Vatican Delegation participates in the closing ceremony of WTSA-24 in New Delhi
Applying ethics to Artificial Intelligence
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) has concluded, with a record number of attendance: 3,700 delegates from 160 countries. The last session took place in India’s capital city, New Delhi, on Thursday, 24 October, and was attended by a Vatican Delegation, led by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Members of the Vatican Delegation included, Mr. Antonino Intersimone and Mr. Salimbeni, respectively, Director and Deputy Director of the Governorate’s Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, and Mr. Sergio Salvatori, technical official of the Technological Direction of the Dicastery for Communication.
The Vatican Delegation was warmly received by the Apostolic Nuncio in India, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, and by his collaborators. During their stay, the guests also had the opportunity to greet the Ambassador of Italy in New Delhi, H.E. Mr. Antonio Bartoli.
Inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 15 October, the Assembly was attended by members of the ITU, the International Telecommunication Union (Telecommunication Standardization Bureau), including Vatican City State. During the discussions, an agreement was reached on the priorities for new global standards for sustainable digital transformation and public infrastructures and for Artificial Intelligence. On the agenda, was a request to reach consensus on reinforcing the organization’s mandate to impose international standards for an ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as to continue to promote universal connectivity and digital inclusion so that no country, region or community will be left behind.
WTSA-24 set out the strategy, structure and working methods of the standardization body of the ITU-T, and appointed new groups of experts in standardization, establishing their mandates and scope of work for the next four years. Some of the experts were tasked with creating a new ITU-T Study Group 21, that will focus on multimedia technologies, content delivery and cable television.
The Assembly adopted eight resolutions, aimed at emerging areas for standardization in telecommunications: responsible, safe and inclusive Artificial Intelligence, including collaboration via the AI for Good platform; trusted, inclusive and interoperable metaverse applications; sustainable digital transformation across multiple industries and technologies; technical requirements for digital public infrastructure; intelligent transport systems and automated driving; communication technologies for vehicle-to-everything (V2X). V2X technology is based on a hybrid communication system for long and short range communication. Among the adopted resolutions were also, caller-location information from mobile phones to support emergency communications, preparing students and young professionals as the next generation of ITU standards experts, and continual improvement and evolution to meet new policy objectives and market demand.
Speaking about the new resolutions, Mr. Ritu Ranjan Mittar, from India, President of WTSA-24 stated: “As we look ahead to the future, I am confident that the resolutions that we have developed will pave the way for groundbreaking innovations, sustainable growth and greater connectivity worldwide. It is said that the march of technology will always continue, and it is the collective responsibility of all of us that standards and standardizations keep pace with it”.
In her closing remarks, ITU Secretary General Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin highlighted: “The outcomes of WTSA-24 remind us that humanity has one Earth, one human family and one shared digital future. Together with the global standards community, ITU is committed to ensuring that our digital future is technically strong, with innovation, inclusion and sustainability at its core”.
The highly evocative closing ceremony for WTSA-24, which takes place every four years, was attended, among others, by Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Mr. Bilel Jamoussi, WTSA-24 Secretary and Mr. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region.
