Unleashing the power of open-source AI: Transforming digital public services (Workshop)

As governments worldwide increasingly recognize the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ensuring ethical, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches to its implementation is paramount. This session will delve into the crucial role of open-source AI technology and frameworks in enabling safe and efficient adoption, use, and scaling of AI-based services and applications within the public sector. It is co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the German Development Cooperation initiative FAIR Forward implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The session will foster dialogue among diverse stakeholders, sharing experiences, best practices, and cooperation opportunities to enhance AI capacity in public administration. It will feature real-world use cases from Kenya, Rwanda, and Kazakhstan, offering insights into lessons learned and different stakeholder’s perspectives. To further illustrate the potential of AI applications in public administration, a prototype implementation of a Generative AI (GenAI) solution, leveraging open-source software and Large Language Models (LLMs), will be showcased to tackle basic public administration use-cases such as citizen chatbot and process automation.

Speakers:

Daniel Brumund
AI advisor
GIZ

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava
Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Bayan Khassenova
Project Manager
National Information Technologies, Kazakhstan

Howard Lakougna
Senior Program Officer, Digital Technology
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Christian Merz
Programme Lead
GIZ

Brian Omwenga
Team Lead
THiNK - Tech Innovators Network

David Manset
Senior Project Coordinator of the EC-funded OSEE project
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Paul Kennedy
Chief of Staff
Zindi Africa

Roman Chestnov
Digital Services Project Officer
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Bayan Khassenova
Project Manager
National Information Technologies, Kazakhstan

Alejandra Lagunes
Senator
Republic of Mexico

Guillaume Andro
Management & Technology Consulting for International Development - Europe Middle East, India and Africa
EY

Edmond Wandera
Principal Data Protection Officer
Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
Moderator(s):

Lea Gimpel
AI & Country Policy Lead
Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA)

Yana Brugier
External Affairs and Partnerships Coordinator
UPU

Noémie Bürkl
Deputy Chief Digital Officer
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GERMANY

The AI for Good Global Summit is the leading action-oriented United Nations platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure, and other global development priorities. AI for Good is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the UN specialized agency for information and communication technology – in partnership with 40 UN sister agencies and co-convened with the government of Switzerland.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed are those of the panelists and do not reflect the official policy of the ITU.