<div> António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1st January 2017.Having witnessed the suffering of the most vulnerable people on earth, from refugee camps to war zones, the Secretary-General has centered his efforts on ensuring human dignity for all.  In a period of unprecedented global challenges, he has drawn on his commitment to the UN Charter to mobilize people and launch action to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, address the climate emergency, advance gender equality, and achieve ambitious 21st century reforms to enhance the Organization’s vital efforts to secure peace, sustainable development, human rights and humanitarian aid. </div> Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees</a> from June 2005 to December 2015,  heading one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organizations during some of the most serious displacement crises in decades. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the crises in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen, led to a huge rise in UNHCR’s activities as the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution rose from 38 million in 2005 to over 60 million in 2015. Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor. As president of the European Council in early 2000, he led the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs, and co-chaired the first European Union-Africa summit. He was a member of the Portuguese Council of State from 1991 to 2002. Mr. Guterres was elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1976 where he served as a member for 17 years. During that time, he chaired the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance and Planning, and later the Parliamentary Committee for Territorial Administration, Municipalities and Environment. He was also leader of his party’s parliamentary group. From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Guterres was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where he chaired the Committee on Demography, Migration and Refugees. For many years Mr. Guterres was active in the Socialist International, a worldwide organization of social democratic political parties. He was the group’s vice-president from 1992 to 1999, co-chairing the African Committee and later the Development Committee. He served as President from 1999 until mid-2005. In addition, he founded the Portuguese Refugee Council as well as the Portuguese Consumers Association DECO, and served as president of the Centro de Acção Social Universitário, an association carrying out social development projects in poor neighbourhoods of Lisbon, in the early 1970s. Mr. Guterres is a member of the Club of Madrid, a leadership alliance of democratic former presidents and prime ministers from around the world. Mr. Guterres was born in Lisbon in 1949 and graduated from the Instituto Superior Técnico with a degree in engineering. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. He is married to Catarina de Almeida Vaz Pinto and has two children, a stepson and three grandchildren.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin took office as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023. Ms Bogdan-Martin was elected as ITU’s first-ever female Secretary-General by Member States at the Union’s Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania. Ms Bogdan-Martin was previously the Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau. She took office on 1 January 2019, becoming the first woman in ITU history to hold one of the organization’s top elected management positions. <div>Ms Bogdan-Martin is a strategic leader with more than 30 years’ high-level experience in international and inter-governmental relations and a long history of success advising governments around the world on policy and regulatory issues.</div> <div></div> <div>From 2008-2018, she led ITU’s Strategic Planning & Membership Department. She was instrumental in establishing the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, on which she has served as Executive Director for more than a decade, and was an architect of the annual Global Symposium for Regulators, the pre-eminent global event for digital policymakers, as well as director of ITU’s first global youth summit, #BYND. She pioneered and oversees ITU’s ongoing contribution to the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, and is leading ITU’s collaboration with UNICEF on the Giga project to connect all the world’s schools.</div> <div></div> <div>Ms Bogdan-Martin is a frequent speaker at top-level international policy events and has spearheaded ITU’s new Youth Strategy to more actively engage with the young people who are driving the next wave of digital transformation.</div> <div></div> <div>During her tenure as Director of BDT, she has led the implementation of a Results-Based Management system, improved internal accountability frameworks, and initiated a comprehensive review of reporting mechanisms across BDT’s global network of field and area offices, with a view to creating a more dynamic, responsive and fit-for-purpose organization.</div> <div></div> <div>Ms Bogdan-Martin holds a Master’s degree in International Communications Policy from American University in Washington, DC, post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is certified in Accountability and Ethics by the United Nations Leaders Programme.</div> <div></div> <div>She is an affiliate of the Harvard University Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society, a Generation Unlimited Champion, and a Champion of the EDISON Alliance led by the World Economic Forum. She serves on a number of advisory bodies, including the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative, the SDG Lab Advisory Board, the UN Technology Innovation Labs, and the Alumni Expert Council of the Internet Governance Lab of American University in Washington D.C. She is also a qualified amateur radio operator.</div> <div></div> <div>Ms Bogdan-Martin is married with four children.</div>

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected WHO Director-General for a five-year term by WHO Member States at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017. In doing so, he was the first WHO Director-General elected from among multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly, and was the first person from the WHO African Region to head the world’s leading public health agency. Born in the Eritrean city of Asmara, Dr Tedros graduated from the University of Asmara with a Bachelor of Biology, before earning a Master of Science (MSc) in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London, a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Community Health from the University of Nottingham and an Honorary Fellowship from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Following his studies, Dr Tedros returned to Ethiopia to support the delivery of health services, first working as a field-level malariologist, before heading a regional health service and later serving in Ethiopia’s federal government for over a decade as Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs. As Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012, he led a comprehensive reform of the country’s health system, built on the foundation of universal health coverage and provision of services to all people, even in the most remote areas. Under his leadership, Ethiopia expanded its health infrastructure, developed innovative health financing mechanisms, and expanded its health workforce. A major component of reforms he drove was the creation of a primary health care extension programme that deployed 40 000 female health workers throughout the country. A significant result was an approximate 60% reduction in child and maternal mortality compared to 2000 levels. As Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016, he elevated health as a political issue nationally, regionally and globally. In this role, he led efforts to negotiate the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, in which 193 countries committed to the financing necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to his election as Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros held many leadership positions in global health, including as Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and Co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board. After taking office as WHO Director-General on 1 July 2017, Dr Tedros initiated the most significant <a href="https://www.who.int/about/transformation">transformation</a> in the Organization’s history, which has generated a wide range of achievements.

Lila Ibrahim is the COO of Google DeepMind, a world leading AI research company that aims to solve intelligence to advance science and benefit humanity. She leads a broad range of functions, including Operations, Governance and Ethics, Policy, Communications, and People & Culture. She plays a key role spearheading the company’s work on critical issues involving the intersection of AI and society, which includes chairing DeepMind’s cross-functional responsibility and AI for Good initiatives. Lila has helped grow some of the world's leading technology companies during her 30 year career including Intel, where she held a series of global engineering, technology, and management roles; venture firm Kleiner Perkins; and Coursera, where she was the President, CBO and COO and helped bring education to millions of people around the world. She is the co-founder and Chair of education technology non-profit Team4Tech and previously served on the Board of Gannett, helping it become the largest US print media company. Lila is a 2007 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a 2011 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and a recipient of the Anita Borg Institute’s award for Social Impact. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and was honored by the university as a 2021 Distinguished Engineering Alumnae.

Dr. Werner Vogels is Chief Technology Officer at Amazon.com where he is responsible for driving the company's customer-centric technology vision. As one of the forces behind Amazon's approach to cloud computing, he is passionate about helping young businesses reach global scale, and transforming enterprises into fast-moving digital organizations. Vogels joined Amazon in 2004 from Cornell University where he was a distributed systems researcher. He has held technology leadership positions in companies that handle the transition of academic technology into industry. Vogels holds a PhD from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and has authored many articles on distributed systems technologies for enterprise computing.

Baroness Joanna Shields OBE is a tech industry veteran, parliamentarian, and passionate advocate for responsible technology that benefits humanity. With over three decades of experience, she has built companies, products, and platforms that have transformed markets and reshaped industries. She has held executive roles at tech giants Facebook, Google, Aol and RealNetworks, where she scaled operations globally and delivered exponential growth in revenue and users. As a startup CEO, Joanna led Bebo and Veon to successful acquisitions and transformed BenevolentAI into a leader in AI drug discovery. Currently, as the founder of Precognition, she advises government and business leaders on AI solutions for a better future.   Joanna has served in government as the UK Minister for Internet Safety & Security, Digital Economy Adviser to the Prime Minister, UK Ambassador for Digital Industries, and Chair/CEO of TechCityUK. She is a life peer in the House of Lords and a leading global advocate for the protection of children online. She founded the WeProtect Global Alliance in 2014, which today has over 100 member countries working to combat online sexual abuse and child exploitation. Baroness Shields has also served on various private, public, and charitable sector boards, including as Chair of the TechCity Investment Corporation and non-executive board member of the London Stock Exchange Group and Save the Children UK.   An influential voice on responsible AI, Joanna serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on AI and the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity and was twice elected Co-Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI). The uniting theme of her work today is advancing safe and responsible AI development for the benefit of all in society.

Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of <em>Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us</em>. His books have sold 40 Million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today. Born in Israel in 1976, Harari received his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2002, and is currently a lecturer at the Department of History in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2019, following the international success of his books, Yuval Noah Harari co-founded <a href="https://www.sapienship.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sapienship</a> with his husband and original agent, Itzik Yahav. Sapienship is a social impact company with projects in the fields of entertainment and education, whose main goal is to focus the public conversation on the most important global challenges facing the world today. Yuval Noah Harari gave keynote speeches on the future of humanity in Davos 2020 and 2018, on the World Economic Forum’s main Congress Hall stage. He regularly discusses global issues with heads of state, and has had public conversations with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Harari has also met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Argentine President Mauricio Macri, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Shanghai’s Mayor Ying Yong. In 2019, Harari sat down for a filmed discussion on technology and the future of society with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and in 2018 he presented the first ever TED talk delivered by a digital avatar. Harari originally specialized in world history, medieval history and military history. His current research focuses on macro-historical questions such as: What is the relationship between history and biology? What is the essential difference between Homo sapiens and other animals? Is there justice in history? Does history have a direction? Did people become happier as history unfolded? What ethical questions do science and technology raise in the 21st century? Published in 2014, Harari’s <a href="https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind</a> has become an international hit, with 23 Million copies sold. It is a New York Times top 10 bestseller, which has stayed on the paper’s bestseller list for over half the time it has been available in the US, over a six year period. The book held positions #1-#3 on the Sunday Times’ bestseller list for 96 consecutive weeks. Sapiens was recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Natalie Portman, Janelle Monáe, Chris Evans and many others. The Guardian has credited Sapiens with revolutionizing the non-fiction market and popularizing ‘brainy books’. In 2016 Prof. Harari returned with <a href="https://www.ynharari.com/book/homo-deus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow</a>, a critically acclaimed book that examines the big future projects facing humanity in the 21st century. Homo Deus warns of the threats introduced by new and unprecedented technological powers, which could allow some Homo sapiens to artificially upgrade their bodies and minds while other members of society are left far behind. Since its publication, over 10 Million copies of the book have been sold worldwide. After venturing deep into the past and then the future, Yuval Noah Harari published <a href="https://www.ynharari.com/book/21-lessons-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">21 Lessons for the 21st Century</a> in 2018. Here he stopped to take the pulse of our current global climate, focusing on the biggest questions of the present moment: What is really happening right now? What are today’s greatest challenges and choices? What should we pay attention to? 6 Million copies of 21 Lessons have been sold worldwide. In 2020 Harari (as creator and co-writer) joined forces with renowned comics artists David Vandermeulen (co-writer) and Daniel Casanave ( illustrator). Together, they created <a href="https://www.ynharari.com/book/graphicnovelsapiens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sapiens: A Graphic History</a> – a radical adaptation of the original Sapiens into a graphic novel series that is bursting with wit, humor and color. These illustrated books cast Yuval Noah Harari in the role of guide, who takes the reader through the entire history of the human species, accompanied by a range of fictional characters and traveling through time, space and popular culture references. The series will be published in four volumes, and the first two books are already available – with over 1 Million copies sold. Autumn 2022 saw Harari venturing into the world of children’s books for the first time, with the middle-grade series <a href="https://www.ynharari.com/book/unstoppable_us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unstoppable Us</a>. Here, he tells the unbelievable true story of humans – our all-conquering and insatiable species – in a way that is accessible to kids. The series will be published in four immersive volumes, featuring full-color illustrations by Ricard Zaplana Ruiz, starting with Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World. This book quickly became a New York Times bestseller, was listed among the paper’s best children’s books of 2022, and was warmly recommended by Jeff Kinney, Kristen Bell, and Kirkus. Prof. Harari’s writings have received several accolades. In 2021 he was presented with a US Association of Foreign Press Correspondents Honorary Award. In 2020, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from VUB (the Free University of Brussels), and received the CITIC Author of the Year prize in China, for Sapiens: A Graphic History. In 2019, 21 Lessons was honored as ‘Knowledge Book of the Year’ by the German magazine Bild der Wissenschaft, Homo Deus was recognized as the ’Wise Book of the Year’ by Krakow’s Jagiellonian University, and Sapiens won the ‘Academic Book of the Year’ prize at the UK’s Academic Book Trade Awards. In 2017 Homo Deus received Handelsblatt’s German Economic Book Award for “the most thoughtful and influential economic book of the year”, and in 2015 Sapiens won China’s Wenjin Book Award. Yuval Noah Harari lectures around the world on the topics explored in his books, and offers his knowledge and time to various audiences on a voluntary basis. He writes articles for publications such as The Guardian, The Financial Times, The New York Times, TIME and The Economist. In 2020 Harari wrote and interviewed extensively on the global COVID-19 crisis – discussing the pandemic’s implications on major news channels, including CNN and the BBC – and in 2022 he commented publicly on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/vladimir-putin-war-russia-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> on this topic becoming The Guardian Opinion’s most-read opinion piece of all time. Harari was featured in a profile piece on CBS’ 60 Minutes programme in 2021. <style>p a {border-bottom:1px solid}</style>

Orly Lobel is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, and the founding director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy (CELP) at University of San Diego. She is the award-winning author of several books and numerous high-impact articles. Lobel is a prolific speaker, consultant, expert witness, commentator, and scholar who travels the world with an impact on policy and industry. Her work has been featured in top media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Sunday Times, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. A graduate of Tel-Aviv University and Harvard Law School, Lobel clerked on the Israeli Supreme Court and is a member of the American Law Institute. She has recently been named as one of the most cited legal scholars in in law and technology and in employment law and overall one of the most cited younger legal scholars in the United State. She has received several grants for her scholarship including most recently a grant from the AI and Humanities Project. In 2016 Lobel was invited to Washington DC to present her research on talent mobility at the White House, a meeting which resulted in a presidential call for action. In 2020 she was the keynote speaker and advisor to the Federal Trade Commission on labor market competition policy. Lobel advises both public agencies and private tech leaders on competition, human capital, equality, innovation, labor markets, and tech policy. She is a beloved teacher and mentor and has been recognized by her students as a Woman of Impact and a Woman of Valor. Her books You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side (Norton) and Talent Wants to Be Free: Why We Should Learn to Love Leaks, Raids and Free Riding (Yale University Press) are the recipient of several prestigious awards and have been reviewed in top scholarly journals and media. Her new book The Equality Machine: Harnessing Tomorrow’s Technologies for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future (PublicAffairs) has received raving reviews and has been named by The Economist as a Best Book of 2022 (“brilliant”). Science Magazine calls the book “masterful” and Kirkus describes The Equality Machine, “a compelling, hopeful, enthusiastic yet measured argument for technology’s potential to promote equality across many facets of culture and industry.”

Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei is a pioneering force in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology, with a wealth of experience spanning both government and the private sector. Her exceptional expertise in artificial intelligence, supercomputing, telecommunications, semiconductors, technology governance, advanced technology, and strategic innovation has positioned her at the forefront of AI leadership globally, earning recognition among <strong>H2o.ai's world's top 100 AI leaders</strong>. As a thought leader, entrepreneur, and patent inventor, Dr. Almazrouei has been instrumental in pioneering cutting-edge AI models and fostering global AI policy frameworks. Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei plays a key role in shaping AI strategies and frameworks, and building international collaborations on a global scale. She serves as <strong>Chairperson</strong> of the <strong>United Nations AI for Good Impact Initiative</strong> and as a <strong>Senior AI Consultant</strong> for the <strong>International Telecommunication Union (ITU)</strong>, playing a critical role in <strong>shaping global AI policies, technology governance, and regulation frameworks</strong>. Dr. Almazrouei's exceptional contributions have garnered her notable honors, including the <strong>Leading AI Women in the World list</strong>, the <strong>Global Leadership Women in Tech® MENA Award</strong>, and a spot among the <strong>Top 100 Global Tech Speakers</strong>. She also holds various advisory roles and board memberships across various international organizations. As the <strong>CEO and Founder of AIE3</strong>, Dr. Almazrouei continues to drive AI innovation, developing scalable AI solutions, building capacity, and leading industry-wide advancements. She previously held senior executive roles, including <strong>Executive Director, Acting Chief AI Researcher,</strong> and <strong>Founder of the AI Cross Center Unit (AICCU)</strong> at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). She established and led the AI Cross Center, driving strategic planning and development. Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei directed and spearheaded the development of the <strong>Falcon Large Language Models (LLMs)</strong>—Falcon 7B, 40B, and 180B. These AI models have made significant strides in AI research and development in the world, particularly in open-source generative AI models. Additionally, she developed NOOR, the first and the largest Arabic LLM in 2022. Dr Ebtesam Almazrouei is the first Emirati woman to hold a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence for Wireless Communication Engineering and Computer Science. Her vision is to leverage AI to address global challenges and drive meaningful societal impact.

Stuart Russell received his B.A. with first-class honours in physics from Oxford University in 1982 and his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford in 1986. He then joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley, where he is Professor (and formerly Chair) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Neurological Surgery at UC San Francisco and Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Council on AI and Robotics. Russell is a recipient of the Presidential Young Investigator Award of the National Science Foundation, the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, the World Technology Award (Policy category), the Mitchell Prize of the American Statistical Association and the International Society for Bayesian Analysis, the ACM Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award, and the AAAI/EAAI Outstanding Educator Award. In 1998, he gave the Forsythe Memorial Lectures at Stanford University and from 2012 to 2014 he held the Chaire Blaise Pascal in Paris. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research covers a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence including machine learning, probabilistic reasoning, knowledge representation, planning, real-time decision making, multitarget tracking, computer vision, computational physiology, global seismic monitoring, and philosophical foundations. His books include "The Use of Knowledge in Analogy and Induction", "Do the Right Thing: Studies in Limited Rationality" (with Eric Wefald), and "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" (with Peter Norvig). His current concerns include the threat of autonomous weapons and the long-term future of artificial intelligence and its relation to humanity.

Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists, with a thirty-year track record of accurate predictions. Called "the restless genius" by The Wall Street Journal and "the ultimate thinking machine" by Forbes magazine, he was selected as one of the top entrepreneurs by Inc. magazine, which described him as the "rightful heir to Thomas Edison." PBS selected him as one of the "sixteen revolutionaries who made America." Ray was the principal inventor of the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition software. Ray received a Grammy Award for outstanding achievements in music technology; he is the recipient of the National Medal of Technology, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, holds twenty-one honorary Doctorates, and honors from three U.S. presidents. Ray has written five national best-selling books, including New York Times best sellers <em>The Singularity Is Near</em> (2005) and <em>How To Create A Mind</em> (2012).

<span data-contrast="none">Maja Matarić is the Chan Soon-Shiong Distinguished Professor in the Computer Science Department, Neuroscience Program, and the Department of Pediatrics University of Southern California, founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center (RASC), co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab, and the lead of the Viterbi K-12 STEM Center. She received her PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from MIT in 1994, MS in Computer Science from MIT in 1990, and BS in Computer Science from the University of Kansas in 1987.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). She is a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from President Obama, the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award for Innovation, Okawa Foundation Award, NSF Career Award, the MIT TR35 Innovation Award, and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career Award. At USC she has been awarded the Viterbi School of Engineering Service Award and Junior Research Award, the Provost's Mentoring Award and Center for Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship, the Mellon Mentoring Award, the Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Service Award, a Remarkable Woman Award, and was named a Distinghished Professor. She is featured in the science documentary movie "Me & Isaac Newton", in The New Yorker ("Robots that Care" by Jerome Groopman, 2009), Popular Science ("The New Face of Autism Therapy", 2010), the IEEE Spectrum ("Caregiver Robots", 2010), and is one of the LA Times Magazine 2010 Visionaries.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić has published extensively, is the author of a popular introductory robotics textbook, "The Robotics Primer" (MIT Press 2007), is on the editorial board of the ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, and has served as an associate editor of three major journals. She has served on a number of advisory boards, including the National Science Foundation Computing and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) Division Advisory Committee, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council, and the Willow Garage and Evolution Robotics Scientific Advisory Boards.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić's Interaction Lab's research into socially assistive robotics is aimed at endowing robots with the ability to help people help themselves, through individual non-contact assistance in convalescence, rehabilitation, training, and education. Her research is developing algorithms, models, and methods for personalized robot-assisted therapies for children with autism spectrum disorders, infants at risk for movement delays, stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors, individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia, as well as healthy elderly and other user populations. Her research team has developed some of the first and longest deployments of such system in real world settings: hospitals, therapy centers, schools, and homes.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić is actively involved in K-12 educational outreach. She is the lead of the USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center, and has raised federal, corporate, and foundation grant support for and developed free open-source curricular materials for elementary, middle-school, and high school robotics courses, K-12 teacher development programs, K-12 STEM equity and inclusion programs, and after-school robotics programs and competition training, all aiming to engage student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić's university leadership experience includes serving as the appointed USC Interim Vice President of Research (Jan 2020-Jul 2021), the appointed USC Viterbi School of Engineering Vice Dean for Research (Jul 2006-Dec 2019), and as the elected President of the USC faculty and the Academic Senate (2005-2006).</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prof. Matarić is also the co-founder of Embodied, Inc., which launched Moxie (in May 2020), an in-home socially assistive robot for supporting child development.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span data-teams="true">Wendell Wallach has an international reputation as an expert on the ethics and governance of emerging technologies, particularly AI. While semi-retired he continues to lecture and consult. From 2020-2024, he was Carnegie/Uehiro Senior Fellow at the<strong> Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (CCEIA) </strong>where he founded and co-directed (with Anja Kaspersen) the AI and Equality Initiative<strong>. </strong>He is also an advisor to <strong>T</strong><strong>he Hastings Center </strong>and a scholar at the <strong>Yale University Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics</strong> where he chaired Technology and Ethics studies for eleven years. Wallach’s latest book, a primer on emerging technologies, is entitled, <i>A Dangerous Master: How to keep technology from slipping beyond our control.  </i>He co-authored<i> </i>(with Colin Allen)<i> Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong. </i> The <strong>World Technology Award</strong> for Ethics was awarded to Wendell in 2014 and for Journalism and Media in 2015. More recently, Wallach has been referred to as<i>, “a Godfather of AI Ethics.”  </i></span>

A research and scientific leader in Artificial Intelligence, Alessandra is the Sr. Director of AI and Data Science at Shutterstock. Alessandra has over 18 years' experience in research and innovation gained whilst working in academic and commercial environments. Alessandra is passionate in advanced analytics, machine learning, and computational models with the focus of transferring innovation from research to products. As Co-chair of the UNESCO Women for Ethical AI Platform and Global President of Women in AI (a non-profit do-tank working towards gender-inclusive AI that benefits global society) Alessandra is working with a strong community of women to foster diversity , inclusion and equality for women and minorities while encouraging a global ethical approach in AI. In an advisory capacity, Alessandra also serves as the Governance Committee Chair at the Science Foundation Ireland Center for Research Training in Machine Learning. Among several awards, Alessandra won the 2024 Grace Hopper and the 2021 XV International Prize "Le Tecno-visionarie" in the AI ​​- Industrial Research category. In her previous role Alessandra was Head of Analytics Research at Nokia Bell Labs where she was leading research teams in several locations while driving changes across different activities like her contributions to the Nokia AI Ethics Advisory Board.

GARY MARCUS is a leading voice in artificial intelligence. He is a scientist, best-selling author, and serial entrepreneur (Founder of Robust.AI and Geometric.AI, acquired by Uber). He is well-known for his challenges to contemporary AI, anticipating many of the current limitations decades in advance, and for his research in human language development and cognitive neuroscience. An Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU, he is the author of five books, including, <em>The Algebraic Mind</em>, <em>Kluge</em>, <em>The Birth of the Mind</em>, and the New York Times Bestseller <em>Guitar Zero</em>. He has often contributed to <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Wired</em>, and <em>The New York Times. </em>His most recent book, <em>Rebooting AI</em>, with Ernest Davis, is one of Forbes’s 7 Must Read Books in AI. You can follow him at <a href="https://garymarcus.substack.com/">garymarcus.substack.com</a> and on Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/GaryMarcus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@garymarcus</a>. And … coming Spring 2023, his new podcast… <em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-vs-machines-from-the-world-as-youll-know-it/id1532110146">Humans versus Machines</a></em><em>.</em>

Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic, a position he has held since 2021. During that time, the publication has won three National Magazine Awards for General Excellence, three Pulitzer Prizes, and been named Digiday's Publisher of the Year. It has grown revenue by 84%, while reaching the highest level of subscribers in its 166-year history. Thompson is also the former editor-in-chief of WIRED, where he built successful subscription and aRiliate revenue businesses. While at WIRED he also wrote and edited multiple stories that were cited in front of Congress and one that was turned into an Academy Award winning film. Another of his stories was recently turned into the second highest grossing documentary of all time on HBO Max. Thompson is a former contributor for CBS News and a cofounder of The Atavist, a multimedia CMS that was sold to WordPress, and Speakeasy.ai, which was sold to Amplica Labs. He previously served as editor of NewYorker.com. He is a life member at the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member at The National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the author of "The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War," and a former contributor to CNN and CBS News. He films a daily video on tech policy for Linkedin and has roughly two million followers across social media platforms. Thompson has long been a competitive runner; in 2021, he set the American record for men 45+ in the 50K race. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford where he earned degrees in Earth Systems, Political Science, and Economics.

<span data-ogsc="rgb(36, 36, 36)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Babak Hodjat</span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white"> is a British computer scientist, entrepreneur, and writer. He was the co-founder and CEO of </span><span data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)"><a id="OWA72cad575-5104-952c-acbb-acf4c47935de" class="x_OWAAutoLink x_elementToProof" title="Original URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentient_Technologies. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSentient_Technologies&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C2961543b2bef417de38d08dda1ac2b8d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638844483032119327%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=X8v7PtFVDrXhjzqdQGdT3n4U4vV3HGo4zXYH5tBlUZo%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-linkindex="5" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)">Sentient Technologies</a></span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white"> and now holds the position of Chief Technology Officer AI at </span><span data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)"><a id="OWAce128ae5-b458-0fa0-cb16-38c14509db45" class="x_OWAAutoLink x_elementToProof" title="Original URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognizant. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCognizant&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C2961543b2bef417de38d08dda1ac2b8d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638844483032129411%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=NjNngixqVrLpSJkraw24RWSEadx1o9i%2BwnECSdp4%2FkE%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-linkindex="6" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)">Cognizant</a></span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white">. He is a specialist in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 1998 Hodjat co-founded Dejima Inc and served as </span><span data-ogsc="black" data-ogsb="white">CEO</span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white"> and </span><span data-ogsc="black" data-ogsb="white">CTO</span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white">, his patented work on artificial intelligence led to the technology used by </span><span data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)"><a id="OWAe2d009be-e4d6-932d-84ee-40d1823a3215" class="x_OWAAutoLink x_elementToProof" title="Original URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FApple_Inc.&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C2961543b2bef417de38d08dda1ac2b8d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638844483032139030%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zLZ92PDwfM4gyIrjHUC6R8wb9m2h1tl%2B%2FmwpVyTne1s%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-linkindex="7" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)">Apple</a></span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white"> for their digital assistant </span><span data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)"><a id="OWAda3d427c-f7ac-3049-f64c-e09750d6e3a6" class="x_OWAAutoLink x_elementToProof" title="Original URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siri. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSiri&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C2961543b2bef417de38d08dda1ac2b8d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638844483032150064%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=IWbyfHeY7l7%2Bnx%2FNMrPrSLO9LKifJcWxnxhDGeajDUY%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-linkindex="8" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-ogsc="rgb(51, 102, 204)" data-ogsb="rgb(255, 255, 255)">Siri</a></span><span data-ogsc="rgb(32, 33, 34)" data-ogsb="white">.</span>

Moriba Jah is an astrodynamicist and space environmentalist laying the foundation for a safe, prosperous, and sustainable near-Earth space environment. Jah draws on his expertise in astrodynamics and statistical orbit determination to create transparent and collaborative solutions for improving oversight of Earth’s orbital spheres. Jah and co-authors have proposed novel statistical strategies for determining more precise admissible regions (the possible orbits an object can take). He and colleagues have also developed a system for aggregating various independent data sources into a complete catalog of space objects. ASTRIAGraph and Wayfinder (http://www.privateer.com), a new version designed for use by the public, are online visualization tools, freely available to all, that integrate information from governments, industry, and other researchers. The site reveals the frequent inconsistencies across different sources of data providing space objects' identity, location, and size. Machine learning techniques are used to determine when data from multiple sources refer to the same object. Combining these data sets allows for a more comprehensive assessment of the objects in Earth’s orbit and who is liable for them. Researchers and policymakers can assess and verify that all parties involved abide by space-related policy, such as the United Nations Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space. In addition, the combined observational measurements improve estimates of orbital paths. Jah’s work also extends to policy guidance and public education about how to improve collaboration across space-faring nations and entities. In op-eds, podcasts, and government testimonies, he is a persuasive advocate for “space environmentalism,” a framework for treating Earth’s orbit as a finite natural resource. Like other natural resources, it should be governed by norms of behavior, transparent information sharing, and broad regulations in the service of sustainability and equitable international access. Jah proposes enacting policies to create a circular space economy; such regulations could prevent pollution in the form of single-use satellites and incentivize companies to reuse satellites rather than abandon them. Through his transdisciplinary approach and vision of space as an invaluable global resource, Jah facilitates greater understanding of the environmental challenges arising from human use of Earth’s orbital spheres. Jah is a MacArthur Fellow, TED Fellow, and National Geographic Explorer, amongst many other things...

<p class="ai-optimize-6 ai-optimize-introduction">Bernard Maissen has been Director of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) since July 1, 2020. Before that, he headed the media department at OFCOM for a good two years as Vice Director.</p> <p class="ai-optimize-7">The Rhaeto-Romanic Bernard Maissen studied German, history and journalism at the University of Freiburg and then worked in various functions as a journalist and editor-in-chief. Before moving to OFCOM, he was editor-in-chief and member of the management of the Swiss dispatch agency (sda) for 12 years.</p> <p class="ai-optimize-8">He worked for several years on the board of the international agency network MINDS International, was a member of the program commission of the Swiss School of Journalism (MAZ) in Lucerne and was a member of the Swiss Federal Media Commission (EMEK) from 2013 until he joined OFCOM.</p>

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 10 June 2022 the appointment of Amandeep Singh Gill of India as his Envoy on Technology.  The Secretary-General wishes to extend his appreciation and gratitude to the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Ms. Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, for her dedication and commitment as Acting Envoy on Technology. Mr. Gill is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. A thought leader on digital technology, he brings to the position a deep knowledge of digital technologies coupled with a solid understanding of how to leverage the digital transformation responsibly and inclusively for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Previously, he was the Executive Director and Co-Lead of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (2018-2019).  In addition to delivering the report of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Mr. Gill helped secure high-impact international consensus recommendations on regulating Artificial Intelligence (Al) in lethal autonomous weapon systems in 2017 and 2018, the draft Al ethics recommendation of UNESCO in 2020, and a new international platform on digital health and Al. Mr. Gill was India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2016-2018).  He joined his country’s Diplomatic Service in 1992 and served in various capacities in disarmament and strategic technologies and international security affairs, with postings in Tehran and Colombo.  He was also a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Mr. Gill holds a PhD in Nuclear Learning in Multilateral Forums from King’s College, London, a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Electrical Communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh and an Advanced Diploma in French History and Language from Geneva University.  He is fluent in English, French, Hindi and Punjabi.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">As Chief Impact Officer, Andrew oversees the sustainable development, humanitarian, ethics and human rights portfolio at Planet, a breakthrough geospatial imaging organization that has deployed the largest constellation of Earth-observing satellites in history. Together, these satellites image the entire surface of the Earth, every day, in high resolution. When analyzed with advanced AI techniques, this imagery has transformational value for addressing a host of global challenges, including monitoring peace and conflict, improving agriculture, delivering sustainable development, ensuring human rights, predicting food insecurity, assessing climate change, delivering disaster response, and improving conservation, among many others. Andrew is also the author of Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back, which has been published in more than a dozen countries worldwide.</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<span lang="EN-US">Dr. Ali Agha<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">(Ali-akbar Agha-mohammadi)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">is a Robotics Technologist and Group Leader at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a title="https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Ali_Agha/" contenteditable="false" href="https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Ali_Agha/"><span lang="EN-US">NASA JPL</span></a><span lang="EN-US">’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Autonomous and Robotic Systems Division<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">and Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Dr. Agha’s research centers on autonomy and AI for robotic systems with a dual focus on planetary exploration and terrestrial applications.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Agha led<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">the Team CoSTAR and the development of the NeBula autonomy solution</span><span lang="EN-US">, which placed 2nd, 1st, and 5th in the three DARPA Subterranean Challenge competitions.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Previously, Dr. Agha was with Qualcomm Research, leading the perception efforts for self-flying drones and autonomous cars. Prior to that, Dr. Agha was a Postdoctoral Researcher at MIT. His research interests include artificial intelligence, autonomous decision making, and perception for robotic systems, with applications to legged robots, rovers, drones, and self-driving offroad vehicles. Dr. Agha was named NASA NIAC fellow in 2018 and was a recipient of the Lew Allen Award.</span>

Editor, publisher, speaker/moderator, entrepreneur, board member, advisor, manager, and investor, experienced in harnessing new ideas to create strong brands, rapidly grow businesses, and lead healthy, creative, mission-driven organizations. Comfortable operating at the leading edge, anticipating trends, and positioning for the future. Have built, raised funds for, invested in, and advised organizations in diverse industries, including media, food, health and wellness, real estate, education, and culture. Have led start ups, turn arounds and established organizations in both for profit and non profit enterprises. Primary experience Start ups, business planning, strategic planning, strategic partnerships, business development, fund raising, financing, marketing, sales, product development and introduction, communications, and media relations. Very strong people skills. Revenue focused with an underlying belief in the power of extraordinary brands to create value and change for good. My latest passion is The Human Immunome Project, a newly formed NGO with the mission of galvanizing immunologists, computational/systems biologists, and machine learning experts to take a great leap forward by building mechanistic and probabilistic models of the human immunome. See more at www.humanimmunomeproject.org. And I'm a huge fan of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, whose non-invasive technology could be a game changer for diagnostics, but also for treatments, including tremor, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease. I have been involved with digital arts for years, as a founding board member of Zero One, as a juror at Ars Electronica, and at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA), as well as the UC Berkeley Foundation. I was also the first donor and a long time board member of One Economy, a non profit aimed at helping low income people use the tools of the digital age to access information and build assets for themselves. I was also a very early board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>John Kamara by heart is a Tech Entrepreneur with over 20 successful years of experience working in new market acquisitions across various technology verticals in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.<br />John is one of Africa's leading experts on how businesses can leverage key technology trends, instantly transform organizations and drive competitive advantage for impact in industries including finance, agriculture, health, education, gaming and startup enterprises.<br />John Kamara is uniquely a Pan African renowned business leader, successful entrepreneur, investor, consultant, beloved mentor and distinguished speaker holding multiple roles typically including:</p> <ul> <li>Founder and Global Chief Executive Officer Adanian Labs Founder - AI Centre of Excellence</li> <li>CEO - Cortex Africa (Leading Artificial Intelligence Company in Africa)</li> <li>Director Nonexecutive - Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa</li> <li>Director for Strategy – Data-Driven Innovation Center under CREATES Center of Excellence at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology</li> <li>Chevalier (Knight) Ordre Des Arts est des Technologies - Crypto Chain University</li> <li>Director for Growth - Global Gaming Africa</li> <li>Founder - Afrimart (eCommerce) | Afya Rekod (Health</li> <li>Tech) Investor - eCobba (Fintech) | Twaa (Mentoring & Learning) | PhermaAgri (AgriTech)</li> <li>John is actively involved and significantly invested in current technologies focusing on loT (Internet of Things), Al (Artificial Intelligence), Blockchain and Crowdfunding.</li> <li>Having worked in market growth leadership roles for global technology companies at Google, Sun Microsystems, eir Ireland, Digicel, BMC Software and others,</li> <li>John is committed to identifying technology challenges a critical role in catapulting Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution while generating a critical mass impact.</li> <li>He has tremendously excited audiences in many countries and continents as he shared insights in various global stages like Al Expo Africa, Al, For Good Global Summit, Bio2019, ICE London, Abuja Blockchain & Al Roundtable, Malta Blockchain Summit and Africa Fintech Summit to name just a few John's current foci is how smart technologies can be leveraged in resolving some of the most prominent and pertinent socio-economic challenges in Africa; you said it various players can play a role through the empowerment of present structures and systems to build holistic sustainable ecosystems in problem solving.</li> <li>Having founded and successfully sold his first company Spade Social – a life style and entertainment-focused tech startup (2009 – 2012), John dedicates his time sharing his extensive knowledge, experiences and network with up-and-coming entrepreneurs in tech and beyond fueled by his passion to see more successful techdriven companies launch out of Africa.</li> </ul> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Tomas Lamanauskas is Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, elected at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference of 2022, and taking up duties as of January 2023. His 25 years of experience spans across sectors of telecoms and digital policy, regulation and strategy, stemming from executive level positions in agencies, companies, and organizations across Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific region. As Deputy Secretary-General of ITU, Tomas focuses on the financial sustainability and operational excellence of the organization. He also works to raise the digital industry’s ambition in fighting the climate crisis through the Green Digital Action initiative and promotes investments into the digital infrastructure as well as digital resilience through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative and other efforts. Additionally, Tomas contributes to the global efforts to harness the opportunities and mitigate challenges of new technologies, in particular Artificial Intelligence, including through his role as a co-chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on AI. He is also playing a key role in ensuring ITU’s support to other UN-wide development and governance efforts, including through the World Summit of the Information Society process and membership at the Operational Steering Committee of the UN Joint SDG Fund. Tomas holds Master’s Degrees in Public Administration (Harvard), Leadership and Strategy (London Business School), Telecommunications Regulation and Policy (The University of the West Indies) and Law (Vilnius University).  

<span data-contrast="none">His Excellency Mr. Jürg Lauber is Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations and other Organizations in Geneva. Prior to this appointment in September 2020, Ambassador Lauber served as Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York since 2015, During this time, he also served as President of the Burundi Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. Previously, he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2009 to 2011, and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on Disarmament. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559738":0,"335559739":225,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Before joining the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1993 he worked in peacekeeping missions in Namibia (UNTAG) and Korea (Panmunjom). Between 2007 and 2009 he served as chef de cabinet to the president of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2015 he served as head of the United Nations and International Organizations Division in Bern. Jürg Lauber has a law degree from the University of Zurich.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":240}"> </span>

Najat Mokhtar was appointed Deputy Director General and head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications on 1 January 2019. Prior to her appointment, she was Director of the Division for Asia and the Pacific in the Department of Technical Cooperation. From 2012 to 2014, Ms Mokhtar was the Section Head of the Nutrition and Health related Environmental Studies, Human Health Division. From 2010 to 2012,  she was the Director of Science and Technology at the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology in Morocco, where she coordinated the national strategy on Education and Research. She worked as University Professor and Research Director at the University Ibn Tofail in Morocco for more than 20 years. Ms Mokhtar was a Technical Officer at the Agency from 2001 to 2007. Ms Mokhtar holds a PhD in Nutrition and Endocrinology from Laval University in Canada and has a doctorate in food sciences from the University of Dijon in France. She has done her postdoctoral training as a Fulbright fellow at Johns Hopkins University in the United States of America.

Juan M, Lavista Ferres is currently the Chief Scientist and Lab Director of the Microsoft AI For Good Research Lab, where he works with a team of data scientists and researchers in AI, Machine Learning and statistical modeling, working across Microsoft AI For Good efforts. These efforts includes projects in AI For Earth, AI for Humanitarian Action, AI For Accessibility and AI For Health. Juan joined Microsoft in 2009 to work for the Microsoft Experimentation Platform (EXP) where he designed and ran randomized control experiments across different Microsoft groups. Juan also worked as part of the Bing Data Mining team, where he led a group applying data mining, machine learning, statistical modeling and online experimentation at a large scale as well as providing data services for Bing. Juan started the Microsoft efforts related to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), and his work has been published in top academic Journals including Pediatrics. His work has been covered in New York Times, CNN, Chicago Tribune, USNews, USAToday , and over 100 news outlets around the world. Juan is involved in working to define the data science discipline within Microsoft, and is currently the editor of the Microsoft Journal of Applied Research (MSJAR). Before joining Microsoft, Juan was the CTO and co-founder of alerts.com. Previously, he spent 6 years in Washington working at the InterAmerican Development Bank applying data science to understand the impact of programs for reducing poverty and inequality in Latin-America and the Caribbean. Juan has two computer science degrees from the Catholic University in Uruguay, and a graduate degree in Data Mining and Machine Learning from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Kirkland, WA, with his wife and three children. He has been a speaker in the US at Strata, IEEE, Berkeley, Cornell, and in many countries including Canada, Switzerland, Argentina, Colombia , Costa Rica, and Uruguay, and he also was a TedX Speaker.

Dr. Hans Keirstead is an internationally known stem cell expert and serial entrepreneur that led the development of a treatment that restored movement and sensory function to people with quadriplegic spinal cord injury, and a treatment for cancer that has saved the lives of people with melanoma, brain cancer, and ovarian cancer. He has also led therapy development for immune disorders, motor neuron diseases, and retinal diseases, as well as a vaccine for COVID-19.   Dr. Keirstead is the Founder and Chairman of Immunis, Inc., the Founder, Chairman and CEO of AIVITA Biomedical, and the CEO of the non-profit Human Immunome Project, a global initiative decoding the immune system. He has founded four successful biotechnology companies, each returning significant value to investors and treatments to patients. Every one of his prior companies has sold to large or mid-sized pharmaceutical companies for 2.5X-9.5X returns to investors, after return of investment capital. Dr. Keirstead holds Board positions in several prominent biotechnology companies.   Previously, he was a Professor at the University of California, Irvine where he founded and directed and raised the money to build the $77 million Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. As a Full Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, he was awarded over $16 million in grants during his 15- year tenure. He has mentored over 100 students, published over 100 manuscripts, and granted over 20 patents. He was awarded the Distinguished Award for Research, the UCI Academic Senate’s highest honor, as well as the UCI Innovation Award for innovative research leading to corporate and clinical development. He was awarded the National Institutes of Health’s Solowey Award for the most promising scientist of the year. He was awarded the Touching One Billion People Award by Singularity University. He was a founding advisor of the California Stem Cell Initiative that resulted in a $3 billion stem cell fund (CIRM). He has been a long-time advisor to several governments on biomedical policy.   Dr. Keirstead has been a notable figure in the field of regenerative medicine for over three decades. His work in spinal cord injury earned him the distinction of being one of 100 top scientists of the year in Discover Magazine. He was featured on 60 minutes in a full segment covering his treatment for spinal cord injury. Dr. Keirstead also appeared in Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, WIRED, Esquire, The NY Times, TIME Magazine, Men’s Vogue, Science and The American Spectator, amongst other national publications. He has given dozens of keynote addresses, was a TEDx speaker, was recently honored as one of 7 thought leaders in Canada at the Seven Wonderer’s event by Beakerhead and was recently awarded the Top 20 Canadians Award by the Consul General of Canada.   Dr. Keirstead received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of British Columbia, Canada for which he received the Cameron Award for the outstanding Ph.D. thesis in the country. He conducted post-Doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge. He received the distinct honor of election as Senate Member of the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Governing Body of Downing College and was the youngest member to have been elected to those positions.

<span data-contrast="auto">Dr. Ben Goertzel is a cross-disciplinary scientist, entrepreneur and author.  Born in Brazil to American parents, in 2020 after a long stretch living in Hong Kong he relocated his primary base of operations to a rural island near Seattle.   He leads the SingularityNET Foundation, the OpenCog Foundation, and the AGI Society which runs the annual Artificial General Intelligence conference.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Dr. Goertzel also chairs the futurist nonprofit Humanity+,  serves as Chief Scientist of AI firms  Rejuve, Mindplex, Cogito and Jam Galaxy, all parts of the SingularityNET ecosystem, and serves as keyboardist and vocalist in the Jam Galaxy Band, the first-ever band led by a humanoid robot. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">As Chief Scientist of robotics firm Hanson Robotics, he led the software team behind the Sophia robot; as Chief AI Scientist of Awakening Health he leads the team crafting the mind behind Sophia’s little sister Grace.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Dr. Goertzel’s research work encompasses multiple areas including artificial general intelligence, natural language processing, cognitive science, machine learning, computational finance, bioinformatics, virtual worlds, gaming, parapsychology, theoretical physics and more.  He has published 25+ scientific books, ~150 technical papers, and numerous journalistic articles, and given talks at a vast number of events of all sorts around the globe.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Before entering the software industry Dr. Goertzel obtained his PhD in mathematics from Temple University in 1989, and served as a university faculty in several departments of mathematics, computer science and cognitive science, in the US, Australia and New Zealand.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Dr. Goertzel is married to computational linguist Ruiting Lian, and has 5 children and one grandchild.  Along with his technical and philosophical work he enjoys creating experimental fiction and music and hiking, backpacking, kayaking and other outdoor activities.  </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Professor Joanna Batstone, PhD, DEng, is a leading global expert on AI, data analytics and technology. She has more than 20 years’ experience in top executive roles in the USA, Europe and Australia, helping universities, companies and governments use technology to meet their goals. Joanna is the inaugural Director of Monash Data Futures Institute at Monash University, supporting government, companies and organisations in using AI, data analytics and insights for social good. Joanna is building a global reputation for the institute’s ground-breaking work, along with a digital ecosystem to foster collaborative research with industry engagement. Responsible for data science and AI across the university, Joanna is passionate about the benefits of AI driving major change for social good. Joanna joined Monash after a range of technical and business leadership roles in IBM’s Research and Development Laboratories, including work with IBM Watson.

Anne Neuberger   is an American national security official who serves as the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology in the Biden administration. Prior to this role, she served for over a decade at the NSA, as director of cybersecurity, as assistant deputy director of operations, and as the agency's first chief risk officer. She joined the federal government as a White House fellow, working at the Pentagon, and subsequently served as deputy chief management officer of the Navy, before joining NSA. Before entering government service, Neuberger was senior vice president of operations at American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

David Hanson develops robots that are widely regarded as the world’s most human-like in appearance, in a lifelong quest to create true living, caring machines. To accomplish these goals, Hanson integrates figurative arts with cognitive science and robotics engineering, inventions novel skin materials, facial expression mechanisms, and collaborative developments in AI, within humanoid artworks like Sophia the robot, which can engage people in naturalistic face-to-face conversations and currently serve in AI research, education, therapy, and other uses. Hanson worked as a Walt Disney Imagineer, both a sculptor and a technical consultant in robotics, and later founded Hanson Robotics. As a researcher, Hanson published dozens of papers in materials science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics journals — including SPIE, IEEE, the International Journal of Cognitive Science, IROS, AAAI, AI magazine and more. He wrote two books including “Humanizing Robots” and received several patents. Hanson was featured in the New York Times, Popular Science, Scientific American, WIRED, BBC and CNN. He also received earned awards from NASA, NSF, Tech Titans’ Innovator of the Year, RISD, Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, and the co-received the 2005 AAAI first place prize for open interaction of an AI system. Hanson holds a Ph.D. in Interactive Arts and Technology from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a BFA in film Animation video from the Rhode Island School of Design.

I lead several initiatives at The World Bank and in collaboration with the IFC, developing insight to inform clients and Bank-financed operations on how to accelerate digital transformation, investment, and economic growth. Projects include 5G telecom, AI policy and governance, cloud and data infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and developing innovative financing solutions to drive technology adoption in emerging markets. I'm passionate about shaping the global agenda on these topics, and am humbled to be invited to give keynote speeches and panel presentations at the United Nations headquarters in NY, the ITU, IEEE, CTU, the WSIS Forum, ICIC, WTIS, the IAEA, global UNESCO Summits, the Microsoft Public Sector Center for Expertise, as well as guest-lectures at various universities. I also co-lead the World Bank’s Secretariat for Mainstreaming Digital and Disruptive Technologies, manage its thought leadership series on Digital Development, and was appointed The World Bank’s IEG MAR focal point on Mobilizing Technology for Development. Outside of the Bank I'm a member of various multi-stakeholder expert working groups including the UN-Interagency WG on AI, GlobalPolicy.AI, and the Global Forum for Law, Justice and Development, amongst others.

Ms. <strong>Zhiping Chen </strong>joined ZTE in 1999. She currently serves as Vice President and Head of Branding & PR Strategies at ZTE. Before that, Ms. Chen successively assumed management positions in charge of wireless system R&D, global marketing and corporate branding. Ms. Chen holds a master degree in engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. With extensive experience in the telecoms industry for over two decades, Ms. Chen has been engaged in R&D, operation and branding for many years, gaining profound and unique insights into business areas such as industry trend, business model innovation, planning and management of branding strategies in the international telecommunications field. Ms. Chen has been rewarded the ”Technical Person of the Year 2017” Award issued by China Association of Communication Enterprises (CACE), and she is a member of the “2018 Top 10 Leaders in 5G” list issued by Communications World.

Prior to her appointment to Geneva, Ms. Dwarka-Canabady had been serving as the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Mauritius since 1 November 2015, also serving as acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs from April to October 2015. She was the Head of the Multilateral Economic Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Integration in Port Louis from January 2007 to March 2013. A career diplomat, Ms. Dwarka-Canabady served as High Commissioner of Mauritius to India from August 2004 to May 2006, and as Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation from October 2003 to August 2004. She worked with the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva from January 2003 to August 2003. She served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations Office at Geneva and the World Trade Organization from July 1996 to June 2002. She started her career at the Ministry of Education in Port Louis. Ms. Dwarka-Canabady has a BSc degree in psychology, sociology and English from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom (1982) ; a master’s degree in international politics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (1991) ; and a Certificat du Programme d’Etudes Diplomatique from the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva, Switzerland (1992). She was born in Mauritius on 2 February 1960. She is married with two children

Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey is a career diplomat. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1990. Ambassador Pandey served as Additional Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs in-charge of the Disarmament & International Security Affairs Division before joining as the Ambassador & Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva in September 2020. Earlier, Ambassador Pandey had served as Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman. Before Muscat, he had served as Deputy Ambassador of India to France and Consul General of India at Guangzhou (China). Ambassador Pandey has served in various capacities at Indian Missions in Cairo (Egypt), Damascus (Syria), Islamabad (Pakistan), Kabul (Afghanistan) and Permanent Mission of India to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (Switzerland). During his previous stints at the Headquarters in New Delhi, Ambassador Pandey has handled assignments in West Asia North Africa Division; Consular, Passport and Visa Division; Counter Terrorism Cell; Americas Division; Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar (BSM) Division. During 1998-99, Ambassador Pandey attended Foreign Service Programme at Oxford University. In 2009, he attended the 49th Course on National Security and Strategy, conducted by National Defence College, New Delhi. He is married to Mrs. Sushma Pandey and they have a daughter, Devangi.

Portrait XO (she/they) is an independent researcher and multimodal artist. Recipient of jazzki award by ELBJAZZ (June 2023), the first German human-AI jazz prize, she’s been recognized over the years for her work in sonic innovation with AI audio pioneers Dadabots. They won ‘Best Experiment’ award at VUT Indie Awards 2021, and Eurovision AI Song Contest Jury Vote for ‘most creative use of AI’ in 2020.  Her development into AI audiovisual art evolved through several artist residencies from NEW NOW FESTIVAL and BBA Gallery in 2022, and Factory Berlin x Sonar+D in 2020. She researches computational creativity, human-machine collaboration, and explores new formats & applications for forward-thinking art `and sound. To expand the community of sound artists and creative technologists, she founded SOUND OBSESSED - sonic innovation archive, celebrating the journey and milestones of new innovation in sound. Her debut research-based AI audiovisual album 'WIRE' and latest work with data sonification highlights the boundaries of what’s possible with small vs big data. The core of her works address bias in society, translate speculative opinions about AI, and critique the impact of AI on creativity, identity, ecology, and underrepresented cultures and society.  Her latest project premiered at MUTEK Montreal and Gray Area Festival, ‘The Cost of Connection’ – an audiovisual performance with sonified data from The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. She has performed, presented, and exhibited at The UN AI for Good Summit, MUTEK, SXSW, Ars Electronica, MONOM, Reeperbahn Festival, International Music Summit, Amsterdam Dance Event, BBA Gallery, RE:PUBLICA, Sonar+D, Factory Berlin, Tech Open Air, Redbull Music, Future Forum by BMW Welt, KIKK Festival, Github, and more.

Harry Yeff is a London-born Creative Director and founder of R100 Studios. Yeff has forged a partnership with ITU, seeking out artists who push the boundaries of human and machine collaboration. Specialising in a blend of grassroots emergent curation and strategic insight for global arts and cultural initiatives and institutional collaboration. His research delves into how art, fueled by emergent technologies, can prepare society for present and future opportunities in a new creative and work landscape.

Dr. Manuel Marina Breysse is a cardiologist, CEO and co-founder of Idoven, a health technology company advancing early detection and precision medicine for cardiovascular diseases. Manuel and his co-founders started Idoven in 2018 after conducting basic and translational research at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Spain focused on machine learning applied to cardiology. As a cardiologist, Manuel is specialized in arrhythmias and high-performance sports cardiology and has been a doctor at the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sports (AEPSAD). He is also a member of the European Society of Cardiology, an Associate Partner of the Spanish Society of Cardiology, and scientist at the Cardiovascular Disease Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBERCV). Manuel has published over 20 scientific papers, received a MS in Statistics from the University of Cordoba and MD from the University of Alcalá.

Jovanka v. Wilsdorf is a Berlin-based creative consultant and artists coach, working with various music companies and the Musicboard, Berlin. She is a certified systemic coach and international speaker on "AI in Music Composition" and "Artist Development," and the initiator of the AI song contest DIANA and the Female*Producer Price (for MW*G) Jovanka v. Wilsdorf is the author of the book „Gequälte Brötchen,“ published by Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, and has written advertising copy for brands such as Edeka, Melitta, Adidas, and Coca-Cola. Before signing with BMG Rights Management as a songwriter and sub-publisher (Edition Jokasong), Jovanka toured Europe and released five albums at Sony Music and Monika Enterprise with her band QUARKS. She's passionate about unlocking creative potential and turning innovative ideas into outstanding projects.

Marcus Shingles is the co-founder and CEO of Exponential Destiny, an educational non-profit based in the U.S. which focuses on upskilling youth in under-served and under-resourced communities as “Metaverse Entrepreneurs”, and then employing and redeploying these same youth to help transform schools in their communities using immersive and experiential educational pedagogies based on “edu-tainment” methods in VR. During the opening keynote in March of 2022 in Geneva at a UN ITU summit, Marcus and his team of youth leaders at Exponential Destiny announced the “Metaverse for SDGs Global Prize & VR Competition” with the support of the United Nations ITU agency. Previously in his career, Marcus led innovation at Bain consulting and Deloitte consulting, and was recently the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation. Currently Marcus is Chief Innovation Officer in a global development firm where he is responsible for the full design and development of “Smart Cities & Urban Innovation” in northern Thailand and Cambodia.  Marcus is on the board of the Virtual World Society, Stanford University’s “Disruptive Technology & Digital Cities” Program, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network for “4th Industrial Revolution”.

<span lang="en-US">In 2001, Hasselvander begins as “Robotics and AI” Engineer at Peugeot Citroën in charge of the industrialization of the 206. <br aria-hidden="true" />In 2002, he joins the CRIIF, a private research laboratory in robotics (working with CNRS & PARIS 6 University) as R&D engineer and takes over the position of Managing Director in 2007 to transform the CRIIF into a key player in development of advanced intelligent robots in healthcare, education, Assistance, defense, security, surgery, autonomous driving, public works & entertainment. <br aria-hidden="true" />In 2013, Hasselvander participates to the redaction of the political program for Silver economy with Michèle Delaunay (French Minister in charge of Elders) and Arnaud Montebourg (French Minister of re-industrialization). <br aria-hidden="true" />In 2014, Hasselvander founds BLUE FROG ROBOTICS, a cutting edge start-up which aims to become the "Apple of Robots" . Combining "French touch" design, Artificial Intelligence, emotional behaviors and affordable prices, he paves the way of personal robotics revolution. His first world renowned product is BUDDY, the emotional personal robot platform for the whole family, and addresses key issues like Education, Inclusion and Eldercare (“Best Social robot” by Silicon Valley Robotics, “Best Innovation” by Popular Science, Best of innovation award by CES…). <br aria-hidden="true" />He is also the creator of SAMI a life size mobile semi-humanoid assistant robot. <br aria-hidden="true" />In 2014, Hasselvander co-founds the RobotLab, the biggest French start-up accelerator specialized in robotics.</span> <span lang="en-US">He is also co-founded SILVER VALLEY, a leading French organization focusing on Gerontechnology and sat on the board of CAP DIGITAL, the major European clusters digital creative industries. </span>

Dr. Robin R. Murphy is the Raytheon Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University and a director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-robot interaction for emergency management. She has deployed ground, aerial, and marine robots to over 30 disasters in five countries including the 9/11 World Trade Center, Fukushima, Hurricane Harvey, and the Surfside collapse. She is an ACM and IEEE Fellow, a TED speaker, and the author of over 200 papers and four books including the award-winning <i>Disaster Robotics</i>. Her contributions to robotics have been recognized with numerous awards including the ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award for Humanitarian Contributions and the Motohiro Kisoi Rescue Engineering Awards.

<p class="x_MsoNormal">Ex professional football goalkeeper and national champion.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">He defended Real Madrid's goal for 25 years, lifting more than 28 national and international trophies, becoming a legend of the club. He is the second player with the most matches in the history of the Spanish National Team, which he captained for more than 15 years until he led it to glory, lifting the World Cup in 2010 and two consecutive European Championships in 2008 and 2012.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Elected best goalkeeper in the world for five consecutive years, from 2008 to 2012, and being a regular in the nominations in the final list of candidates for the Golden Ball, Iker is undoubtedly one of the most important Spanish sportsmen in history.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Iker Casillas, through the Foundation or other entities, has always been linked to social actions by taking his solidarity to a priority level in his life. Among the most outstanding actions are: UNDP Ambassador, dedicated to guaranteeing the fundamental rights of children in the world.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">After his heart disease, he started researching and looking into cardiovascular diseases and discovered that they are the leading cause of death in the world. He was shocked to learn that it kills 17 million people every year and the importance of prevention, so he joined IDOVEN as an investor and team member to try to mitigate this global problem.</p>

<span class="TextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0">Prof. Jamie Paik is director and founder of Reconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL) of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and a core member of Swiss National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics consortium. RRL’s research leverages expertise in multi-material fabrication and smart material actuation toward unique robotic platforms. At Harvard </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">Microrobotics</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> Laboratory, she started developing unconventional robots that push the physical limits of material and mechanisms. Her latest research effort is in soft robotics and self-morphing </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">Robogami</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> (robotic origami). </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">Robogami</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> transforms autonomously its planar shape to 2D or 3D by folding in predefined patterns and sequences, just like the paper art, origami. Soft material robots and </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">robogamis</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> are designed to be interactive with the users and their environments through both innate and active reconfigurations. Such characteristics of the RRL’s robots have direct applications in medical, automobile, space, and wearable robots. While this novel technology has been published in multiple academic journals such as in Soft Robotics Journal, IEEE Transactions in Robotics, Nature, and Science, RRL’s spin-off, Foldaway-Haptics, has pushed the boundaries of the industrial applications of these robots as seen in TED conference 2019. The latest </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">robogami</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> is part of </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW81208916 BCX0">Mercedez’s</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW81208916 BCX0"> 2020 concept car, Avatar, presented during CES 2020.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW81208916 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Serge Conesa brings over 30 years of experience in data communications and the IT networking industry, holding Executive key positions in both sales and marketing management with from Fortune 500 companies and over 20 start-ups. His experience ranges from working in the business of internationally expanding major telecommunications and civil infrastructure businesses coordinating all the key elements of a new business: including time, money, resources and technology throughout multiple geographies and cultures.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">His vision will help corporate and government customers assess, optimize, and manage the life cycle of resources utilization for enhanced efficiency and reduced energy consumption. At the highest levels of governments, energy independence is recognized as key to maintain a nation’s economic and political security. His work is giving now the ability to respond to the call from the White House, not only in addressing, but also in helping to solve the nation’s need for energy independence in a climate of greater demand and diminishing resources, and to replace the current inefficient industrial model of resources management with a new highly efficient model.</span>

Degree with honours in Physics, PhD in Geodesy and Cartography. She is Professor of “GIS” and “The Copernicus Green Revolution for sustainable development” at Politecnico di Milano (PoliMI) and a member of the School of Doctoral Studies in Data Science at “Roma La Sapienza” University. From 2006 to 2011 she lectured GIS at the ETH of Zurich and from 1997 to 2011 she was the Head of the Geomatics Laboratory of PoliMI (Campus Como). From 2011 to 2016 she was the Vice-Rector of PoliMI for the Como Campus. Currently, she is the coordinator of the Copernicus Academy Network for the PoliMI and the Head of the GEOLab, the Interdepartmental Lab to which 7 Departments of POLIMI are contributing.   She is Vice President of the  ISPRS Technical Commission on Spatial Information Science, a former member of ESA ACEO (Advisory Committee of Earth Observation); co-chair of the United Nations Open GIS Initiative, chair of the UN-GGIM (Global Geospatial Information Management) Academic Network, mentor of the PoliMI Chapter of YouthMappers (PoliMappers), one of the three curators of the geospatial series of the AI for Good, organized by ITU in partnership with 40 UN Sister Agencies.   Her research activity is in the field of geomatics. Her interests have been various, starting from geodesy, radar-altimetry and moving later to GIS, webGIS, geospatial web platform, VGI, Citizen Science, Big Geo Data, geoAI. She is participating and leading research on these topics within the frameworks of both national and international projects and scientific networks. One of her main interests is in Open-Source GIS, where she plays a leading worldwide role.

<span data-contrast="auto">Salah Sukkarieh is the Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of Sydney. For over 20 years he has been researching, developing and operationalising robotic and AI systems for agriculture in various domains from horticulture to grains and livestock. His work has encompassed ground and air drones, sensors and machine learning systems, and intelligent tools to undertake laborious tasks on farm. He was the Director Research and Innovation at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics from 2007-2018, where he led the strategic research and industry engagement program in the world’s largest field robotics institute. He is an international expert in the research, development and commercialisation of field robotic systems and has led a number of robotics and intelligent systems R&D projects in logistics, commercial aviation, aerospace, education, environment monitoring, agriculture and mining. Salah was awarded the 2022 International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences Communication Prize for Engineering Success , the NSW Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Engineering and Information and Communications Technologies in 2014, the 2017 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Innovation and Science, and the 2019 NSW Australian of the Year nominee. Salah is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), and has over 500 academic and industry publications in robotics and intelligent systems.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Agriculture Robotics and AI in South East Asia and the Oceania - Case Studies from Australia, Indonesia, Samoa and Fiji</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">The Digital Farmhand is a robotic platform designed for smallholder farms. The robotic platform is solar-electric powered, and can operate for 4-15 hours. On the robot there are sensors that can monitor individual plants and detect weeds and pests. The platform is easy to use and comes in various sizes depending on the farm size and application.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Irakli Beridze, PhD, is the Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at UNICRI, United Nations</span>​. More than 25 years of experience in leading multilateral negotiations, developing stakeholder engagement programmes with governments, UN agencies, international organisations, private industry and corporations, think tanks, civil society, foundations, academia, and other partners on an international level. Mr Beridze is advising governments and international organizations on numerous issues related to international security, scientific and technological developments, emerging technologies, innovation and disruptive potential of new technologies, particularly on the issue on crime prevention, criminal justice and security. He is supporting governments worldwide on the strategies, action plans, roadmaps and policy papers on AI. Since 2014, Initiated and managed one of the first United Nations Programmes on AI. Finding synergies with traditional threats and risks as well as identifying solutions that AI can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He is a member of various international task forces, including the World Economic​ Forum’s Global Artificial Intelligence and Global Future Council, the United Nations AI Inter Agency Task Force, the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence of the European Commission. He is frequently lecturing and speaking on the subjects related to technological development, exponential technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics and international security. He has numerous publications in international journals and magazines and frequently quoted in media on the issues related to AI. Irakli Beridze is an International Gender Champion supporting the IGC Panel Parity Pledge. He is recipient of recognition on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the OPCW in 2013.​</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Amjad Alamri is a Mechanical Engineer and Senior Specialist at NEOM, leading the implementation of autonomous technologies and construction robots in NEOM construction sites. Prior to her current role, she worked at OXAGON (NEOM's industrial city) and also at Lucid Motors. Amjad has a strong background in the automotive industry, having built race cars and participated in world-class competitions such as Formula Students and World Solar Challenge. She is also an active board member of the Saudi Women Engineers Association, which is the first association in the Kingdom to focus on advancing women's empowerment in engineering.

<span data-contrast="none">Lori Rodney is the Global Head of Communications at Shutterstock. As a socially conscious storyteller, she leads the company's worldwide external communications efforts with a current focus on empowering the world </span><span data-contrast="none">to tell their stories by bridging the gap between idea and execution. Prior to joining Shutterstock, Lori was the Global Head of Communications at Change.org, the world's largest tech platform for social change, where she led the organization through critical world-shaping events, including the launch of its global Racial Justice Fund, crisis management related to the Russia/Ukraine conflict, and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in the United States, among other initiatives. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Lori’s broad range of experience includes brand strategy, government affairs, crisis communications, philanthropic initiatives, technology communications, data communications and regulatory milestones, multicultural and diversity programming, youth-driven and education-based initiatives, and social impact work. Beyond her direct work, she has become a trusted mentor to many of the next generation of communications leaders currently working across creative, pharmaceutical and non-profit advocacy organizations with a commitment to fostering value-based communications models for the future. Lori is a member of ColorComm, the premier business organization for women of color in the communications industry and CHIEF, a private, members-only network for the most powerful women in leadership. Lori has also been featured in PRWeek's Power 50 List, the definitive guide to the 50 most influential communicators.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":240}"> </span>

Professor Yang Gao FIET FRAeS, is the Professor of Space Autonomous Systems currently at University of Surrey and will join King’s College London from 1^st August 2023 to head KCL’s Centre for Robotics Research. She is the founding head of the multi-award-winning Space Technology for Autonomous and Robotic systems Laboratory (STAR LAB). She specializes in robotic sensing, perception, visual GNC and biomimetic mechanisms for industrial applications in the extreme environments. Prof. Gao brings over 20 years of research experience in developing robotics and autonomous systems, having been the PI of inter/nationally teamed projects funded by UK Research Innovation, Royal Academy of Engineering, European Commission, European Space Agency (ESA), UK Space Agency as well as various industrial companies. She is also actively involved in design and development of real-world space missions including ESA ExoMars, Proba3 and lunar VMMO, UK MoonLITE/Moonraker, and CNSA Chang’E3. Besides her own research activities, Prof. Gao provides a range of professional services to the wider space and robotics community, such as being the Editor-in-Chief of Wiley’s Journal of Field Robotics, and the Mentor of United Nations Space4Women program. She also founded the space start-up company Ai4SPACE Ltd.

<div class="vc_column_inner tdi_83 wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span6"> <div class="vc_column-inner"> <div class="wpb_wrapper"> <div class="tdm_block td_block_wrap tdm_block_inline_text tdi_84 tdm-inline-block td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1" data-td-block-uid="tdi_84"> <span data-contrast="auto">David's mission to make the world a better place began in San Francisco, where he was a social worker responsible for reintegrating prisoners into society. Back in Europe, the technology pioneer and ambitious visionary laid the foundation for cognitive robots to become the revolutionary partner of a modern social society. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">His career as a founder and leader of high-tech companies has proven that respect for existing technological achievements never limits the possibilities of what can be further envisioned and created.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">With the distinctive attitude of this experienced yet down-to-earth entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics has succeeded in developing the first robot with cognitive capabilities in record time. Thanks to artificial intelligence and Neura's proprietary sensor and hardware design, this cognitive robot can work alongside humans with unprecedented safety, speed and precision.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">As a result of his success, Reger has been appointed to key thought leadership and advisory positions, including Senate of German Business and the European Senate of Business and Technology. Grateful for the blessing of this success, he’s tirelessly committed to the development of an ecological and social modern society.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div>

<span class="FindHit SCXW165712163 BCX0">Be</span><span class="FindHit SCXW165712163 BCX0">lin</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> Güngör is a Business Development Manager at </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW165712163 BCX0">ANYbotics</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> in Zurich, bridging between technology and its real-life application. </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW165712163 BCX0">ANYbotics</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> created the legged robot </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW165712163 BCX0">ANYmal</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> to enable its customers to automate inspection, maximize worker safety and realize preventive maintenance. </span><span class="FindHit SCXW165712163 BCX0">Be</span><span class="FindHit SCXW165712163 BCX0">lin</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> has a deep understanding of the benefits of robotics with her background in robotics implementation within facilities management. She holds a </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW165712163 BCX0">Masters</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW165712163 BCX0"> in Business Administration from the University of Twente and has founded 3 companies alongside her studies.</span>

Arturo Elizondo is the founder and CEO of food technology company, The EVERY Co., based in South San Francisco. EVERY is a team of passionate changemakers who are reimagining the factory farm model with a more sustainable and kinder alternative. Leveraging precision fermentation to produce super-functional and one-to-one replacement proteins from microorganisms, EVERY is on a mission to decouple the world’s proteins from the animals that make them. Prior to founding the company under the name Clara Foods in 2014, Arturo served under Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Credit Suisse. He has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30, the 2019 Person of the Year by the National Hispanic Institute, and one of 10 Latinos who inspire the United States by BBC World News. Arturo hails from Laredo, Texas and grew up living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. He holds a degree in Government & Comparative Politics from Harvard University.

Serial entrepreneur, investor, and futurist, Stephen’s accomplishments and global leadership positions with more than 100 programs / organizations and 300+ recognitions are too numerous to list. His leadership roles working daily with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenibaraki/?sh=58f6a463aafa">more than 1 million CEOs, Investors, Scientists</a> with the world’s leading CEO, scientific, technical and financial organizations allow him a unique vantage point to oversee where transformative innovation and investments are heading in the coming years. Stephen is the visionary behind REDDS whose tireless work has positioned REDDS to take advantage of the globally unique superior intelligence received by the group.  As a small sampling representing under 1% of Stephen’s current activities, he is the: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/AI/Pages/ibaraki.aspx">Founder of UN ITU, AI FOR GOOD,</a> adopted by <a href="https://vl.dk/2021/03/he-teaches-governments-and-leaders-to-use-ai-to-create-a-better-world-and-business/">governments</a>, corporations, and academia, with 3+ billion reach, as the world’s largest AI innovation solutions program, startup Innovation Factory, and daily summit driving AI top innovative business solutions such as generative AI (BingAI, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, GPT4-5) across 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and empowering CEO-led impact programs for the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/knowledgeimpactnetwork_shareknowledge-scaleimpact-shapetheworld-activity-7046900606879367168-MCxD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop">benefit of humanity and Earth Ecosystems such as with KIN</a> (Knowledge Impact Network) and <a href="https://stephenibaraki.com/ieee-tems/interviews/v0923/stephen_hecht2023_ieee-tems.html">Million PeaceMakers</a>. Ongoing judge and Grand Finale judge from the founding of the #AIForGood Innovation Factory with the last Grande Finale winner announced at the July AIForGood 2023 in this <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/scaling-up-global-action-on-sustainable-development-winning-ai-start-up-awarded-at-ai-for-good-global-summit/">news release</a>.</li> <li>Founding member of WFP Innovation Accelerator advisory council in 2017 and with the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sibaraki_earthshotprize-innovation-technology-activity-7127713777646505984-H0rR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop">November 2023 announcement of two portfolio startups winning the 1 million UK pounds prize each</a>, top innovation Earthshot Prize. WFP is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, multiple awardee of Apple, Good, Fast Company awards for innovation.</li> <li>From 2009 serving in roles as: current ACM practitioner board (PB) and past chair / current ACM PB chair professional development committee (PDC) / current board PDC TechTalks committee / current board ByteCast committee / current board working group head on startups-entrepreneurship; ACM is the world’s largest computing organization. From 1989 serving in roles as: past CIPS President and Chair; CIPS founding fellow advising CEO; CIPS is Canada’s national ICT organization. From 2007, serving in roles as: founder and current vice-chair IFIP IP3, founder and current chair IFIP Industry Council; IFIP is the UNESCO-founded independent federation of national and international ICT organizations with CIPS, ACM, IEEE as some of the founders. From 2004 serving in roles as: NPA board member, NPA founding fellow; NPA is a global infrastructure ICT organization. From 2016 serving in roles as: IEEE CS board committee member; current IEEE TEMS board committee member and active keynote in IEEE TEMS conferences/summits; current IEEE RASSE conference organizer/designer and opening keynote for industry forum in 2021, 2022, 2023; advisor to IEEE Entrepreneurship; IEEE is the world’s largest technology organization.</li> <li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=364081ad76cf">Founder of Fintech Ideas Festival, Technology Advisory Council</a>, providing industry solutions ten years into the future for the top 100 CEOs representing nearly US $100 Trillion in managed assets where the CEOs invested in all the transformational tech solutions and startups identified from Stephen 2015 including blockchain, digital identities, mobile financial services, AI/ML, cybersecurity, biometrics, 5/6G, quantum computing, future of fintech, future of the workforce, privacy and data analytics, personalization and precision services, new user/consumer experience from the confluence of the digital / physical / biological. Stephen directed the CEOs into execution focused working groups, monthly innovation forums, private summits. The public facing parts of this private work is captured in an article Stephen wrote for IT World in January 2017, “<a href="https://www.itworldcanada.com/blog/top-ceos-and-futurists-on-the-future-of-financial-services-and-technology/389899">Top CEOs and futurists on the future of financial services and technology</a>”, a <a href="https://youtu.be/FODUBJBDsGA">rare public video</a> from January 2017 private CEO summit, where Stephen provides his foresight insights to questions. The President and chair of the CEOs technology group introduces Stephen, <strong>“<em>Introduce Stephen Ibaraki. Stephen is the entrepreneur and chairman of the Fintech Ideas Festival, a tremendous help and a lot of the people are here today came through Steve’s connections and his work in the industry. Steve’s has a fantastic executive leadership career, distinguished advisor for startups and global fortune 500 companies and governments specifically on strategy, most recently organizing the current AI for Good Summit in Geneva in June 2017 with the United Nations ITU and XPRIZE.</em>”</strong> There is a joint article written for the CEOs which also appeared with the United Nations in 2017, “<a href="https://news.itu.int/trending-ai-in-finance/">Trending: AI in finance</a>” by Stephen Ibaraki, founding chairman FSR technology advisory council and Hari Gopalkrishnan, managing director, platforms and technology Bank of America. Article from Forbes in 2019: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=46d1cec376cf">https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=46d1cec376cf</a> Is Financial Services Ready For Broad 5th Machine Age Technology Adoption?</li> <li>Founding chair YPO Impact Advisory Board and <a href="https://www.ypo.org/about-ypo/">YPO</a> EU Impact Summit Advisory Board, creating workable business solutions for the world’s largest opportunities/challenges and focused on purposeful leadership / business / capital & investments / innovation. YPO: 35K CEOs, US $9 Trillion annual revenue (ranking 3^rd in GDP if considered a country) across 150+ countries, 500 chapters, employing 22 million. With work underway since May 2019, the <a href="https://www.ypo.org/eis/">first summit Oct 2020</a> and continuing as <a href="https://www.ypo.org/profile/stephen-ibaraki/">chair impact advisory board</a> with first global impact summit (<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenibaraki/2022/12/29/2023-top-4-global-impact-narratives-with-hansen-hecht-kemmerich-rocha/?sh=3805fb793e69">YPOGIS2023 in Feb 2023</a>) and continuing in <a href="https://stephenibaraki.com/ieee-tems/interviews/v0923/stephen_hecht2023_ieee-tems.html">2024</a> and beyond;</li> <li><a href="https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/33272?fullName=Stephen%20Ibaraki">Recipient of 21 Microsoft Global Awards</a> (18 MVP Awards), 40+ overall recognitions, with six years MVP 2018-2023 in AI, with the world’s largest and top corporation in technology and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6950120910011973633/">advising Microsoft under NDA since the 1970s</a>, recognizing decades of lifetime achievement, global–leadership, entrepreneurship, investments, disruptive innovation. As noted by <a href="https://www.ipthree.org/stephen-ibaraki-awarded-microsoft-mvp-ai-for-2020-2021/"><em>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in award citations</em></a><strong><em>, </em></strong><strong><em>“We recognize and value your exceptional contributions and commitment to technical communities worldwide. By sharing your real-world expertise and technical skills, you demonstrate outstanding technical community leadership. Thank you.”</em></strong> Judging as MVP, the largest youth innovation Award program, the Imagine Cup which empowers 2+ million students over 20 years. From <a href="https://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/2023/06/announcing-the-global-winners-for-microsoft-imagine-cup-junior-2023-students-developing-the-ai-skills-needed-for-the-future-world-of-work">Microsoft news release in Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior 2023</a>, <strong><em>“The Imagine Cup Junior is more than a competition. It is a learning journey that empowers students to develop their skills in AI and other technologies. These students have shown us how AI can be used for good, to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems and create a better future for everyone. I’m proud to be a part of this journey and congratulate all the competitors – and winners -- for their remarkable achievements." Stephen Ibaraki, Founder, UN AI for Good and Imagine Cup Junior 2023 judge. Spotlighted by the </em></strong><a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mvp-communities-blog/meet-the-startup-student-career-mentor-microsoft-mvps/ba-p/3919403">Microsoft’s MVP program in 2023 for Stephen’s mentorship global contributions in serving startups, innovation and entrepreneurship<strong>:</strong></a> <strong><em>“</em></strong><strong><em>Stephen's mentorship initiatives have been pivotal in propelling entrepreneurship and innovations that yield significant societal benefits. His dynamic involvement spans a wide spectrum of communities, including CEOs, UN agencies, scientific/engineering entities, investors, media outlets, social media platforms, and more.</em></strong> <strong><em>He says, “Mentorship, or ‘support’ for innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups occurs at many levels. Initially, building awareness, directing freely available resources and open startup platforms, helping grow the startups presence, providing advice, supporting investment, helping startups to scale”…</em></strong> article continues with examples from Imagine Cup, #AIforGood Innovation Factory, WFP Innovation Accelerator, CEO Leadership Alliance, non-profit organizations IEEE TEMS, ACM, CIPS. Invited advisor, mentor, investor for the <a href="https://foundershub.startups.microsoft.com/signup">Microsoft Startup Founders Hub</a>, founded in 2023.</li> <li>Active investor, investment / innovation / foresight advisor, serving on investment committees. Examples: Global Chair and managing general partner REDDS Capital; Adastral Funds; Southern California Master Fund (SCMF-CEO led funds of Funds); DTGO/MQDC; T&B Media Global; Terasaki Institute Biomedical Innovation (TIBI); serving on the investment selection committee for the new Canadian government sovereign funding renewed venture capital catalyst initiative (VCCI) adding up to 1.4 billion in the VC ecosystem. Canada in ranked in the top 5 in VC in the 38 countries of the OECD. Government announcements on the renewed VCCI: <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/sme-research-statistics/en/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative">VCCI</a> , <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/sme-research-statistics/en/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative-selection-committee">Funds of Funds selection committee</a> , <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2022/10/minister-ng-announces-new-venture-capital-investments.html">Minister announcement of Fund of Funds</a> , <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2023/10/minister-valdez-announces-new-investments-to-help-diverse-entrepreneurs-grow-their-businesses.html">Minister announcement on Inclusive Growth Stream Funding</a>.  For VCCI, examples of current contributions: Member of the Canadian government’s renewed Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) selection committee for the fund of funds and inclusive growth streams. See a letter of thanks outlining his work <a href="https://reddscapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Ibaraki-Letter-from-the-Hon.-Minister-Valdez-2023-09-08-1.pdf">here on the Inclusive Growth stream 1</a> and <a href="https://reddscapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Letter-to-Stephen-Ibaraki-2023-05-05.pdf">here on the Funds of Funds stream</a>. From the Minister<strong><em>,” I would like to personally thank you for your participation on the renewed Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) selection committee for the inclusive growth stream. Your report to the Deputy Minister of Economic Development was provided to me for my consideration and review. I appreciated the recommendations the committee developed on the selection of funds for the VCCI program, which demonstrated thoughtful deliberation and consideration. I particularly welcomed the recognition of the significant role of enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Canadian venture capital as part of a market-driven investment program. As a member of the selection committee, you took on an important role contributing your expertise, insights, and leadership. Your industry experience provided a valuable lens through which to assess the applications, supporting the Government of Canada in its efforts to enhance access to capital to support Canadian entrepreneurs. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my thanks and extend my personal appreciation for the time and effort you committed to support the renewed VCCI.” </em></strong></li> <li>Examples of recent activities (at the time of profile creation: 23-11-13) for fall 2023: Host/moderator supporting organizer for <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7118579619636641792/">O’Reilly Generative AI for Government</a> superstream summit; opening keynote and conference organizer/designer <a href="https://2023.ieeerasse.org/industry-forum">IEEE RASSE 2023 Conference Industry Forum</a>; MC for the private YPO UNGA summit; moderator/speaker for <a href="https://www.leadersonpurpose.com/2023-ceo-summit">6^th Annual CEO LOP Summit co-hosted by Salesforce</a>; Mentor and AMA (Ask Me Anything) for CEO  Leadership Alliance OC AI region AI course; <a href="https://www.unaoc.org/2023/10/2nd-global-dialogue-artificial-intelligence/">Plenary speaker at UNAOC’S 2nd Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence</a> “Towards the World of #OneHumanity” on Human Centered AI</li> <li>Contributor to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/people/stephenibaraki/#7d8cad4d71ae">Forbes</a> / Cognitive World and <a href="https://www.itworldcanada.com/author/sibaraki">IT World Canada </a>on leading new investments, innovation, entrepreneurship.</li> <li>Stephen conducts interviews with global experts since the 1970s appearing with news channels, Forbes, IT World Canada, ACM, IEEE/IEEE TEMS, IFIP, NPA, CIPS, KNVI, The Brand Called You (and their 20+ platforms) and more.</li> </ul> More here on lifetime achievement for innovation, investments, entrepreneurship as <a href="http://www.cips.ca/stephen-ibaraki">CIPS Founding Fellow</a> and in <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sibaraki/">LinkedIn</a>.

World-renowned musician and BBC TV broadcaster LJ Rich presents on the international technology show, BBC Click. In the last year she's delivered lines at 75mph from the UK's tallest thrill ride, performed to a drone in the sea off the Welsh Coast - and learned to rap on camera thanks to a mind-reading AI headset. LJ's many innovative projects coupled with a wide knowledge of tech trends bring a unique spark to her professional speaking engagements. A highly accomplished pianist, she uses music to connect the emotional and rational minds of audiences, unlocking creative thinking and solving real-world problems. She believes AI/Machine Learning can be a companion to creativity and regularly uses it to enhance her original works. LJ also loves eating and singing, trains and planes, and solving difficult puzzles.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernhard Kowatsch is founder and head of the Innovation Accelerator at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP Innovation Accelerator was named by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2017 in Food for its work in identifying, nurturing and scaling disruptive startups that accelerate innovations to address global hunger. Innovations include blockchain, agri-tech, supply chain and new businesses to end hunger. Most recently, the Accelerator runs programmes for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prior to founding the Accelerator, Bernhard co-founded the award-winning ShareTheMeal app that crowdsources funding for hungry children, and built-up WFP’s Business Innovation team. Bernhard was previously a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for global tech and industrial goods companies, and holds three Masters degrees from HEC Paris and Vienna University of Business.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Gustau Camps-Valls (born 1972 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia">València</a>) is a Physicist and Full Professor in Electrical Engineering in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Valencia">Universitat de València</a>, Spain, where lectures on machine learning, remote sensing and signal processing. He is the Head of the <a href="http://isp.uv.es/">Image and Signal Processing (ISP) </a>group, an interdisciplinary group of 40 researchers working at the intersection of AI for Earth and Climate sciences. Prof. Camps-Valls published over 250+ peer-reviewed international journal papers, 350+ international conference papers, 25 book chapters, and 5 international books on remote sensing, image processing and machine learning. He has an h-index of 78 with 29000+ citations in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6mgnauMAAAAJ">Google Scholar</a>. He was listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2011, 2020 and 2021; currently has 13 «Highly Cited Papers» and 1 «Hot Paper», Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch identified his activities as a <a href="http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/fmf/2011/11mayfmf/11mayfmfCamp/">Fast Moving Front research (2011)</a> and the most-cited paper in the area of Engineering in 2011, received the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_classic_articles&hl=en&by=2006&vq=eng_remotesensing">Google Classic paper award (2019)</a>, and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000918">Stanford Metrics</a> includes him in the top 2% most cited researchers of 2017-2020. He publishes in both technical and scientific journals, from IEEE and PLOS One to Nature, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and PNAS. He has been Program Committee member of international conferences (IEEE, SPIE, EGU, AGU), and Technical Program Chair at <a href="https://www.igarss2018.org/">IEEE IGARSS 2018</a> (2400+ attendees) and general at AISTATS 2022. He served in technical committees of the IEEE GRSS & IEEE SPS, as Associate Editor of 5 top IEEE journals, and in the prestigious <a href="https://www.grss-ieee.org/community/distinguished-lecturers/">IEEE Distinguished Lecturer</a> program of the GRSS (2017-2019) to promote «AI in Earth sciences» globally. He has given 100+ talks, keynote speaker in 10+ conferences, and (co)advised 10+ PhD theses. He coordinated/participated in 60+ research projects, involving industry and academia at national and European levels. He assisted the aerospace industry in Advisory Boards; Fellow Consultant of the <a href="https://blogs.esa.int/philab/">ESA PhiLab</a> (2019) and member of the EUMETSAT MTG-IRS Science Team. He is compromised with open source/access in Science, and is habitual panel evaluator for H2020 (ERC, FET), NSF, China and Swiss Science Foundations. He coordinates the ‘Machine Learning for Earth and Climate Sciences’ research program of <a href="https://ellis.eu/programs/machine-learning-for-earth-and-climate-sciences">ELLIS</a>, the top network of excellence on AI in Europe. He was elevated to <a href="https://www.uv.es/gcamps/cv.html">IEEE Fellow member (2018)</a> in two Societies (Geosciences and Signal Processing) and to ELLIS Fellow (2019). Prof. Camps-Valls is the only researcher receiving two European Research Council (ERC) grants in two different areas: an <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/647423">ERC Consolidator (2015, Computer Science)</a> and <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/855187">ERC Synergy (2019, Physical Sciences)</a> grants to advance AI for Earth and Climate Sciences. In 2021 he became a Member of the ESSC panel part of the European Science Foundation (ESF), and in 2022 was elevated to Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), Fellow of the Academia Europeae (AE), and Fellow of Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA).

Ravinder Dahiya is Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Northeastern University, Boston, USA. His group (Bendable Electronics and Sustainable Technologies (BEST)) conducts fundamental research in electronic skin, flexible printed electronics and their applications in robotics, prosthetics, wearables, augmented/virtual reality and similar interactive systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 500 publications, books and submitted/granted patents and disclosures. He has led or contributed to many international projects. Prof. Dahiya is President of IEEE Sensors Council. He is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics (J-FLEX). He has been recipient of EPSRC Fellowship, Marie Curie Fellowship and Japanese Monbusho Fellowship. He has received several awards, including Technical Achievement award from IEEE Sensors Council, Young Investigator Award from Elsevier, and 12 best journal/conference paper awards as author/co-author. He is Fellow of IEEE and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Electronic Skin for Interactive Intelligent Systems Miniaturization-based advances in electronics on planar and stiff substrates have revolutionized computing and communication during the last half century. However, several emerging applications and interactive systems (e.g., robots, wearables, and future vehicles, etc.) require intelligent sensors and electronics embedded in soft and squishy materials and in flexible form factors. These requirements call for new transformative methods to realize electronics on substrates such as plastic, paper and elastomers. This talk will present some of the recent technologies (e.g., the hybrid integration of the off-the-shelf electronics, printed micro/nanostructures-based CMOS electronics, and ultra-thin chips, etc.) and how they lead to tactile interfaces such as electronic skin for various intelligent interactive systems. Electronic skin is the key enabler for advances in emerging fields such as wearables, touch or haptics based augmented reality systems and healthcare technologies. This talk will discuss these future directions.

<span data-contrast="auto">Shelly Levy-Tzedek is an associate professor and the director of the Cognition, Aging & Rehabilitation Laboratory at Ben Gurion University. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Prof. Levy-Tzedek completed her undergraduate studies, summa cum laude, at UC Berkeley, where she won the Bioengineering departmental citation medal. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she completed her M.S. and her Ph.D. degrees as an MIT Presidential Fellow and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow, in the Biomedical Engineering department.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Chosen as one of Israel's most promising 40-under-40 by The Marker Magazine for 2016, she also won the 2016 award from the Paedagogica Foundation's special program entitled "Initiative for Excellence in the Negev". In 2018, she won the Toronto Prize for excellence in research. In 2019 she participated in the Dagstuhl Seminar on Verification and Synthesis of Human-Robot Interaction. In the academic year 2018-19, Prof. Levy-Tzedek was a guest professor at the University of Freiburg in Germany as part of the Marie S. Curie FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Program, supported by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">She takes a multi-disciplinary approach to her studies, in which her lab team studies how to best employ robotics to facilitate a fast and efficient rehabilitation process (e.g., in stroke and in Parkinson’s disease), and the various ways in which interaction with social robots can help users (e.g., to reduce pain, or perform cognitive training).  </span>

<span class="ui-provider ur b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak" dir="ltr">Seizo Onoe took office as Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.</span> Before his election as TSB Director by ITU Member States, he completed an over 30-year career with Japanese mobile operator NTT DOCOMO. In 2021, he became Executive Vice President and Chief Standardization Strategy Officer for the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation and a Fellow of NTT DOCOMO, INC. From 2017, he served as NTT DOCOMO’s Chief Technology Architect and President of its subsidiary DOCOMO Technology. Between 2012 and 2017, he served as NTT DOCOMO’s Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President, a Member of the Board of Directors, and Managing Director of R&D Innovation Division. Earlier, he served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of NTT DOCOMO’s R&D Strategy Department and Managing Director of the company’s Radio Network Development Department. As TSB Director, he heads the part of ITU responsible for the coordination of technical standards and collaborative standardization processes that enable the interconnection and interoperability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) worldwide. Mr Onoe is committed to facilitating open and inclusive standardization processes, along with promoting digital technologies to address global issues, building a new ecosystem that reflects evolving technologies, and strengthening cooperation and collaboration in ICT standardization worldwide. Known in the industry as “the father of LTE” (Long-Term Evolution), he helped upgrade the wireless broadband standard for mobile devices and networks. He now aims for global outreach to bridge standardization gaps, deliver the benefits of technology widely and speedily, and ensure meaningful and affordable broadband access for everyone. Mr Onoe holds a Master’s degree in electronics from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering.

<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #333333;">Karishma is a graduate student in public policy at Cambridge University. She previously studied cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. As a college student, she developed one of the top entries (“Promoting Empathy-based AI”) during the National Science Foundation’s open call for future scientific directions and was featured for being among the youngest to advance in the competition shaping U.S. science over the next decade. Her research focuses on empathy in the context of emerging technologies.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #333333;">Karishma was named Young Innovator to Watch at CES 2018 and is the youngest on record to earn the best abstract in Artificial Intelligence at Pediatrics 2040 for her medical innovation combining emojis, AI, and Brain-Computer Interface to help paralyzed patients communicate. In 2019, Karishma was selected to join an international cohort as one of five DLF Fellows from North America committed to solving global challenges. Through the unique campus scholarship and leadership program, she founded a campus organization (The Patient Project) and published a book on the medical humanities. The Patient Project reimagines patience for patients — to alleviate the wait in healthcare. Compassion in action, she launched wellness programs to address elder isolation and led the university initiative to promote altruism through handcrafted letters.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #333333;">She is a national Phi Beta Kappa Key into Public Service Scholar, Barnes and Noble College Scholar, and a recipient of the Strauss Scholarship for Public Service. At 15, she founded a nonprofit for neuroscience outreach, advocated for a city-wide proclamation of Brain Week, and was featured at the international Brain Health Fair. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0cm;"></p> <p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #333333;">Her work has been featured in Forbes, Science Magazine, Mission Magazine, OC Register, and the Huffington Post. A Forbes profile described her as "an innovator and champion of AI for societal good." As the youngest main-stage speaker at UN AI for Good Global Summit 2023, she currently leads an initiative at the UN sourcing global perspectives on AI and establishing a standard for public consultation in AI policymaking. At Cambridge, she was selected for a placement at the UK Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT). Karishma is dedicated to merging commitments to innovation, technology policy, and health to shape the future of AI.</span></p>

<span data-contrast="auto">Prof. Dario Floreano is the director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Since 2010, he is the founding director of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Robotics, a 12-year funded program that brings together more than 20 research laboratories across Switzerland to investigate intelligent robots for improving the quality of life (wearable robots, rescue robots, educational robots). He is also the coordinator of the European Project RoboFood.org (starting in Oct. 2021) aimed at developing edible robots and food with robotic capabilities.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Prof. Floreano holds an M.A. in Visual Psychophysics, an M.S. in Neural Computation, and a PhD in Robotics. He held visiting fellowships at Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Tokyo, at Caltech/JPL in Pasadena, and at Harvard University in Boston. His research interests focus on biologically inspired robotics and artificial intelligence. Prof. Floreano made pioneering contributions to the fields of evolutionary robotics, aerial robotics, and soft robotics that have been published in more than 400 peer-reviewed articles. He also wrote books on </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Artificial Neural Networks</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (il Mulino, in Italian, two editions), </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Evolutionary Robotics</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (MIT Press, two editions), </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Bio-inspired Artificial Intelligence</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (MIT Press, two editions) and </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Bio-inspired Flying Robots</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (Springer Verlag). The new book </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Tales from a Robotic World: How intelligent machines will shape our future</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> will be published by MIT Press in September 2022.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Prof. Floreano spun off two robotics companies: </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">senseFly.com</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (2009, acquired by the Parrot Group in 2016), which has become a world leader in drones for agriculture and imaging, and </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Flyability.com</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> (2015), which is the world leader in inspection drones for confined spaces. He was featured by </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">The Economist</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> in a center-page portrait as a pioneer in evolutionary robotics and aerial robotics. In the early days of podcasts (2006), he started a popular bi-weekly podcast on the science, technology, and business of robotics (“Talking Robots”) that he students later expanded into RoboHub.org, the world-leading platform for information on robotics technologies and applications for professionals and the public.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Prof. Floreano served for two terms in the Advisory Board of the Future and Emerging Technologies division of the </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">European Commission</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">, has been vice-chair of the </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">World Economic Forum</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> Agenda Council on Smart Systems and Robotics, has been a cofounder of the </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">International Society of Artificial Life</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">, served as elected member of the Board of Governors of the </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">International Neural Network Society</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">, is on the Advisory Board of the </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">, and has joined the editorial board of ten scientific journals. He also co-organized several international conferences and thematic workshops on bioinspired drones and soft robotics, which are now considered foundational events for those communities.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Jennifer Woodard is the co-founder and CEO of Insikt Intelligence, a deep-tech startup researching applying AI and Machine Learning to unearth hidden insights within large datasets for customers in the government sector for fighting online crime, disinformation and counterterrorism; as well as the co-founder of Dataietica, a non-profit institute created by AI practitioners and researchers in the Security industry who want to fully realise the potential of new technologies for public safety and policing, while addressing the implications such innovations have in terms of ethics, privacy and human rights.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Jennifer is a recognized expert in the application of AI for counterterrorism and a frequent speaker on the topic at high-level events. Most recently she addressed the UN Counterterrorism Week on the benefits and human rights implications of AI for counterterrorism. She is also frequently called upon to speak on the topic of ethical AI for security and policing in the EU, US and Israel.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Her spare time is spent mentoring future female leaders and contributing to the advancement of European technological research through her work as an external expert for the European Commission. She was tapped earlier this year by the UN to be a mentor in the United Nations Development Programme’s mentoring scheme for female entrepreneurs in the Arab region.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Vishnu has hands-on experience in the field of Telecom industry for more than 25 years, developing and implementing standards, and holds many international granted patents. Vishnu currently works as an independent consultant, is a Vice Chair of ITU Focus Group on Autonomous Networks and the co-convener of ITU Correspondence Group on datasets. Previously, he was a co-editor of ITU-T Focus Group specifications on Machine learning in 5G. His current passion includes coordinating standards initiatives, industry bodies, open source and academia, mentoring student projects and coordinating the ITU “AI/ML in 5G“ Challenge across the globe. He also curates and moderates webinars under the ITU Machine learning 5G webinar series and AI for Good. Vishnu was nominated as Scientific Advisory Board Associate (SABA) member of Motorola Networks and is a senior member of IEEE. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

<span class="TextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0">Ai-Da Robot was devised by Aidan Meller - a specialist in modern and contemporary art and is the Creative Director and Project leader of Ai-Da Robot. He has over 25 years’ experience in the art world. It was while reading and seeing the way that technology is disrupting large sections of society, that he </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW15274493 BCX0">realised</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0"> the need to discuss these shifts in society. Focusing on AI and robotics, he devised Ai-Da as an entity that would be able to challenge the morphing world and ask questions of our time. Meller said “The greatest artists in history grappled with their </span><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW15274493 BCX0">period of time</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0">, and both celebrated and questioned society’s shifts. Ai-Da Robot as technology, is the perfect artist today to discuss the current obsession with technology and its unfolding legacy. Is the so called ‘progress’ in technology something we really want, and if so, how should it manifest?”. If Ai-Da Robot does just one important thing, it would be to get us considering the blurring of human/machine </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW15274493 BCX0">relations, and</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0"> encouraging us to think more carefully and more slowly about the choices we make for our future – Orwell and Huxley’s messages still ring </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW15274493 BCX0">relevant</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW15274493 BCX0"> and we would do well to take heed.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW15274493 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Professor Thalmann has started her career in Canada at the University Laval, and Montreal where she pioneered the field of 3D Virtual Humans. One of her film, “Rendez-vous in Montreal”, many times awarded, has shown  the first 3D simulation of past legendary stars  acting in a café in Montreal. In 1989, she created the laboratory MIRALab at the University of Geneva, a ground-breaking research lab she founded in 1989 developing Virtual Humans and Social Robots. From 2019 to 2022, she was the Director of the research Center Beingthere and the Research Institute IMI in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. During her illustrious career, she participated in more than 50 European research projects, helping MIRALab to develop revolutionising interdisciplinary research in computer graphics, computer animation, and virtual worlds and producing impactful work that synergises art, fashion, computer graphics and cultural heritage simulations. Some recent work includes a 3D see through multiscale virtual patient. In NTU, Singapore, she revolutionized social robotics by unveiling the first social robot Nadine that can show mood and emotions and remember people and actions. Besides having bachelor’s and master’s degrees in disciplines such as psychology, biology, chemistry and computer science, Professor Thalmann completed her PhD in quantum physics at the University of Geneva. She has received honorary doctorates from Leibniz University of Hannover and the University of Ottawa in Canada and several prestigious other Awards as the Humboldt Research Award in Germany, the Eurographics Career Award and the Canadian Human Computer Communications Society Award. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Visual Computer journal published by Springer, co-Editor-in-Chief of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds journal published by Wiley. She is a life Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences. For more information about her academic achievements, see <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fcitations%3Fuser%3DzSucrdMAAAAJ%26hl%3Den&data=05%7C01%7Cjulien.smith%40itu.int%7C6d0b99e7700e46afc15608db0e049c40%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638119185177225124%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TRmlW%2BHBUROJY4yUQ6t0TyPjBFyM1LOsEuJhOQRKDzQ%3D&reserved=0">google scholar</a>.

Golestan (Sally) Radwan (B.Sc., MBA, M.Sc.) is a Computer Scientist with expertise in AI and emerging technologies. Prior to UNEP, Sally served as Advisor to the Egyptian Minister of ICT, where she led the development and implementation of Egypt’s national AI strategy. During this time, she served as an expert and delegate of Egypt to several international organizations working on AI Policy and Regulation including UNESCO, WIPO, ITU, and OECD. She also championed and led two working groups within the African Union and League of Arab States to unify regional efforts around Responsible AI. Sally previously held several executive positions in the technology industry over 17 years, working in Germany, Austria, the UK and the US for companies including Novell GmbH, Avaya Inc. and NTT Data Europe. She earned a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from London Business School, as well as an MSc in Clinical Engineering and Healthcare Technology Management from City University of London. She is currently finalizing her PhD thesis, focusing on AI explainability and its ethical considerations in metagenomics at the Royal Holloway University of London.

Dianne is a visionary leader in the field of AI and music, utilizing her expertise in marketing strategy, data intelligence, and blockchain technology to create decentralized systems that promote the betterment of humanity and the planet. With a decade of experience in developing successful loyalty marketing programs for major brands and startups, and a background in economics, finance, and music, Dianne is uniquely qualified to design and implement innovative solutions that drive positive change for the creative arts. As a talented musician and multi-instrumentalist with a passion for performance and creative expression, Dianne brings a human touch and global perspective to her work in AI, making her a truly visionary leader in the field. Her ultimate goal is to create emergent benevolent beneficial AI for Good, bringing out the best in humanity, nature, and the planet. Dianne plays Soprano Saxophone in the Jam Galaxy Band.

<span data-contrast="auto">Hiroshi Ishiguro received a D. Eng. in systems engineering from the Osaka University, Japan in 1991. He is currently Professor of Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University (2009-) and Distinguished Professor of Osaka University (2017-). He is also visiting Director (2014-) (group leader: 2002-2013) of Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute and an ATR fellow. His research interests include sensor networks, interactive robotics, and android science. He received the Osaka Cultural Award in 2011. In 2015, he received the Prize for Science and Technology (Research Category) by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). He was also awarded the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award in Dubai in 2015. In 2020, he received Tateisi Prize.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Avatar and the Future Society</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Hiroshi Ishiguro has been involved in research on tele-operated robots, that is, avatars, since around 2000. In particular, research on Geminoid modeled on oneself is not only scientific research that understands the feeling of precence of human beings, but also practical research that allows one to move one's existence to a remote place and work in a remote place. In this lecture, the speaker will introduce a series of research and development of tele-operated robots such as Geminoid, and discuss in what kind of society humans and robots will coexist in the future.</span>

Brendan is the Vice President of Policy & Government Relations for Boston Dynamics, the world's leading developer of agile robots that autonomously navigate uneven terrain, stairs, and even doorways using legs and arms. In this role, he collaborates with policymakers and stakeholders on a wide range of policy and ethics issues relating to the integration of beneficial robots into society. Previously, Brendan was in charge of global public policy for DJI, the world's leading manufacturer of consumer drones. A technology advocate, thought-leader, and champion of pragmatic solutions to the concerns that are raised by emerging technologies, Brendan has served on U.S. federal and state policy advisory committees, testified in the U.S. Congress and the U.K. House of Commons, and is often quoted in the media on technology policy and law.

<span lang="en-US">Anne Hunger is an accomplished entrepreneur and product innovator who co-founded Glüxkind Technologies, a Vancouver-based startup that is revolutionising pedestrian mobility. As Chief Product Officer, Anne's visionary leadership and deep understanding of user needs have been instrumental in creating a flagship product, the smart baby stroller "Ella", which delivers unparalleled safety and convenience for urban parents.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Her passion for developing technology applications that seamlessly fit into modern lifestyles and enhance everyday experiences drives her work at Glüxkind Technologies. Anne's personal journey of becoming a parent inspired her to develop "Ella", recognizing the lack of support for young families' mobility needs.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Anne's impressive achievements include completing the prestigious MIT Sandbox and NEXT AI programs, where she received mentorship from leading AI industry giants such as Joshua Bengio and Ajay Agrawal. Her background in management for construction, real estate, and infrastructure, with a BSc and MSc from the renowned Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, provides her with a strong foundation in engineering principles and the relationship between design and user experience.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Overall, Anne is a visionary leader and accomplished product innovator with a passion for developing technology that solves real-world problems and improves people's lives.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span>

<span lang="en-US">Kevin Huang is an innovative and driven serial entrepreneur with a passion for technology and its potential impact on society. As the co-founder and CEO of Glüxkind Technologies, based in Vancouver, Canada, he is focused on creating cutting-edge solutions for pedestrian mobility that increase accessibility, inclusivity, and quality of life.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Glüxkind's flagship product, an AI-powered baby stroller, offers unparalleled safety and convenience for urban parents. Kevin's expertise in autonomous robotics development and his ability to push technological boundaries have enabled him and his team to create innovative products that have won prestigious awards in record time. He is committed to ensuring that all products comply with the highest standards while having a grand vision for pedestrian robotics applications.</span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Kevin's educational background includes a BSc in Neurophysiology and Behavioral Psychology from the University of British Columbia and a MSc in eHealth from McMaster University. He is constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities to create meaningful impact, both through his work and by mentoring and supporting aspiring entrepreneurs</span><span lang="en-US"> </span>

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p class="ai-optimize-6 ai-optimize-introduction"><span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Thomas Wiegand is professor at the Technical University of Berlin and executive director of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, Berlin, Germany. He heads research teams working on: video coding, machine learning, computer vision, and mobile communications.</span></p> <p class="ai-optimize-7">Wiegand substantially contributed to the creation of the H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, and H.266/VVC standards. For H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Wiegand was one of the chairmen of the Joint Video Team (JVT) standardization committee that created the standard and was the chief editor of the standard itself. He was also an active technical contributor to all these standards. Wiegand also holds a chairmanship position in the ITU-T VCEG and previously in ISO/IEC MPEG standardization organizations. From 2018-2023, he was the chair of the ITU/WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health. Since 2014, Thomson Reuters named him in their list of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” as one of the most cited researchers in his field. He is a recipient of the ITU150 Award. He has been elected to the German National Acdemy of Engineering (Acatech) and the National Academy of Science (Leopoldina).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<span class="TextRun SCXW171800665 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW171800665 BCX0">Cindy L. Bethel, Ph.D. (IEEE and ACM Senior Member) is a Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department and holds the Billie J. Ball Endowed Professorship in Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU). She was a 2019 U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar to Australia sponsored by the University of Technology Sydney. She is the Director of the Social, Therapeutic, and Robotic Systems (</span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW171800665 BCX0">STaRS</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW171800665 BCX0">) lab. Dr. Bethel has managed over $12 million dollars in grant funding since starting at Mississippi State University in August 2011. She has published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and workshop papers in prestigious venues. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Computing Research Association (2020-2023) and is a member of the CRA Government Affairs Committee (2021-2024). She also serves as a Co-Chair of the Socially Responsible Computing Working Group for the CRA. She has been active in her professional research community serving on the Steering Committee for the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and the ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (2015-2019). She was an NSF/CRA/CCC Computing Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Social Robotics Laboratory at Yale University. From 2005 - 2008, she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and was the recipient of the 2008 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Graduate Fellowship. She graduated in August 2009 with her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of South Florida with doctoral minors in Psychology and in Applied Statistics. Her research interests include human-robot interaction, human-computer interaction, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Her research focuses on applications associated with robotic therapeutic support, information gathering from children, and the use of robots for law enforcement, search and rescue, and military.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW171800665 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span class="TextRun SCXW146333117 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW146333117 BCX0">Darrell's career in journalism began at </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW146333117 BCX0">GigaOM</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW146333117 BCX0">, and then to </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW146333117 BCX0">BetaKit</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW146333117 BCX0"> where he was founding Senior Writer. He's been at TechCrunch since 2012, covering everything from gadgets, to space, to sustainability — with a couple of years away mixed in, once to join Apple and lead product communications for Canada, and another time to join Shopify and lead global communications. He's been Managing Editor at TechCrunch since 2021.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW146333117 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559685":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Dr. Laurel Riek is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego, and also has appointments in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Contextual Robotics Institute, and Design Lab. Dr. Riek directs the Healthcare Robotics Lab, and leads research in human-robot teaming, assistive robotics, embodied AI, and health informatics, and builds intelligent systems which work proximately with people. Riek's current research projects have applications in acute care, neuro-rehabilitation, and home health, and works on furthering health equity through community-driven research efforts. Prof. Riek received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, and B.S. in Logic and Computation from Carnegie Mellon University. Riek served as a Senior Artificial Intelligence Engineer and Roboticist at The MITRE Corporation from 2000-2008, working on learning and vision systems for robots. From 2011-2016 Prof. Riek held the Clare Boothe Luce chair in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Riek has received the NSF CAREER Award, AFOSR Young Investigator Award, Qualcomm Research Award, and multiple best paper awards. Prof. Riek currently serves on the editorial board of ACM Transactions on Human Robot Interaction (THRI) and is the HRI 2023 General Co-Chair.

Pratyush is an 18-year-old graduate student at Stanford University pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science with a specialization in AI supported by the NSF GRFP Fellowship. He began his undergraduate education at age 14 through the CSULA Early Entrance Program and transferred to UC Irvine where he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and minor in Statistics at the age of 18. Throughout his undergraduate education he was constantly involved in machine learning and computer science research and coursework. Pratyush received numerous scholarships for his academic excellence and research experiences, including from Edison International, Phyllis Allen Keys Endowment Fund, and Norman L. Eyster and Noemie E. Eyster Endowment Fund. Pratyush's work is focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence, and he has numerous research and internship experiences in these fields. He has presented his research at various international conferences including at the MAA/AMS Joint Mathematics Meeting 2020, the largest conference of mathematicians in the world, and ICDATA '20, one of the largest data science conferences globally. He has researched and developed machine learning models for various institutions in multiple industries including at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, City of Los Angeles, NASA JPL through the DIRECT-STEM program, USC Viterbi ISI, and jointly with Amazon and LA County WDACS. Currently, Pratyush is working on research involving applications of machine learning for spatiotemporal forecasting, robust adaptation, and realtime monitoring. At UC Irvine, Pratyush was named a 2021 Goldwater Scholar, a prestigious national scholarship awarded to students with excellent academic and research skills. He is also currently working as a student researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Energy Sciences Network (ESNet). In 2022, he was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) Fellowship, which recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines.

Professor Sarah Hammer is Executive Director at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, leading financial technology initiatives as well as Wharton Cypher Accelerator, which supports leading global businesses that are leveraging financial technology. Hammer is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Hammer is also Affiliated Scholar at the Penn Program on Regulation.   Previously, Hammer was Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Director of the Alternative Investments Program at Wharton. Hammer also led the launch of the University of Pennsylvania’s first digital asset, unique 3D intellectual property that memorializes the invention of the mRNA technology which enabled the COVID-19 vaccines.   Hammer is also a board member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the United Nations. The ITU is the UN specialized agency responsible for information and communication technology. She is also an advisor at the World Economic Forum, the Dubai International Finance Centre, and the Digital Dollar Project for Central Bank Digital Currency.   Previously, Hammer was Acting Secretary of the Department of Banking and Securities for Pennsylvania, having led the Department through the banking crisis of March 2023. The Department regulates and supervises ~290,000 bank and non-bank financial entities, totaling $3.5 trillion in AUM.   Hammer was also previously Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the US Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led the Department’s policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as oversaw the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity).   While at U.S. Treasury, Hammer also led the cross-functional team conducting a full review and report on the financial regulatory framework. Hammer also served on the board of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and assisted the U.S. Treasury Secretary in fulfilling responsibilities on the board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).   Hammer has held various leadership positions throughout financial services in general management, portfolio management, trading, marketing, research, and analytics at the Vanguard Group, PIMCO, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Tudor Investments.   Hammer earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bussemaker is a business community builder with a passion for bringing people together in the Digital Age. His goal is to explore the interaction of Information Technology, Innovation and Impact. He has initiated and helped run a number of (international) communities focused on linking Information Technology, Innovation and Impact. His current responsibilities include chair of the ‘Institute for Accountability in the Digital Age’ an association set up at the instigation of UNESCO. He has been working in the International ICT industry since the 80s. He started with a Dutch start up working in the international oil and gas industry. Since then held various marketing and alliance positions with consultancy-, software firms and associations including: CIONET where he was the Secretary General International Relations a community of over 7000 CIOs where he represented the community with international institutes like the European Commission. He is the initiator of the Global Digital Leader Alliance linking over 20.000 Digital Leaders from the China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia, South America and the US. He does (pro deo) work for number of (international) organizations and communities including YPO’s Global Impact Board and iPoort an association to discuss digitization with members of the Dutch parliament. He is a founding member and vice-chair of the outreach committee of the ITU ‘AI for Good Global Summit, Geneva. He is a regular speaker and chair at international events and has spoken in Australia, China, Europe, Ghana, India, New Zealand, South-Korea, Sri Lanka and the United States. He has an MSc in Engineering Geophysics from Delft University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<p class="contentpasted0"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">Neil Sahota (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; background: white;">萨冠军</span></span><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">) is the CEO of ACSI Labs, United Nations (UN) AI Advisor, IBM Master Inventor, Professor at UC Irvine, and author of award-winning Best Business book of 2019, <b>Own the A.I. Revolution</b>. With 20+ years of business experience, he works with organizations to create their core business strategy, enter new markets, and develop next generation products/solutions powered by emerging technology. His work experience spans multiple industries including legal services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, travel and transportation, energy and utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media/communication, and government. Moreover, Neil is one of the few people selected for IBM's Corporate Service Corps leadership program that pairs leaders with NGOs to perform community-driven economic development projects. For his assignment, Neil lived and worked in Ningbo, China where he partnered with Chinese corporate CEOs to create a leadership development program.</span></span></p> <p class="contentpasted0"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">In addition, Neil partners with entrepreneurs to define their products, establish their target markets, and structure their companies. He is a member of several investor groups like the Tech Coast Angels,</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;"> <span class="contentpasted01">advises venture capital funds like Miramar and CerraCap, and helped create the UN’s Innovation Factory, a global program for social impact entrepreneurs. Neil also serves as a judge in various startup competitions and mentor in several incubator/accelerator programs.</span> </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">He actively pursues social good and volunteers with nonprofits. Neil cofounded the UN's AI for Good Initiative and is actively helping them building out their ecosystem of strategic partnerships. He is currently helping the Zero Abuse Project prevent child sexual abuse as well as Planet Home to engage youth culture in sustainability initiatives. Over the last twelve years, he has served as a Board Director to several non-profit organizations such as the Inteleos and Cancer Computer as well as corporate boards from around the world like Legalmation, Lingmo, and Shineville. </span></span></p>

I am a Full Professor of Informatics and Cognitive Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. I founded and direct the R-House Laboratory for Human-Robot Interaction research at IUB. My work combines the social studies of computing, focusing particularly on the design, use, and consequences of socially interactive and assistive robots in different social and cultural contexts, with research on human-robot interaction (HRI) and social robot design. My main research goals are threefold: (1) developing a critical understanding of the development and use of socially interactive robots in society; (2) studying how social and cultural factors influence robotics science and technology development; and (3) using critical perspectives and insights from the social study of interactive robotic technologies to design, implement, and evaluate socially and culturally situated robots. My research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Electric al and Electronics Engineers, and Indiana University. I received my PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2007. I was a visiting guest professor at Bielefeld University's Cognitive Interaction Technology -- Center of Excellence in Summer 2014. In 2008/2009, I was a lecturer in Stanford University's Program in Science, Technology and Society. I was also a visiting scholar at the Intelligent Systems Institute in AIST, Tsukuba, Japan and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in 2005.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My general focus is on identifying and developing emerging and transformative technologies that can impact society in significant and exponential ways. I do this by helping create interdisciplinary frameworks for understanding and planning new developments and the funding required to bring new innovations to market.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I help start, grow, and run innovative ventures, and focus on working with startups and growth-oriented companies on products and initiatives that could trigger significant breakthrough with substantial economic and societal impact. Particular emphasis on machine learning and predictive systems, IoT, knowledge sharing and crowdsourcing, Education, and digital health. I usually help teams on initial market opportunity validation, product roadmap strategy, pricing and business model, go-to-market operations, fundraising and mentorship, Mergers and high-growth partnerships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I also have managed a few private and public technology investment and venture capital funds and know how to establish fund operations and their overall strategies and requirements.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I enjoy teaching and have been a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, HEC Paris, Chapman University, Claremont McKenna College, and UC Irvine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Jojo Mayer is an internationally renowned drummer and leader of the electronica trio Nerve. Swiss born Jojo Mayer started playing drums at an early age and had his first public performance at 2 sitting in with his dad’s band. At age 18 he received his first international exposure when touring with Monty Alexander and backing up Jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone. In the early 90’s he moved from Europe to NYC where he worked as a first call sideman for a wide range of artists and styles. As a leader he created his seminal work with NERVE which established him as one of the great performers and innovators on the instrument. His concepts and techniques of reverse engineering electronic drumbeats in real time on a acoustic drum set introduced a new paradigm and opened the door for an entire generation of musicians to follow. In 2014 Modern Drummer Magazines listed him as one of the 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time.

Philip Stier is Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. He also heads the <a href="https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/climate-processes">Climate Processes Group</a> and serves on the steering group of the Oxford Climate Research Network. Philip's research addresses physical climate processes in the context of anthropogenic perturbations to the earth system as the underlying cause of climate change and air pollution. His key interests lie in aerosol and cloud physics, their interactions and their role in the climate system. Aerosols are small liquid or solid particles suspended in air of both anthropogenic and natural origin. Cloud droplets form on aerosol particles, so man-made changes in aerosol (precursor) emissions also affect the physics of clouds. He is also Principal Investigator for a <a href="https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/climate-processes/projects/recap">European Research Council</a> project on the highly uncertain effects of aerosols on precipitation, and he leads the new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network <a href="https://imiracli.web.ox.ac.uk/">iMIRACLI</a>, which brings together leading climate and machine learning scientists from academia and industry across Europe to educate a new generation of climate data scientists. Philip is passionate about the power of interdisciplinary approaches to address complex questions around the causes and impacts of climate change. Through the Climate Processes Group, Phillip combines work on global climate models, earth observations from satellites and surface and aircraft based in-situ measurements, as well as detailed process models with theory to improve our understanding of the climate system.

<span data-contrast="auto">Dr Armin Wedler received his diploma and bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and robotics in 2004 and his doctorate on "Adaptive passive compliant systems for use in robotics" in 2010 from the University of Hannover. He started his professional career in 2006, also at the university as a research assistant, and moved to DLR German Aerospace Center, Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics in 2008. Here he focused on the design and development of advanced mobile space robotics systems for planetary exploration. After gaining experience as a scientific developer, he was able to continuously expand his expertise as a system engineer, technical manager, and finally as project manager and coordinator. With his contributions to national and international projects such as EXOMARS (ESA), DEXHAND (DLR-ESA), Mobile Payload Element (DLR- MPE), Next Lunar Lander (ESA-NLL), ROBEX (HGF), ARCHES (HGF), MASCOT (DLR, CNES, JAXA), Rover for MMX (DLR, CNES, JAXA) he was able to further expand his expertise, experience and knowledge base. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Through his role as head of the planetary exploration domain within the DLR Robotics Institute as well as his team leadership for the development of innovative mobile robotic systems, he was able to demonstrate his coordination skills. Mr. Wedler is also active in various committees, e.g. ISCEG as well as in scientific and technical topic groups for robotics in harsh environments. Through this work, he was also appointed to lead the Institute's Field Robotics Group, in which role Mr. Wedler has been coordinating the humanitarian AHEAD project since 2020, which aims to develop remotely controlled humanitarian food aid deliveries using robotic vehicles, enabling deliveries into terrain that is difficult or dangerous for humans to access.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Dr. Marco Pavone is an Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, where he directs the Autonomous Systems Laboratory and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. He also serves as Director of Autonomous Vehicle Research at NVIDIA. Before joining Stanford, he was a Research Technologist within the Robotics Section at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He received a Ph.D. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. His main research interests are in the development of methodologies for the analysis, design, and control of autonomous systems, with an emphasis on self-driving cars, autonomous aerospace vehicles, and future mobility systems. He is a recipient of a number of awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, a National Science Foundation Early Career (CAREER) Award, a NASA Early Career Faculty Award, and an Early-Career Spotlight Award from the Robotics: Science and Systems Foundation. He was identified by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) as one of America’s 20 most highly promising investigators under the age of 40. He is the founder and faculty director of the Stanford Student Space Initiative, a student group involving more than 300 undergraduate students in aerospace-related projects (e.g., rockets, satellites, and high-altitude balloons).

Dr. Randy Gomez is chief scientist at the Honda Research Institute Japan. He oversees the embodied communication research group, which explores the synergy between communication and interaction in order to create meaningful experiences with robots for positive impact to society.

Giulia is a data scientist who currently works at the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in the Hunger Monitoring Unit where she leverages her expertise to develop and implement machine learning models. These models are used to estimate food security indicators in regions where primary data is unavailable and to provide longer-term forecasting. Before joining WFP in 2020, she worked as a researcher at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and received a Master's degree in civil engineering from Delft University of Technology. Giulia's primary objective is to make technology accessible and user-friendly to support and improve operations in the humanitarian sector.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caitlin Kraft-Buchman is CEO/Founder of Women at the Table, and Co-Founder of the <a+>Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms. The < A+ > Alliance, founded 2019, is a global coalition of technologists, activists and academics who champion Inclusive AI and Affirmative Action for Algorithms so that we come closer to creating gender and racial equality in a world where machine learning does not wire an already biased system into our future. <a+>Alliance are leaders of the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition for Technology & Innovation. Women at the Table, founded 2015, is a growing, global gender equality & democracy CSO based in Geneva, Switzerland focused on advancing feminist systems change by using the prism of technology, innovation & AI, and exercising leverage points in technology, the economy, sustainability & democratic governance. Caitlin is also the co-founder of the International Gender Champions, founded 2015, based in Geneva with hubs in New York, Vienna, Nairobi, The Hague and Paris, a leadership network of female & male decision-makers that break down gender barriers for system change.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

David Crandall is the Luddy Professor of Computer Science at Indiana University, where he is also the Director of the Luddy Artificial Intelligence Center. He obtained the Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University and the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He was a Senior Research Scientist at Eastman Kodak Company from 2001-2003. He has been PI or Co-PI on over $25 million in research grants and contracts, he has published over 200 technical articles in top international venues, and has received best paper awards or nominations in CVPR, WWW, CHI, ICCV, and ICDL. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence and the IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, Program Co-chair for WACV 2023, CVPR 2024, and ICDL 2024, and has served as an Area Chair for numerous top conferences. He has received an NSF CAREER award (2013), two Google Faculty Research Awards (2014 and 2020), an IU Trustees Teaching Award (2017), a Grant Thornton Fellowship (2019-2023), and a Luddy Professorship (2021).

A disruptive tech advocate and decentralised AI expert with published works on Ethics and Regulation of AI. My leadership role at SingularityNET entails responsibility for technology, operations, marketing, investment, accounting and payments, strategic partnerships, business development, decentralisation and Deep Funding (SingularityNET's community driven crypto-accelerator programme). Leading AI and Blockchain initiatives across multiple vertical markets including robotics, biotech, gaming and metaverse, media, DeFi, music and arts, I was with the team that launched the world’s first humanoid robot fronted band; the Jam Galaxy Band at NAMM festival in LA in June 2022. I am co-founder of Cogito Protocol, an algorithmic tracer-coin that is the missing piece in crypto-assets. I am committed to a positive and beneficial Singularity for the benefit of all of humanity, and have a special love of African music and culture, with interest in education, sustainability and jobs in Africa. I am also passionate about diversity, inclusion and equality. Other interests are Tai Chi, Chi Gung, yoga, meditation, and growing to contribute the most I possibly can in this lifetime

Wang Xinhui (wangxinhui @zte.com.cn) is currently the General Manager of Standardization and Industrial Relations in charge of technology innovation, standardization, strategy and industrial relations building, Vice President of ZTE Corporation. He received Bachelor and Master Degrees from Northeastern University of China. He joined ZTE working on software development and system design of wireless communication system in 2000. Since 2006, he has been focusing on advanced radio access technology research and standardization with over 20 published papers and 50 granted patents held globally. The team under his leadership works in 100+ international/regional/domestic Standardization Organizations, Industrial Alliances/Fora/Consortia and Open Source Communities of significant prominence. He has been elected Vice Chairman of 3GPP GERAN TSG for three consecutive terms since 2011. He serves as Member of Advisory Committee of IMT-2020(5G) Promotion Group, Member of Advisory Committee of IMT-2030(6G) Promotion Group and CCSA TC5 vice chairman. He has been the Keynote Speaker of IEEE ICC and IEEE WCNC along with Industrial Speaker of China Delegation for 7 continuous Global 5G Summits.

<p class="xxxxxxxmsonormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><a title="mailto:m.kovac@imperial.ac.uk?subject=" contenteditable="false" href="mailto:m.kovac@imperial.ac.uk?subject=">Prof. Mirko Kovac</a> is director of the <a title="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/aerial-robotics" contenteditable="false" href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/aerial-robotics">Aerial Robotics Laboratory</a>, full professor at Imperial College London, and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow. He is also heading the <a title="https://www.empa.ch/web/s799" contenteditable="false" href="https://www.empa.ch/web/s799">Materials and Technology Centre of Robotics</a> at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Zürich. His research group focuses on the development of novel, aerial robots for distributed sensing and autonomous manufacturing in complex natural and man-made environments. Prof. Kovac's particular specialization is in robot design, hardware development, and multi-modal robot mobility. </span></p> <p class="xxxxxxxmsonormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Before his appointment in London, he was a post-doctoral researcher at <a title="http://www.harvard.edu/" contenteditable="false" href="http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a> and he obtained his Ph.D. at the <a title="http://epfl.ch/" contenteditable="false" href="http://epfl.ch/">Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)</a>. He received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the <a title="http://ethz.ch/" contenteditable="false" href="http://ethz.ch/">Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ)</a> in 2005.</span></p> <p class="xxxxxxxmsonormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Since 2006, he has presented his work in >70 international proceedings and journals, has won several best paper awards, and has delivered >30 keynote lectures. He also regularly acts as an advisor to government, investment funds, and industry on robotics opportunities. </span></p>

<span class="NormalTextRun SCXW83859055 BCX0">Dr. Xi Zheng is currently a technical expert with Huawei Technologies. Her research focuses on algorithm design for </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW83859055 BCX0">the modelling</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW83859055 BCX0">, analysis, resource management, and optimization of radio access networks. She is also experienced in transferring research progress into industrial practices. Before joining Huawei, she obtained a </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW83859055 BCX0">bachelor’s degree in Physics</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW83859055 BCX0"> and a doctoral degree in Telecommunications from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. </span>

<span class="TextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker, LL.M. (Yale), holds the Chair for Law and Ethics of the Digital Society at the European New School of Digital Studies (</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">ENS</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">) at European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). Prior to joining </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">ENS</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">, he served as an AXA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Law of Humboldt University of Berlin; a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, and an A.SK Fellow at </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0">WZB</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW164152367 BCX0"> Berlin Social Science Center. His research focuses on the intersection of law and technology. In particular, he analyzes the impact of tracking technologies, AI, and the IoT on consumer, privacy, and anti-discrimination law. He often cooperates with computer scientists and mathematicians, especially on questions of explainable AI and algorithmic fairness.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW164152367 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559738":120,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}"> </span>

Dr. Vandi Verma is a Robotics Principal Engineer and the Program Manager for Technology Infusion and Strategy Development at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. She also serves as Chief Engineer of Robotic Operations for Mars Perseverance. Until recently she was the Deputy Manager for the Mobility & Robotics section where she led JPL roboticists developing new technology for future missions and working on a variety of flight robotic missions. She has worked on Space Robotics and AI research and technology development tasks and has designed, developed, and operated rovers on Mars, the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Atacama Desert. Robotics capabilities she has worked on are in regular use on the Perseverance, and Curiosity rovers, and in human spaceflight projects. She has been engaged in robotic operations on Mars since 2008 with the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity rover, Perseverance rover, and Ingenuity helicopter.

Thomas BASIKOLO is Programme Coordinator in the Study Groups and Policy Department of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB). He coordinates and manages the AI for Good’s Machine Learning activities (including ML5G), is ITU lead of the Green Computing Pillar of the Green Digital Action, and is an advisor to the ITU-T Focus Group on AI-Native Networks. Prior to joining ITU, he worked as a Research Engineer in the Engineering Department of Microwave Factory Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. He received a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Yokohama National University, Japan. He is recipient of multiple Best Paper Awards, the IEEE AP–S Japan Student Award and the Young Engineer of the year award by IEEE AP–S Japan in 2018. He has co-authored peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, predominantly in the areas wireless communications and antenna engineering. He serves as a Reviewer of IEEE and IEICE Journals. His interests includes, machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence and network science, and their applications in wireless networks as well as how technology can be used to advance the UN SDGs.

Dr. Evgeni Gousev is a Senior Director of Engineering in Qualcomm Research. He leads HW R&D org in the Silicon Valley Center and is also responsible for developing ultra low power embedded computing platform, including always on machine vision AI technology. He has been with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. since 2005 after joining from IBM T.J. Watson Research Center where he drove projects in the field of advanced silicon technologies. Evgeni serves as the Chairman of the Board for tinyML Foundation. In 2020, Dr. Gousev was inducted into the “Hall of Fame” of SEMI MEMS and Sensors Industry Group.   From 1993 to 1998, Dr. Gousev held academic professorship appointments with Rutgers University and Hiroshima University (1997). Evgeni holds a M.S. degree in Applied Physics and a Ph.D. in Solid-State Physics. He has co-edited 24 books and published 163 papers and is an inventor on more than 60 issued and filed patents.

<p class="">Darren Jones is the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol North West and the Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee. He also sits on the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, the UK-EU Parliamentary Assembly, and the Liaison Committee, which scrutinises the work of the Prime Minister. Darren is the founder of the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies, a global network of legislators seeking to understand and progress the regulation of emerging technologies. Prior to entering Parliament, Darren practised law as a technology solicitor.</p>

<div class="w4BZ9"> <div role="document"> <div class="T31hC GNqVo allowTextSelection OuGoX" tabindex="0" aria-label="Message body"> <div> <div> <div dir="ltr"> <div lang="en-US"> <div> <p data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Sasha Rubel is Head of Public Policy for Generative AI at Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. She previously led UNESCO’s work on AI and digital innovation for over 12 years, including as representative to the European Commission, G7, OECD, African Union, Economic Commission for Africa, and Sahel on these matters. Sasha is involved in international AI governance initiatives as a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI, member of the OECD AI Network of Experts, and member of Ireland’s AI Advisory Council. Franco-American with a large part of her life spent in Africa, she brings people together across countries, disciplines, and sectors to use technology to change their lives and the world for the better. She advises governments, companies, non-profits, and change-makers on how to unlock the potential of AI and data for the good of people and the planet through policies, partnerships, and capacity building. A former student of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, Sasha received the Public Diplomacy Innovation Prize from the White House under President Obama, and undertook a PHD on responsible AI and the social impact of new technologies.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="g4Y3U"></div> </div> <div class="DVtfe"></div> </div> <div class="w4BZ9"> <div role="document"> <div class="T31hC GNqVo allowTextSelection OuGoX" tabindex="0" aria-label="Message body"> <div> <div> <div dir="ltr"> <div lang="en-US"> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dr. Reinhard Scholl is former Deputy to the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) since September 2002. Previously he has been with Siemens in Munich, Germany and with ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). He has also served on the ICANN Board. He received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois, USA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<span class="TextRun SCXW31845274 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW31845274 BCX0">Patrick </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW31845274 BCX0">Thévoz</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW31845274 BCX0"> is the co-founder and CEO of Flyability, the pioneer and market leader in indoor drones for professional use, devices designed to enhance efficiency while also improving the safety of workers when carrying out inspections on industrial sites. Under Patrick's management, Flyability has grown from a staff of two to over </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW31845274 BCX0">120, and</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW31845274 BCX0"> has acquired in excess of 1'000 clients. Prior to founding Flyability, Patrick </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW31845274 BCX0">Thévoz</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW31845274 BCX0"> was a strategy consultant specializing in the launch of products for the life sciences sector. He is a graduate in engineering from EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne).</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW31845274 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559685":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<p class="x_MsoNormal" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Frederic Werner is a recognized leader at the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, and global development. As the Head of Strategic Engagement at ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for Digital Technologies, and Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good, Frederic drives initiatives that shape the future of AI’s role in solving humanity’s greatest challenges.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Frederic is a co-creator of the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit, a landmark platform connecting AI innovators with real-world problem owners to collectively advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under his stewardship, AI for Good has become a global hub for innovation, collaboration, and actionable solutions, redefining how AI is used for social good.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">At ITU, Frederic leads transformative strategic initiatives, driving global collaboration in digital transformation and standards development to address critical challenges. His leadership ensures the organization remains a leader in setting international standards and leveraging AI to advance the SDGs.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Before joining ITU, Frederic held pivotal roles that shaped global ICT collaboration. As Communications & Program Director of ETIS in Brussels, he established a pan-European network of CIOs and cybersecurity leaders. Earlier, as Head of Marketing and Communications at the European Organization for Conformity Assessment, he spearheaded capacity-building projects with the European Commission, strengthening ICT infrastructures in EU candidate countries.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">A recognized figure in the AI sphere, Frederic is a regular keynote speaker and panellist at global tech and AI events, such as Davos, Vivatech, SXSW, World AI Festival Cannes, AI Africa Expo, World AI Summit Amsterdam, AWS Reinvent and GITEX to name a few. His insights on AI capacity building, governance and standards have led to numerous interviews and features across international media, books, and podcasts.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Academically, Frederic holds a B.A. in Business & Human Resources Management with a Communications Minor from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, an MBA in International Business from United Business Institutes, a Technical MBA in Telecoms Technology from Informa Telecoms, and a certificate from the MIT Sloan School of Management on AI’s Business Strategy Implications.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Having lived in diverse countries such as Belgium, Senegal, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, and Switzerland, Frederic brings a unique and global perspective to his partnerships and collaborations.</p>

Bernhard Kowatsch is the Head of the Innovation Accelerator of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which he created in 2015. The Accelerator sources, nurtures and scales start-ups and non-profits that disrupt global hunger and runs accelerator programmes for other global problems. In 2021, the innovation and startup portfolio positively impacted the lives of 9 million people (2X each year since launch) and has raised a total of $180M+ of grant funding. The Accelerator has supported more than 200 innovations in its portfolio, runs a total of 18 SDG accelerator programmes for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Humanitarian Grand Challenges and other UN Agencies in different areas. The team of 70+ innovators represents over 40 countries and speaks more than 25 languages. Bernhard is a regular speaker at tech conferences and global events on tech for good, blockchain, artificial intelligence, social entrepreneurship and technologies disrupting global hunger, e.g. Mobile World Congress, AI For Good, SXSW, World Economic Forum, XPRIZE and numerous UN and government events. Prior to starting the Accelerator, Bernhard co-founded the award-winning ShareTheMeal app that crowdsources funding for WFP. This leading innovation has raised over 150 million meals for hungry children worldwide, and was named as an App of the Year for 2020 by both Apple and Google. Bernhard also built up WFP’s Internal Management Consulting unit based in Rome, and was previously a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for global tech and industrial goods companies. He holds three Master degrees from HEC Paris and Vienna University of Business and Economics.

Christian Mio Loclair is a German artist who works at the interface of artistic and scientific research. Using custom algorithms, data and digital devices, Loclair creates sculptures, video works and installations to continuously portray the aesthetics and frictions of both human and digital identity. In his work, Loclair explores the contrast between natural phenomenons and data-driven algorithms. On the one hand, his works examine the creative and societal potential of artificial intelligence, while, on the other hand, they reflect on the only supposedly opposing myth of man and machine. Loclair focusses on novel aesthetic identities that derive from the interplay of mathematical and poetic research. This is not only reflected in his work, but also in his interdisciplinary development: in his practice, he combines and reflects his expertise and experience as a computer scientist, visual artist, choreographer and dancer. Loclair studied computer science at the University of Potsdam and at the Hasso Plattner Institute, specialized in media technology and completed his studies in human-computer interaction. Loclair’s approach is always a mediating one, which matches his public lectures, including contributions to Palazzo delle Esposizioni (2021), EPFL Pavilion (2021), Le Pavillon Namur (2021), Goldsmith University (2020), Center Pompidou (2018/2020), Republica (2019), United Nations (2019) and Hong Kong Performing Arts Festival (2019). His works have been presented at the Today Art Museum (2019), ars electronica (2019), MCAM (2019), Center Pompidou (2018) and Design Museum London (2017). Christian Mio Loclair lives and works in Berlin.

Markus Reichstein is Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, and Professor for Global Ecology at the University of Jena. He is founding co-director of the ELLIS (<a href="http://www.ellis.eu" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">www.ellis.eu</a>) program “Machine Learning for Earth and Climate Science” and the recently established ELLIS Unit Jena (<a href="http://www.ellis-jena.ai" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">www.ellis-jena.ai</a>) within the Michael-Stifel-Center Jena for Data-driven and Simulation Science Jena. and member of the German National Committee Future Earth for Sustainability research. He has been serving as lead author for the IPCC, as member of the German Committee Future Earth on Sustainability Research, and the Thuringian Panel on Climate for advising the state on climate protection and adaptation. Markus’s main research interests revolve around the response and feedback of ecosystems (vegetation and soils) to climatic variability with an Earth system perspective. Of specific interest is the interplay of climate extremes with ecosystem and societal resilience. He is addressing these topics with a combination of artificial intelligence and classical modelling approaches to exploit the wealth of experimental, ground- and satellite-based Earth observations together with theoretical knowledge. Recent awards for his research include the Piers J. Sellers Mid-Career Award by the American Geophysical Union (2018), and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Preis by the German Science Foundation (2020). He is also Principal Investigator in the European Research Council Synergy Grant USMILE dedicated to the development and application of machine learning for a better Earth system understanding and modelling. Furthermore, Markus is chairing the Global Research Program and Knowledge-Action Network “Emergent Risks and Extreme Events – Reducing Disaster Risks under Environmental Change” (<a href="http://www.risk-kan.org" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">www.risk-kan.org</a>). Markus is excited about linking system thinking with data-driven science and artificial intelligence for understanding complex systems, such as the climate-environmental-societal system and believes that such approaches can help societies become more resilient and sustainable. <div> <span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">A recent Perspective highlights how artificial intelligence can support climate science by enhancing process understanding and improving predictions across scales (Reichstein et al., 2025: <a class="ms-outlook-linkify" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57640-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-linkindex="1">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57640-w</a> ).</span> </div>

Sougwen 愫君 Chung is a Chinese-Canadian artist and researcher, and is the founder and artistic director of Scilicet, a London-based studio exploring human & non-human collaboration. As a former research fellow at MIT’s Media Lab, Chung is considered a pioneer in the field of human-machine collaboration, was selected as the Woman of the Year in Monaco for achievement in the Arts & Sciences and received the Lumen Prize for Art in Technology. Chung's work explores the mark-made-by-hand and the mark-made-by-machine as an approach to understanding the dynamics of humans and systems. This speculative critical practice spans performance, installation, and drawings which have been featured in numerous exhibitions at museums and galleries around the world such as Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver; Art Basel, Miami; National Art Center, Tokyo; ArtScience Museum, Singapore; The New Museum, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Geneva.

<span class="TextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0">Dr Sylvain </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW18672495 BCX0">Calinon</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0"> is a Senior Research Scientist at the </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW18672495 BCX0">Idiap</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0"> Research Institute and a Lecturer at the Ecole Polytechnique </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SpellingErrorHighlight SCXW18672495 BCX0">Fédérale</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0"> de Lausanne (EPFL). He heads the Robot Learning & Interaction group at </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW18672495 BCX0">Idiap</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW18672495 BCX0">, exploring new applications of human-robot collaboration and robot learning from demonstration. The approaches developed in his group can be applied to a wide range of applications requiring manipulation skills, with robots that are either close to us (assistive and industrial robots), parts of us (prosthetics and exoskeletons), or far away from us (teleoperated robots). </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW18672495 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559685":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Dr. Li Tian is currently the Head of Standards Strategy Department of ZTE Corporation. He is actively involved in various global standardization organizations including 3GPP, ITU, IEEE. His research interests are in the field of 5G and beyond radio access technology, and his team contributed significantly to advanced technologies like AI/ML, future networks, video coding, automobile electronics, network security, etc. He is the first author of a book and contributed to multiple book chapters, with over 50 academic papers published and over 50 patents held globally. Li served as the co-chair of IWCMC2020 workshop and keynote chair of WCNC2021, he has delivered multiple keynotes in various academic and industrial events, and he also served as the rapporteur for several 3GPP work items.

In my current role, I lead on Microsoft's engagement with the United Nations and International Organisations. Previously, I led work to establish a Data Science strategy at HM Treasury in the UK, was the UK’s Permanent Representative to the OECD in Paris; Deputy Director of Debt and Reserves Management at HM Treasury, where I oversaw the UK's first Sukuk and Renminbi bond issuances; and Chief Economist at DCMS. I have worked across domestic, financial, EU and International policy, including in the Private Office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Before joining the UK Civil Service, I taught English literature in schools in the UK.

<span data-contrast="none">Ambassador Méndez was born in Mexico City. She entered the Diplomatic Service of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. She graduated as a BSc in Political Sciences and Public Administration and a MSc in Latin American Studies from the Mexican National Autonomous University (UNAM). She obtained her second MSc in Law and Economics from the Milan State University in Italy. She has diplomas in international politics, public diplomacy and Arab studies, the latter with professors from the University of Oxford.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">Prior to her appointment to Geneva, H.E. Mrs. Méndez had been serving as Ambassador of Mexico to the United Arab Emirates, from January 2017 to January 2022, also covering Iraq.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">In the Mexican Foreign Service Headquarters, Ambassador Méndez worked in the Department of Political Affairs and the Caribbean, in the Directorate for United Nations and in the Directorate for Global Affairs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}"> </span> <span data-contrast="none">She was a Deputy Counselor in the Consulates in Milan and Barcelona. In the latter, she spent a year and a half in charge of the Consulate. Following these postings, Ambassador Méndez was Deputy Head of Mission in Romania, Costa Rica and Spain where she ended her assignment as Chargé affairs for eight months. As part of her international assignments, she acted as Deputy Head of Mission for European Union, Kingdom of Belgium and Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}"> </span>

Heidi Kershaw is the Chief Executive Officer of Multiple, a non-profit that catalyzes early-stage companies dedicated to autism innovation. She is a seasoned non-profit executive with deep relationship-building skills, who is passionate about advocating for those who are not heard. She is expert at navigating the complexities of stakeholder dynamics and coalition building. Her ability to reach across industry-sectors to collaborate with experts from government, academia, non-profit, corporate, and media entities helped build the United States’ most influential healthcare workforce wellbeing initiative, ALL IN, a partnership of cross-sector parties combining forces to make mental health resources accessible to health workers. Professionally, Heidi developed ALL IN She earned her master’s degree at Georgetown University in International Affairs. She has a double bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah iand advanced Defy:Disaster at the Entertainment Industry Foundation, created her own medical device company serving the needs of autistic children, and built the alumni association for the sustainability of the California State Summer School Arts Foundation.n Communications and French Language. She currently serves on the board of UCLA’s Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART), a hub of clinicians and scientists who work together to provide therapy and clinical services while performing research on caring for those with autism. She is also on the Board of Directors at the California State Summer School Arts Foundation, a rigorous residential arts training program for high school students. Her passion for life is rooted by her son, Jack, who is 11 years old and is severely impacted by autism. He wakes up each day with a smile and the sounds of excitement that can only be identified by looking forward to the unknown adventures of the day ahead.

Robert Opp is the Chief Digital Officer of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations' global sustainable development organization working across 170 countries globally. UNDP adopted its second Digital Strategy in 2022, which sets out a vision to create a world in which digital is an empowering force for people and planet. Rob leads the agency’s digital transformation, an organization-wide effort, to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure no one is left behind. Under his leadership, UNDP’s Chief Digital Office supports more than 120 countries in building open, inclusive and rights-based digital transformations. It also brings expertise, insights and lessons from the country-level to inform global digital policy, to ensure that technologies, including digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence accelerate sustainable development. Robert also leads UNDP’s own internal digital transformation effort. Prior to this role, Robert served as Director of the Innovation and Change Management Division within the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) where he established an in-house ‘Zero Hunger’ innovation accelerator and created an award-winning crowdfunding smartphone app, ShareTheMeal.

<span lang="en-US">Siddhartha Jha is the AI & Digital Innovation Lead at Fondation Botnar,</span><span lang="en-US"> </span><span lang="en-US">which champions using data and frontier technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the wellbeing of children and young people in rapidly growing urban environments. </span><span lang="en-US">Advocating for including youth voices and the equitable use of AI and digital technology, the foundation invests in and supports innovative programs and research and brings together actors from across sectors to create dialogue and partnerships. </span><span lang="en-US"> </span> <span lang="en-US">Siddhartha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, an MSc. in Biomedical Engineering and a CAS in Computer Science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, both from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He brings many years of interdisciplinary professional experience with him in technology, research, and innovation roles in different organisations across multiple countries. </span> <span lang="en-US">Siddhartha is responsible for bringing technology-driven insights into Fondation Botnar’s work across diverse initiatives. He supports the Foundation team in making informed decisions on funding and catalysing innovative projects spanning health and education and leveraging Data, AI and digital technologies to promote the wellbeing of young people. Siddhartha draws his inspiration from various disciplines and is deeply interested in facilitating a responsible use of technology  and algorithms for the common good.</span>

<span lang="EN-US">Gabriela Ramos</span><span lang="EN-US"> is the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, where she oversees the institution's contributions to building inclusive societies. Her mandate includes tackling economic inequalities of income and opportunity, and promoting social inclusion and gender equality. She also oversees the youth support agenda, promotion of values through sport, fight against racism and discrimination, and ethics of science, including of neurotechnology and the internet of things. She has overseen the development and adoption of the first global instrument to promote the ethics of artificial intelligence, adopted by acclamation in 2021 by UNESCO's General Conference. She also launched the Global Forum against Racism, to catalyse the political support that member countries have given to this cause. On gender, she has advanced several initiatives, particularly to combat gender stereotypes and biases, including in new technologies.</span> <span lang="EN-US">Previously, Gabriela Ramos worked as Cabinet Director and Sherpa for G20/G7APEC at the OECD, contributing to increasing the OECD's global impact and leading key initiatives such as "Inclusive Growth", "New Approaches to Economic Challenges", "Climate Change and Growth", the gender strategy and work on well-being and children. At the G20, she contributed to the international reform of tax systems; the adoption of the gender quota (to reduce the labour gap) and the establishment of the W20; and the adoption of the principles of artificial intelligence, among others. She also oversaw Global Relations and the OECD's membership enlargement process.</span> <span lang="EN-US">In 2019, she launched the Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) platform, bringing together 40 multinational companies committed to reducing inequalities. Previously, she was Director of the OECD Office in Mexico and Latin America where she supported reforms in education, telecommunications, gender and health. She was a member of the Mexican Foreign Service.</span> <span lang="EN-US">In 2013, she was awarded the Order of Merit (<em>Ordre du Mérite</em>) by the President of France. Her work to promote gender equality has earned her several awards including from Forbes and Apolitico. She has been a Fulbright and Ford McArthur Fellow. She is an alumna of Harvard University's Masters in Public Policy and Universidad Iberoamericana's BA in International Relations. She is a board member of the "Paris Peace Forum"; the "UNICEF Advisory Board"; as well as the "Lancet Commissions on COVID and on Men's Violence against Women", and member of the Danone "Entreprise à Mission" Committee.</span>

<span class="TextRun SCXW156258302 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW156258302 BCX0">Laura Boccanfuso is the Founder and CEO of Van Robotics, a social robotics company dedicated to developing personalized learning tools using AI. Laura has been recognized by companies like McKinsey & Company, TIME Best Inventions, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW156258302 BCX0">SuperCharger</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW156258302 BCX0"> Ventures, and Siemens Digital Industries Software. She also received the 2022 SC Women in Business Award and was named Top 10 Most Influential Women in Technology by Analytics Insight. Laura is changing the way we use technology in learning with </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW156258302 BCX0">ABii</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW156258302 BCX0">, the smart robot tutor for the K-5 classroom, and Van Robotics' new high school robotics program, Classroom to Career which builds strong ecosystems for STEM throughout K-12. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW156258302 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span lang="EN-US">Founder, Drainpipe.io & Contributor, Topic Group AI for Radiology Focus Group AI for Health, WHO & ITU</span> <span lang="EN-US">Dominick Romano is a creative technologist and award-winning inventor. The recognition Dominick has received includes winning the 2018 Red Herring North America and Global awards as well as an OMMA Award for a non-profit deploying UNICEF’s Amazon Kid Power Alexa Voice Application.</span> <span lang="EN-US">In 2020, Dominick founded drainpipe.ioTM to create an operating system for managing data and training large scale AI models using an innovative approach to underlying mathematics. drainpipe.io is a neural computing platform that allows any user - regardless of background and skill set - to simulate complex scenarios, and manage AI models in rapidly changing environments. His research includes heterogeneous hierarchical modeling which transforms emergency management, humanitarian relief, and AI for Healthcare. Based on this work, Dominick was recognized as a global top 50 AI CEO of 2021 by Technology Innovators Magazine.</span> <span lang="EN-US">In 2022, drainpipe.io signed on to contribute research on multimedia processing and artificial intelligence for Radiology to the World Health Organization, and International Telecommunication Union. Dominick’s mission is to provide fair and equitable access to AI for the advancement of social good, early detection of mass casualty situations including mass shootings in schools, and using synthetic data to reduce economic impact of reactive data sampling to uncover novel findings.</span>

Prof. <span class="markqbktc44rx" data-markjs="true" data-ogac="" data-ogab="" data-ogsc="" data-ogsb="">Takanori</span> <span class="markecuf9za0x" data-markjs="true" data-ogac="" data-ogab="" data-ogsc="" data-ogsb="">Shibata</span> received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Electronic and Mechanical Engineering from Nagoya University in 89, 91 and 92, respectively. He was a research scientist at AIST, MITI from 93 to 98. Concurrently, he was a visiting research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Lab., MIT from 95 to 98. At the AIST, Dr. <span class="markecuf9za0x" data-markjs="true" data-ogac="" data-ogab="" data-ogsc="" data-ogsb="">Shibata</span> was a senior research scientist from 98 to 13. Concurrently, he was the Deputy Director for Information and Communication Technology Policy, Cabinet Office of Japan in 2009 and 2010. Since 2013, he has been the current position, and concurrently, a Professor at School of Computing, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and a visiting fellow, AgeLab, MIT. His research interests include human-robot interaction, robot therapy, mental health for astronauts in long-term mission (e.g. to Mars), and humanitarian de-mining. He received many awards including the Japanese Prime Minister’s Award in 2003, and The Outstanding Young Person of the world by Junior Chamber International in 2004. In 2015, PARO was awarded the “Patient Trophy” as innovation of non-pharmacological therapy for dementia by AP-HP, France. In 2018, Prof. <span class="markecuf9za0x" data-markjs="true" data-ogac="" data-ogab="" data-ogsc="" data-ogsb="">Shibata</span> was awarded the “Ryman Prize” that is the most prestigious award in the fields of geriatric medicine, welfare and health in the world. In 2022, he was awarded the 10^th Anniversary Special Robot Award by the Gov. of Japan.

Dr. Hui Zhang has a proven track record in the robotics and automation business, holding different leadership positions in product management and R&D at ABB over the past 20 years. During this time, he has spent several years in China, the United States and for the past three years in Switzerland as Chief Technology Officer.​​​​​​​ Dr. Hui Zhang joint the KUKA Group in October 2022 as KUKA Group CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Since May 2023 he also took the role as CTO of KUKAs Robotics Division. The 52-years-old holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University and did work in many different locations globally.

I am a physicist with a background in nanotechnology, and a passion for citizen science. I also have broad experience in science management, teaching and communication, in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. During the past decade, I have managed the development of a series of online citizen science projects in a wide range of research fields, starting with the launch of LHC@home in 2004 while I was a manager at CERN. In 2009, I established a partnership for citizen science between CERN, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the University of Geneva, now called Citizen Cyberlab. As an invited professor at the Centre Universitaire d’Informatique (CUI) of the University of Geneva since 2014, I coordinate Citizen Cyberlab, managing the development of technologies for crowdsourced research, exploring the broader impact of citizen science for society, and promoting public participation in science through hands-on events. I also teach courses on Open Science and Citizen Science at the bachelor and master level. Since 2016 I am Director of the Geneva Tsinghua Initiative, a comprehensive education programme for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. From 2016-18 I was Director of Digital Strategy for the University of Geneva.

Former management consultant with 10+ years of consistent sales success, business development and team leadership. Proven track-record from both business operations, incl. P&L ownership, and from leading large cross-functional change projects End2End. Determined and goal-oriented with a strong presence and drive. A strong communicator and collaborator and used to working with stakeholders internally and externally on all levels and across functions.

Diana is the UNDP Global Lead on Gender and Digital. She was previously working for the UNDP’s Regional Hub for Latin American and the Caribbean as Gender Equality Seal Certification Programme Manager. She received her M.D. from the University of Birmingham in the UK in Poverty Reduction and Development Management, she is also specialist in International Cooperation and Development Projects Management and a Professional in Finances and International Relations. With more than a decade of experience with the United Nations including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia as the Inclusive Economic Development Project Manager, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as Expert in Project Formulation and Finances in the design and implementation of the Colombia’s Food Security Observatory and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as Economic Adviser for the M&E system of alternative development programs. She is passionate about finding innovative solutions to address poverty and inequality, focusing on economic development, private sector engagement, gender equality, financial inclusion, Corporate Social Responsibility CSR, shared value building, social and entrepreneurial innovation, as the means to achieve human development with equality and opportunities for all

Founder and Lead Innovator, CAWIL AI Solutions- an AI-enabled solution to preserve biodiversity, livelihood and sustainable environment. Environmentalist, Feminist, Entrepreneur, Innovator. It's been her passion to turn technology and innovation viable. She has worked with several startups in business development in the field of edutech and social enterprises. She has been chosen for two consecutive years as one of the Top 10 "Startup Pinay Founders" as one of the Delegate for Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2018 & 2019 by the DTI-Export Marketing Bureau. She has extensive experience in launching companies overseas and raised several funding throughout her entrepreneurial journey. Alumni Startup Founder of Ideaspace Foundation 2017 cohort 5 and a woman technology advocate. Alumni Startup Founder at PortXL Singapore 2019 cohort, World's First Port, and Maritime Accelerator. With 12 years of extensive sales and marketing experience which has been her advantage in founding and mentoring technology-driven companies.

Vicky Charisi is a Research Fellow at Harvard University, Berkman Klein Centre, working at the intersection of Child development, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Children’s Rights and AI in Education. With extensive research experience in child-AI interaction and child-robot interaction, she contributes to the field from a research, policy, and design perspective through collaborations with major international organizations and governments, academia and industry. She prioritizes child participation and through cross-cultural studies she has developed an expertise on AI and Children at a local, regional and global level. With her project at the Berkman Klein Centre, she explores the opportunities and challenges in designing and evaluating AI systems to support children’s Global Citizenship Education. Previously, she worked at the European Commission, Joint Research Centre as a Research Scientist leading projects on AI and children. She has co-authored more than 60 scientific publications and 15 Science for Policy reports and she serves as a vice chair of the IEEE Society on Computational Intelligence, Cognitive and Developmental Systems, TF Human-Robot Interaction. <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>

<p class="x_MsoNormal">David is CEO of the charity SWGfL and also Director UK Safer Internet Centre; the national awareness centre and part of the European Insafe network.  David has worked extensively in online safety for over 20 years with children, schools and wider agencies. He advises a number of Governments, organisations and industry partners on online safety strategy and policy and has been appointed as an expert child online protection adviser to the UN ITU.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">David has presented at conferences nationally and internationally.  He is a member of the UK Council for Internet Safety and has recently been invited to be a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety.  More recently he has supported the UN POP project, mapping how child obtain support online.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">David has led pioneering work, such as the development of multi award winning resources, as well as the establishment of a number of helplines that support victims of online harm including the UK Revenge Porn Helpline as well as stopncii.org that supports any victim facing non-consensual intimate image abuse globally.  With Plymouth University, he has published several ground-breaking research reports.</p>

Tara Chklovski is CEO and founder of global tech education nonprofit Technovation (formerly Iridescent). Prominently featured in the award-winning documentary Codegirl, Forbes named Chklovski “the pioneer empowering the incredible tech girls of the future” and Discovery Science Channel named her its first “CEO Science Super Star Hero” for her work encouraging the next generation of innovators, problem solvers, and game changers. A frequent advocate for STEM education, she’s presented at the White House STEM Inclusion Summit, SXSW EDU, UNESCO’s Mobile Learning Week, and led the 2019 education track at the UN AI for Good Global Summit. Since founding the organization in 2006, Technovation has welcomed more than 130,000 children and parents, and 14,000 mentors, to participate in its programs in 100+ countries.

<div> <p data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Sinead Bovell is a futurist  and the founder of WAYE (<a title="Original URL: https://www.wayetalks.com/. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wayetalks.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C8fca2cb896524d5ffd2008dd6c45e27d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638785769598885329%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KiE6HvduQywYVbJ%2FC1T3BY1K1N2tPAKvfJhSPiH%2FIOY%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">https://www.wayetalks.com/</a>), an organization that prepares businesses and the next generation of leaders for a future with advanced technologies, with a focus on non-traditional and minority markets. Sinead advises c-suite executives and senior leadership across governments, global business giants and startups alike. She is an 11x United Nations  (<a title="Original URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCK6DEg-G4E)speaker. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DzCK6DEg-G4E)speaker&data=05%7C02%7Cmeghana.kondamudi%40itu.int%7C8fca2cb896524d5ffd2008dd6c45e27d%7C23e464d704e64b87913c24bd89219fd3%7C0%7C0%7C638785769598921482%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=nk2r0n9NwbqEC7P45YjTPQ%2F0r1BpxBVNo1AHxxGmtf0%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCK6DEg-G4E)speaker</a>; she has given formal addresses to presidents, royalty and Fortune 500 leaders on topics ranging from cybersecurity to artificial intelligence, and currently serves as a strategic advisor to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union on digital inclusion. A regular tech commentator for CNN, talk shows, and morning shows, Sinead has been dubbed the "A.I. educator for the non-nerds" by Vogue Magazine and named one AfroTech’s Top 50 Voices shaping the future. To date, she has educated over 300,000 young entrepreneurs on the future of technology.</p> </div> <div></div>

Anka Reuel is a Computer Science Ph.D. Student at Stanford University. Her research focuses on enabling organizations to develop and deploy responsible, socially beneficial AI systems. Most recently, she published an op-ed in The Economist with Gary Marcus, calling for international coordination on AI governance. She is also an advocate for more collaboration between the field of technical AI safety and AI governance and is a founding member of KIRA, an independent German think tank facilitating the discourse across academia, policymakers, and civil society in the field of responsible AI. Anka is a Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and an incoming Stanford HAI Graduate Fellow

Thomas Schneider is Ambassador and Director of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) in the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). He is a long-standing expert in digital governance and in the governance of the information and knowledge society and artificial intelligence. He is leading the Swiss delegation in various key international fora in these fields. Since 2003, he has been coordinating the Swiss activities with regard to the implementation and follow-up of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). From 2014-2017, he was the chair of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and in this role negotiated the compromise among governments regarding the “IANA Stewardship transition”, the biggest reform in the ICANN system. He was responsible for the organization of the 12th UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Geneva in December 2017 on behalf of the Swiss government and co-chair of the IGF’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group in 2017. Since 2020, he is vice-chair of the OECD’s Committee for Digital Economy Policy, and vice-chair of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) – which he chaired from 2018-2019 – and a member of the bureau of the CoE’s Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI). He is the president of the EuroDIG Support Association (since 2012). He has been participating in the meetings of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, as personal advisor of former Swiss president, Ms. Doris Leuthard (2018-2019).

Edward Kwakwa is Assistant Director General, Global Challenges and Partnerships Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. He served as General Counsel at WIPO from 2004 until September 2016. Kwakwa holds an LL.B. degree from the University of Ghana, an LL.M. from Queen’s University in Canada, and an LL.M. and a J.S.D. from Yale Law School in the U.S.A. Before joining WIPO, Kwakwa practiced with the law firm of O’Melveny and Myers in Washington, D.C., worked as International Legal Adviser at the Commission on Global Governance in Geneva, as Senior Legal Adviser at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and as Legal Affairs Officer at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

<span data-contrast="auto">Carlo Tortora Brayda di Belvedere, born in Rome, Italy, in 1969, is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Tortora Brayda Institute for Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity, a global Think Tank to promote effective partnerships. Mr. Tortora Brayda is the former CEO of Gorilla Corporation, the global leader in Technology Partnerships through Channels and Alliances. An organization that supported industry giants like IBM, AWS, and Microsoft as well as innumerable startups. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">His earliest work with the United Nations was as a Volunteer in the Office of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid in Geneva, Switzerland. Shortly after that, he met with former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan several times. These were profoundly formative meetings focusing on the role of public-private partnerships, entrepreneurship, and their role in international development. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">In 2003, he created Alchemy World Projects, an Ethiopian-based NGO aimed at poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship and coordination with the government on private sector development. The program was successful and lifted thousands of people out of poverty into employability and small-medium enterprise development. During this time, he was appointed Advisor on Trade and Industry to Federal President Girma Wolde-Ghiorgis. He also fulfilled an advisory role in Entrepreneurship development and Foreign Direct Investment to several Regional Presidents, particularly the President of Amhara State, the historical heartland of Ethiopia, covering more than 25 million inhabitants. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">In the ongoing spirit of Partnerships, Mr. Tortora Brayda signed Gorilla Corporation as a Sector D Member of the United Nations International Telecommunications Union to the forefront of internet policy making and standardization. In 2006, Mr. Tortora Brayda was invited by the World Economic Forum to be a Special Constituent Member and, subsequently, an expert contributor in assessing global risks for the  G20. Since then, his only focus has been supporting Partnership Excellence in all its forms within all technology growth areas, including the Think Tank’s core tracks: Cybersecurity, Cloud/Data Center, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics. Mr. Tortora Brayda, a United States National Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity ISAO co-founder, has also been invited by NATO CyCon and Strategic Communication CoE to participate in its proceedings. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">He has been a Judge on the United Nations ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory since 2020. As of 2023, he acted as Judge for the ad hoc AI for Good Contest for Climate Change in partnership with ITU, UNESCO, FAO, IAEA, and World Bank culminating in COP 28. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Mr. Tortora Brayda, an information systems engineer with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, and with his subsequent companies, has won numerous business awards, including the Forbes Technology Council Award for Best Group (Cybersecurity),  Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year, South East of England, Shell Livewire Greatest Employment Potential, Oxfordshire Business of the Year Award presented by Boris Johnson, Guildford Mayor’s Cup, and was honored to join Queen Elizabeth II Golden Coronation private event at St James’ Palace in London. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span> <span data-contrast="auto">Mr. Tortora Brayda serves as Global Lead on Cybersecurity for the Forbes Technology Council, is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and a Freeman of the City of London. In 2022, he joined CyberStratos M&A Advisory, as an GTM Advisor and Equity Partner.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<span class="TextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0">Mostafa Gado is an Innovation Strategist, Startup & Tech Enthusiast and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper with 11+ years of experience - across various domains - in Business Development, Project Management, Strategy and Operations</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0">He has been actively involved in the Middle East & North Africa Startup/Venture scene during the past decade.</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0">Gado is currently working as a Venture Developer with the Berlin-based Corporate Venture Building firm, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW19037014 BCX0">FoundersLane</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0">.</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0">He is also a former Advisory Manager and Innovation Strategist at PWC and Accenture Middle East </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW19037014 BCX0">respectively,with</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW19037014 BCX0"> an Engineering background.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW19037014 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Vine is a social impact network that bridges world leaders, family offices and philanthropists to facilitate positive impact globally.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Adria’s career started in Chicago as a futures and foreign exchange broker at the Board of Trade. In 2009 she moved to Singapore spending 10 years working across the region. It was there that she shifted her career into private wealth management and joined Coutts & Co. While in Asia she also created her own beverage company 108 Tea which she later exited.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">After moving back West, Adria was a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley and has since left to run her own company, The Vine™, a private network of more than 7,000 family offices, governments and philanthropists that are interested in impact. The Vine will soon be an artificial intelligence company that bridges world leaders in a safe space.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Adria considers herself ‘charity agnostic’, she loves all things equestrian, and is a writer. She recently published a bestselling book of hope with world leaders called, ‘The Vine: Messages of Hope from Around the World.’ Writers include, the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, Andrew Jackson Young and Djimon Hounsou.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Her mission is utilise AI as a tool to create connections for cultural diplomacy so that societies can grow together and not apart.</span></p>

Clare Stark has 20 years of experience working in international relations and strategic planning. As UN Coordination Officer in the Priority Africa and External Relations Sector at UNESCO, she is responsible for enhancing UN system wide coordination on emerging technologies, including on artificial intelligence, biotechnology and neurotechnology and developing strategic partnerships with UN entities and the private and public sector.  She co-chairs the High-Level Committee on Programmes Interagency Group on AI, bringing together 40 UN entities to strengthen the ethical development and deployment of AI to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to this position, she served as Strategic Planning Officer in the Bureau of Strategic Planning at UNESCO where she supported the development of the Organization’s Medium-Term Strategy and Programme and Budget, and led on issues related to UN reform, sustainable development and multilateral cooperation.  She has coordinated and contributed to a number of UNESCO’s publications. She holds a Master’s degree in International Environmental Policy  from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the College of Charleston. She is bilingual in French and English.

Juha Heikkilä is an Adviser for Artificial Intelligence in the European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, focusing on international aspects. He has been strongly involved in developing the Commission activities in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He led a unit which was instrumental in developing the EU AI strategy, as first published in the Communication on Artificial Intelligence for Europe, in the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence and the ecosystem of excellence of the White Paper on AI, and engaging with the High-Level Expert Group on AI. He oversaw a significant funding programme on Robotics and AI, including the €700m Public-Private Partnership in Robotics. He was also setting up the new Public-Private Partnership in AI, Data and Robotics, which started in June 2021. Previously, Juha Heikkilä did computational linguistic research at the University of Helsinki, and he holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Cambridge.