The opening ceremonies took place at the Palexpo convention centre, where delegates from government, industry, academia and civil society gathered for what the International Telecommunication Union is calling Geneva Digital Week. The event follows the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance — a UN General Assembly-mandated process — and is designed to build practical infrastructure around the principles that emerged from it.
"Geneva Digital Week is all about connecting policy discussions and scientific expertise directly to consultations with civil society, the technical community, and real-world AI solutions," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General. "As we move from the Dialogue to the AI for Good Summit and WSIS Forum, we are moving from conversation to people-centered action so that AI — and all digital technologies — can benefit everyone, everywhere."
The summit's technical programme includes presentations from the Independent Scientific Panel on AI, which published preliminary findings earlier in the week, alongside the first meeting of the AI for Good Global Commission. The Commission will focus on pathways to expand AI access and strengthen trust in AI systems across developed and developing economies.
The World Summit on the Information Society Forum, running concurrently at Palexpo, operates under a General Assembly mandate extended to 2035. The WSIS Forum is co-organised by UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD alongside ITU, which leads a consortium of more than 50 UN agency partners and the Swiss Confederation.
This year's showcase programme includes agentic AI, robotics and brain-computer interfaces — technologies that have moved from research to early deployment since the last major ITU gathering. Thousands of participants are attending, including hundreds of speakers and exhibitors from across the technology sector.
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