WITNESS ; and Thomas Wolf , Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Hugging Face . This panel explored the transformative potential of AI in creating societal benefits, reinforcing the importance of deploying AI solutions that prioritize social responsibility alongside technological breakthroughs.

At the G42 Panel in the Emirates Pavilion, Werner joined Andrew Jackson, PhD , G42 and Teresa Hutson , 微软 , for a critical discussion. The panel, titled "Building a Framework for Responsible Innovation," addressed the essential balance between innovation and ethical responsibility, emphasizing the crucial role of AI standards in maintaining technology that is human-centric.

His dialogue continued at the Cognizant Chalet, where he took part in a "Responsible AI" panel. Alongside Amir Banifatemi , Kian Katanforoosh , Mark McDonald MD , and Naveen Sharma , Werner explored the foundational elements required to develop AI systems that are not only robust and resilient but also scalable. The discussion focused on the challenges and strategies necessary for responsibly integrating AI across various sectors.

Highlighting a week of influential dialogues, Fred Werner delivered a keynote speech at QuantumfAi’s annual Davos Innovation Week. His presentation focused on the "Quantum for Good" initiative, marking a significant expansion of AI for Good’s approach into quantum technology, aiming to significantly enhance AI’s potential for societal impact.

Breaking the ice with trustworthy AI development

The ITU delegation engaged with numerous key stakeholders and thought leaders in AI. Through discussions with representatives from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Cognizant, Deloitte, Microsoft, SAP, Snowflake and others, the focus on responsible AI development, governance, and standards through multistakeholder collaboration emerged as a central theme.

Guillem Martínez Roura attended the PATCH Davos reception, hosted by Njordis Group , and contributed to the WorldQuant University Roundtable on education and workforce development in emerging markets. This discussion aligned closely with AI for Good’s initiatives like the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge and other capacity-building efforts. Additionally, AI for Good’s Senior Business Development Manager, Kseniia Fontaine , participated in the Women in Tech Global Council Dinner, where she explored potential collaborations within the network.

The WEF Annual Meeting provided a platform for exploring new collaborations. At the event, AI for Good engaged in promising discussions with ProRata.ai CEO Bill Gross regarding intellectual property rights in AI and reconnected with Tristan Harris, founder of the Center for Humane Technology and keynote speaker at last year’s AI for Good Global Summit.

These dynamic exchanges have led to exciting developments. We have confirmed the participation of Witness Executive Director Sam Gregory, The Atlantic , CEO Nicholas Thompson , 高知特 Cognizant CEO Rami Kumar and 美国纽约大学 Professor Gary Marcus for the upcoming AI for Good Global Summit.

Our participation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos has reminded us that we are the AI generation and must embrace the responsibilities this entails. As we advance the conversation around trustworthy AI, we are preparing for the AI for Good Global Summit, set for July 8-11 in Geneva, Switzerland. This gathering will unite leading minds from around the world to further our mission. Stay tuned for more updates and exciting developments as the event approaches.

Learn more about AI for Good at WEF Davos 2025 from Fred Werner:

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This edition of AI for Good Insider was written and curated by AI for Good, AI & Robotics Programme Assistant Cindy Zheng.