• Thursday 25 April 12:15-13:30 Keynote by Hannes Werthner
• Thursday 25 April 17:00-18:30 Digital Humanism – an Approach to Master the Global Challenges of Tech Power:
  Hannes Werthner (Chair/speaker, retired Computer Science Professor at the TU Wien, Austria),
  Peter Knees (Associate Professor, TU Wien),
  Rostam Josef NEUWIRTH (Professor of Law and Head for Department of Global Legal Studies at the University of Macau),
  Xingzhong Yu (Chair Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau)

About the Event

UNU Macau AI Conference 2024 - April 24-25 in Macau

The conference convenes under the theme AI for All: Bridging Divides, Building a Sustainable Future, featuring over 25 sessions in 3 thematic tracks. The conference welcomes around 50 Ministers of ICTs and senior officials from over 20 countries and over 120 speakers from 30-plus countries. The UNU AI Network will be officially launched at this conference. Register at https://aimacau-2024.org/

“We must work together for AI that bridges social, digital, and economic divides, not one that pushes us further apart”, said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“AI has the potential to reshape our future for the better, but this can only be achieved through international cooperation”, said Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The UNU Macau AI Conference 2024 marks a unique opportunity to convene the Global North and the Global South, as well as the cultural East and West. This Conference also is UNU’s Contribution to the United Nations Summit of the Future in 2024.

Participants from Around the World

The UNU Macau AI Conference 2024 gathers an international group of youths, experts, the private sector, UN agencies, and governments for a global dialogue on the responsible and sustainable development of AI.

Over 120 speakers from 30+ countries at the conference from academia, government, industry, civil society and international organisations.

Top-level UN officials taking part include Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University, Under-Secretary-General of the UN, Amandeep Singh Gill, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer of UNDP.

The conference will host a high-level international delegation of participants made up of 50 ICT ministers and senior officials from Global South including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Lao PDR, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Rwanda, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Vanuatu.

A further group of over 120 speakers from leading tech companies, academia and civil society will participate in the conference. Some of the speakers include: Lan Xue, Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Dean of Schwarzman College and Dean of Institute for AI International Governance, Tsinghua University, and Ministers of ICTs from the delegation.

A full list of speakers can be found at the conference website: speakers (aimacau-2024.org)

Beyond the speakers, the conference will also host a total of 500 participants from around the globe. The conference will also sponsor students and youths from the Global South to travel to Macau, fostering an effective and inclusive global dialogue.

AI for All

Under the theme AI for All: Bridging Divides, Building a Sustainable Future, over 25 sessions will be held in 3 thematic tracks, including AI to Accelerate SDGs, AI Governance for the Future, and AI and Capacity Building.

AI to Accelerate SDGs

This track explores what AI can do to accelerate the achievement of SDGs. Sessions in this track include AI Agents in Practice: Harnessing AI for All; Integrating Artificial Intelligence with Complex Systems Modelling to Achieve the SDGs; Integrating Data to Ensure Inclusive Education of Climate Change Displaced Population and more.

AI Governance for the Future

This track examines the complex issues related to the ecosystem and governance of AI. Sessions in this track include: Digital Humanism – an Approach to Master the Global Challenges of Tech Power; Gen-AI Governance and Law in the Asia-Pacific Region; A Gender Equality Perspective on Responsible AI and more.

AI and Capacity Building

This track deals with ways to harness the full potential of AI by building the capacity of individuals, organizations and societies, to understand, create and use AI effectively and responsibly. Sessions in this track include AI, Peace Building, and Digital Inclusion; Citizen Science, Participation and AI; AI Media, Communication, and Education and more.

A full list of sessions can be found at the conference website: programme (aimacau-2024.org)

The UNU AI Network

The UNU AI Network embodies a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the United Nations University (UNU) alongside its partners. This network is envisioned as a comprehensive global platform, uniting the expertise of academia, the innovation of the private sector, the foresight of policymakers, and the grassroots engagement of civil society. Together, we aim to address the multifaceted challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) on a global scale.

The network will be offically launched at the UNU Macau AI Conference on April 25.

We invite you to learn more about the vision, and mission, and how you can be a part of this groundbreaking initiative: unu-ai-network (aimacau-2024.org)

The Host

Part of the UN family, and being one of the 13 institutes of the United Nations University, United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology (UNU Macau IIST) works collaboratively to explore how digital technologies can be leveraged for sustainable development, addressing key issues expressed in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNU Macau is the only UN organization in Macau and the Greater Bay Area. The Institute has been contributing significantly to the technological development of Macau in the past 30+ years.

Learn more about the conference: aimacau-2024.org