United Nations ‘AI for Good’ Regional Event Comes to Ireland

The ‘AI for Good Global Visions’ event, in partnership with AI for Good Summit, will be held in Sligo from 25-27 March 2020 and will gather world-leading AI experts, innovators and policymakers.

This year’s United Nations ‘AI for Good’ regional event is kicking off in Ireland with a satellite conference – the first event of this kind held outside Geneva. The Irish event is called AI for Good Global Visions and is designed to generate ‘AI for Good’ collaboration and projects to be realised in the near term, guided by the summit’s multi-stakeholder and inter-disciplinary audience from industry, academia, government and civil society.

The conference aims to ensure trusted, safe and inclusive development of AI technologies and equitable access to their benefits. Additionally, a priority goal of the Irish event will be to provide suggestions and actions that feed into and influence policymaking at the Global Summit to be held in Geneva in May 2020.

“AI for Good Global Visions will connect innovators in artificial intelligence with problem owners to solve national and global challenges,” says Karl Redenbach, CEO of LiveTiles who are partnering with the UN’s ITU agency to launch the event in Ireland. “AI represents not just the biggest economic opportunity that the world has witnessed but an unequalled opportunity to leverage AI technologies for good and to put human-centric policies and design at the forefront of how we interact with technology.”

AIforGood Global Visions offers a unique and exciting programme with an exceptional line-up of international and national speakers and panellists, amongst them academics, entrepreneurs, AI trailblazers, and international and national policymakers. Keynote speakers include Neil Sahota, Global Lead for IBM Watson, Digital Inclusion advocate Joanne O ‘Riordan, Alessandra Sala from Nokia Bell Labs, and Ethical AI leading expert Dr Kevin Danaher.

The conference will focus on three main areas: AI for Everyone, including inclusive and responsible AI; the ‘Future of Work’ which will take a close look at the role of education and future employment scenarios; and the third stream ‘Future Ready’ which will work with industries such as manufacturing and agriculture to accelerate their AI journey.

According to a study from PWC, Irelands GDP could be 11.6%, or €48 billion higher, in 2030 as a result of AI. The conference will examine what Ireland needs to put in place to succeed and will also showcase current AI developments. There will be an added focus through the prism of Smart Cities-Smart Regions on how areas like the Atlantic economic corridor can benefit from and harness the power of AI while playing our part in helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“With many international and national experts and delegates attending, this event will provide an amazing platform for Ireland’s AI innovation and policymaking, adding our voice to leverage artificial intelligence for good on the global stage”, says Brendan McCormack, President of IT Sligo where the event will be hosted. “The wonderful location of Sligo is known for its stunning scenery and adventurous spirit and AIforGood will further promote the region as a platform for cutting-edge innovation, creativity and academic excellence.”

The event in Sligo represents a unique opportunity for Ireland to contribute to and influence a global conversation that will impact current and future generations. Attendees can also look forward to AI-inspired performances from the Yeats Society of Ireland and AI-related activities bringing together surfing and sea forecasting, oyster farming and ocean health and hill walking and cultural heritage activities.

The 2020 event is kindly supported by IDA Ireland, IT Sligo, the Western Development Commission and the Atlantic Economic Corridor, Sligo County Council and Tech Northwest, and is run in partnership the  AI for Good Summit, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) the UN agency for information and communication technologies (ICT).

A limited number of early bird tickets for this event are now on sale, alongside discounted accommodation prices from the trusted partner hotels. See www.aiforgoodsligo.ie for more details.