17 May World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is being celebrated this year with the theme “Ensuring the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Everyone's Benefit - Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for all”.
In addition to raising awareness about the benefits of closing the digital divide alongside the transformation of societies and economies through the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT), May 17, the day on which the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was established in 1865, is celebrated every year as “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)”.
The significant advancements in recent years in the field of artificial intelligence, particularly the rapid progress brought about in new technologies such as big data, machine learning, and cloud computing, are opening up new opportunities in many areas ranging from health to education, banking to agriculture. With this year's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day being marked under the theme of “Ensuring the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Everyone's Benefit,” it is anticipated that ITU members and other stakeholders will seize the opportunity to focus on the accelerating effects of artificial intelligence in achieving the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To address the development and impacts of artificial intelligence, the “Artificial Intelligence Turkey Conference” was also held in Ankara, hosted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) on May 3, 2018. At the conference, it was emphasized that artificial intelligence technology, which contributes to national development through the development of products with high scientific and economic value, is being used in many different sectors, and that studies in this field have gained momentum due to motivations arising from these sectors, transforming artificial intelligence into a main branch of science.
The reflections of artificial intelligence on our social life were also discussed at the 12th Electronic Communications Regulators Conference, held in Ankara on May 9-10, 2018, hosted by BTK, under the theme “Technologies Shaping Social Life: Opportunities and Threats.”
As part of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebrations, ITU is organizing a series of events with the participation of leading UN organizations. The “AI for Good Global Summit,” held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva from May 15-17, 2018, aims to address practical applications of artificial intelligence to improve quality of life, while also developing strategies for the development of reliable and inclusive artificial intelligence technologies and ensuring equal access to the opportunities offered by this technology.