The United Nations' International Telecommunication Union organized its 10th AI for Good summit, bringing together representatives from the private and public sectors to discuss how artificial intelligence can solve pressing global issues.
However, attendees like Giulio Coppi of Access Now question whether tech companies are truly partners or just part of the problem. He points out that opaque deals funded by public money often leave little room for transparency in tech stacks.
Professor Vijay Janapa Reddi from Harvard University warns that 'good' is too vague a standard to engineer against, highlighting practical challenges in implementing AI solutions effectively.
The global debate around AI now centers on access and dependency. The Trump administration's export controls on AI models, as well as China’s potential changes to its open-source models, reflect the ongoing struggle over who gets to shape this technology.
Speakers argue that building a 'middleware' layer could help translate high-level human rights principles into technical enforcement, ensuring that AI truly serves all communities and not just the richest markets.
