UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave a powerful virtual speech to kick off the 19th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh on Sunday. According to the Saudi Press Agency, more than 10,000 people from 160 countries have registered for the conference, which takes place from December 15 to 19.
With over 300 presentations and seminars on topics including artificial intelligence, data privacy, and cybersecurity, the event offers a global platform for discussing significant issues in the digital realm.
Key speakers at the event include Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Abdullah Alswaha, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Communications and Information Technology. In order to overcome the challenges presented by the digital revolution, they both underlined the importance of international cooperation.
A Forum for Critical Digital Dialogue
The forum's moderator, Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi, highlighted the importance of this year's gathering by saying: “Definitely, IGF 2024 came at a very critical time in the global digital world.”
The introduction of a business-focused track for the first time in the forum's history reflects the expanding involvement of the corporate sector in IT and AI governance. "This year is the first year that we dedicate a full track for businesses," Al-Mutairi said, highlighting this significant occasion. IGF has a history of being created in several countries with tracks for parliaments, government, and academia, but it was absent for business.
“We know now that the private sector and technology play a major role in the governance of IT and AI. This is the first time that we invite many private sector players to IGF, and we hope this plan will continue in the upcoming IGFs.”
Expanding Opportunities for Engagement
Additionally, the forum's interactive options were improved this year. According to Al-Mutairi, “For this year, we expanded IGF Village to provide a lot of exhibitions and active workshops.”
The IGF Village offers a cooperative area where groups can interact with attendees and display their work. “Many organizations are presenting their work in IGF, allowing the community to collaborate and interact. This is a tradition of IGF, but this year it has expanded, making it more interactive for all participants in Riyadh,” he noted.
Shaping Ethical AI Practices
One significant participant in the forum was the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), which placed a strong emphasis on the ethical use of AI. Alaa Abdulaal, Chief of Digital Economy Foresight at DCO, discussed the company's global efforts in this area.
“We have something we call the digital space accelerator. It is a working group we created to focus on specific topics, one of which is the ethical use of AI,” mentioned by Abdulaal.
To get opinions from AI specialists, the DCO has organized roundtables all over the world, including events in Singapore and at the Global AI Summit. “Today, during IGF, the aim is to gather perspectives from different AI experts on the policy tools we are creating regarding the ethical use of AI,” Abdulaal explained.
Recognizing Digital Achievements
"Most Promising Employee," Arwa Al-Duwaish, of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services, expressed her pride at receiving the award for her efforts to advance digital transformation in the Kingdom.
The conference, which runs through Thursday, is being held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center and offers a platform for global leaders, digital innovators, and politicians to collaborate and shape the future of internet governance.
