Session
Institute for Intelligent Society Governance, Tsinghua University
Fang ZHANG, Center of Science, Technology and Education Policy, Tsinghua University, CHINA [onsite, moderator] Tianpei REN, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, CHINA [onsite, rapporteur]
GONG Ke, Former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations; Executive Director, Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies [onsite] Laura Diaz Anadon, Professor, Director of the Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, the University of Cambridge. [onsite] John Hopcroft, A.M. Turing Award Laureate, Professor Emeritus in Computer Science, Cornell University. [onsite] Torbjorn Fredriksson, Director, Office of Information and Communication Technology Policy, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) [online] Poncelet Ileleji, CEO, Jokkolabs Banjul/NRI Gambia, Africa [onsite]
1. No Poverty
3. Good Health and Well-Being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Targets: The advent of intelligent technologies has the potential to significantly contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing the governance of societies. Intelligent society governance refers to the integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and Internet of Things, into decision-making processes and public administration systems. Here, we will elaborate on how intelligent society governance can contribute to the SDG objectives. SDG 1/3/4/8/9/11/16: Intelligent society governance enhances data-driven decision making by leveraging advanced data analytics to extract valuable insights from vast amounts of data. By analyzing social, economic, and environmental data, decision-makers can gain a comprehensive understanding of complex issues and develop evidence-based policies. This data-driven approach improves the efficiency and effectiveness of decision-making, leading to better-informed strategies for achieving SDG targets. SDG 1/3/4/5/10: Intelligent systems can optimize resource allocation and utilization, which is crucial for sustainable development. By utilizing predictive algorithms and machine learning techniques, governments can identify areas of need, allocate resources accordingly, and prioritize interventions where they are most needed. This targeted resource allocation ensures that limited resources are utilized efficiently, maximizing the impact of initiatives aimed at SDG goals, such as poverty reduction, healthcare provision, and education access. SDG 8/9/11/16: Intelligent society governance can facilitate greater citizen participation and engagement in decision-making processes. Through digital platforms and online tools, governments can gather public input, solicit feedback, and enable citizens to actively contribute to policy formulation and implementation. This participatory approach fosters inclusivity, transparency, and accountability in governance, aligning with the SDG principle of leaving no one behind. SDG 1/3/16: Intelligent technologies can enable the development of early warning systems for various challenges, including natural disasters, climate change impacts, and public health crises. By integrating real-time data, sensor networks, and predictive analytics, governments can proactively identify and respond to potential risks. This proactive approach enhances resilience, minimizes the negative impacts of emergencies, and contributes to SDG targets related to climate action, disaster risk reduction, and public health. Meanwhile, to cope with the concerns of energy consumption raised by intelligent technologies, twinning of green and digital transition can be achieved by Intelligent Society Governance, namely precise prediction and prescription of environmental impacts and the application of intelligent technologies in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way. In conclusion, intelligent society governance offers significant potential for advancing the SDGs. By leveraging data-driven decision-making, optimizing resource allocation, promoting citizen engagement, and enabling early warning systems, intelligent technologies contribute to more effective and efficient governance, ultimately driving progress towards the SDG objectives.
Onsite
The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) opens up transformative opportunities for addressing global sustainable development challenges, particularly in climate change, energy management, and socio-economic inequalities. However, integrating AI raises significant inequality, ethical issues, accessibility concerns, and implementation challenges, especially in emerging economies. It is increasingly crucial to explore how the public and private actors working together to advance AI for a sustainable prosperity by drawing practices through a cross-country comparative analysis. This lighting talk will focus on three pivotal topics: 1) Exploring AI’s Role in Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability; 2) Identifying the challenges faced by different types of nations in implementing AI-driven solutions and the need for capacity building, policy frameworks, and international collaboration. 3) How do the public and private actors from different countries actor or work together to advance AI for sustainable development? This lighting talk aims to create a comprehensive platform for knowledge exchange across countries/regions, inspire collaborative research, and generate actionable strategies for overcoming these challenges that undermining the power of AI in promoting sustainable development. It seeks to build a collective vision for the ethical, inclusive, and effective use of AI in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
(1) In order to facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees, we plan to take actions in the following aspects: Designing sessions to enhance the communications: - Design sessions including speech and presentations, round-table talk and interviews, votes and surveys, in order to enhance communications between onsite and online speakers and attendees. In particular, the interviews will invite guest speakers participated in the publication of White Paper on Intelligent Society Governance and respond to questions from attendees. - Organize votes and surveys online and onsite, by which all attendees in public are able to participate in assessment of the indices developed in the white paper, and share their comments and ideas on the topic of Intelligent Society Governance. We’ll keep collecting and updating the feedbacks, analyze the major ideas and demonstrate on the launch event. The attendees are expected to participate in the launch event in a meaningful way. - Set aside time at the end of the session for an open Q&A where online participants can engage directly via audio or video. Onsite attendees can also ask follow up questions to online participants. - Encourage online attendees to submit questions via chat ahead of time that can be posed to onsite speakers during the Q&A session. We will release the background guide two weeks before the forum. Improvement in accessibility to interaction: - Choose an interactive online platform that allows speakers and attendees to easily share video, audio, slides, and chat. Options like Zoom, Google Meet and Tencent meeting would work well. Speakers and attendees can interact via the platform. - Monitor the online chat during presentations and share relevant questions or comments with onsite speakers and attendees to enable real-time feedback and discussion. - Provide multiple media channels mainly at attendees’ convenience. Creating platform for discussions and feedbacks: We will create a public platform for interaction on our official website and social media platforms. The introduction and related information of the White Paper on Intelligent Society Governance will be provided, including the background, content, accessible data source, key messages and etc. All attendees are welcomed to participate in assessment of the indices developed in the white paper, and share their comments and ideas. (2) To ensure the best experience for all participants, we will: • Frame the overall structure and flow of the session to seamlessly integrate both onsite and online elements. Onsite presentations should be streamed for online viewers and time should be reserved for online Q&A and discussion. • Provide clear guidance on participation and technology usage to all attendees ahead of time. Troubleshoot any technical issues behind the scenes to avoid disruption. • Include interactive online elements like live polling, Q&A, breakout discussions to complement onsite activities. This keeps all attendees engaged. Here’re sessions design specifically for best possible experience for both online and onsite participants: - Presentations: Speakers will share insights on Intelligent Society Governance for both online and onsite participants. Time for Q&A and discussion is also reserved. - Roundtable talk: Speakers will share ideas and discuss on the White Paper for both online and onsite participants. Time for Q&A is also reserved. - Interviews: Interviews will be conducted with the moderator, guest speakers invited, and participants both online and onsite that are willing to raise their questions. - Votes and surveys: Votes and surveys will be launched in advance and keep updated, mainly on interests, opinions, and experience shared by participants. All participants can share their comments and ideas via votes and surveys. We will carefully analyze the feedback and demonstrate insights from participants on the event. - Interaction on social platforms: We will provide website links in advance for introduction to the launch event and the report on our official website and social platforms; and keep updated during the event. We will encourage participants to share and know more about IGF, the launch event and the White Paper, as well as participate in the assessment of the indices on Intelligent Society Governance. (3) Complementary online tools/platforms to increase participation and interaction: • An online video conferencing tool (Zoom/Tencent Meeting/ online Live channel of the organizer and other press) to connect onsite and online attendees • Audience response tools like Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, or Slido to gauge attendee opinions in real-time • Online collaboration platforms such as Google Docs or Padlet where attendees can share comments and ask questions • Social media like Twitter and Weibo for attendees to continue the conversation online using an event hashtag • Post-event online surveys to collect feedback and insights from all attendees to improve future events In summary, facilitating seamless interaction between onsite and online participants requires choosing an effective technology platform, careful planning and management before and during the event, providing strong guidance to participants, and incorporating complementary online tools to increase engagement. Striking a good balance between the onsite and online experience will lead to a successful hybrid event.