Inauguration of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24)

Ethical Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence

The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) was inaugurated on Tuesday morning, 15 October, at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi, India, and will conclude on 24 October. A Vatican Delegation, led by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, is participating in the Assembly.

It is the first time that the Assembly takes place in the Asia-Pacific region, and in particular in India.

The Assembly was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who opened the first conference on telecommunications standards, promoted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations. During his address, he called for the establishment of a global digital framework as a guideline for the ethical use of technology, in the midst of growing concern over Artificial Intelligence. According to current estimates, there are 1.2 billion mobile telephone users in India and up to 950 million internet users. Moreover, India’s digital transactions account for over 40 percent of global transactions, 5G services are widespread and the country is already progressing to the next generation 6G technology.

The Prime Minister highlighted the need for a set of complete rules and regulations to monitor the ethical use of technologies, in addition to solid structures as established in the aviation sector. He spoke of the importance of bridging the digital equity gap, and guaranteeing that the benefits of technology be accessible to all.

The International Telecommunication Union-World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (ITU-WTSA), which is held every four years, is the governance conference for the standardization work of the International Telecommunication Union. The WTSA-2024 provides countries with a platform to discuss and decide the future standards for critical technologies of the next generation, such as 6G, AI, IoT, Big Data and cybersecurity.

The ITU-WTSA event gave India an opportunity to carry out a key role in defining the global agenda of telecommunications and the path of future technologies.

More than 3,000 leaders in the sector, including politicians and experts in technology from more than 190 countries, took part in the Assembly, representing the fields of telecommunications, digital technology, information technology and communications.