UN AI actions

In 2019 the UN Chief Executive Board endorsed the ITU-coordinated UN-wide strategic approach and road map for supporting capacity development on AI, under the aegis of the High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP). The HLPC established an interagency working group on AI (IAWG-AI), co-led by UNESCO and ITU, to focus on policy and programmatic coherence of AI activities within the UN.

ITU has also issued the “Compendium of UN Activities on AI” as an overview of activities being carried out by the UN system. A joint effort between ITU and 37 UN agencies and bodies, all partners of the 2020 AI for Good Global Summit. The 2020 Compendium covers around 260 cases and projects run by UN agencies and bodies, in areas ranging from smart agriculture and food systems to transportation, financial services, healthcare and AI solutions to combat COVID-19.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
International Trade Centre (ITC)
Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Department of Peace Operations (UNDPPA)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Global Pulse (UN Global Pulse)
United Nations Habitat (UN Habitat)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
United Nations University (UNU)
United Nations Women (UNWomen)
UN Tourism
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)
United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
World Bank Group (WBG)
World Food Programme (WFP)
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

This Summit can help ensure that Artificial Intelligence charts the course that benefits humanity and bolsters our shared values. The United Nations stands ready to be a universal platform for discussion together let us make sure we use AI to enhance human dignity and serve the global goods.

António Guterres
Secretary-General, United Nations