UN and ITU form AI commission with tech CEOs and heads of state for July Geneva meeting

The United Nations and its International Telecommunication Union formed the AI for Good Global Commission to bring together technology executives and heads of state for global AI rules, Axios reported. The commission will hold its first meeting on July 8 in Geneva, Switzerland. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will serve as co-chairs.

Members include ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Estonian President Alar Karis, and AI and tech policymakers from Kazakhstan, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Nigeria. Technology executives on the commission are Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, Cohere co-founder Aidan Gomez, Microsoft president Brad Smith, and Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang.

The inaugural meeting will occur during the ITU's AI for Good Global Summit, shortly after the UN's Global Dialogue on AI Governance on July 6 and 7.

Benioff said the group will focus on strengthening AI infrastructure, accelerating AI's impact on health, education, food security and disaster response, and ensuring trust and safety. Benioff stated that AI represents the most profound technological transition in history and that values must guide every step because responsibility is the core of AI ethics.

He added that the commission will bring together the people who build AI, deploy it, shape policy, and represent communities.

The ITU has reported that 2.2 billion people worldwide lack internet access. The commission's announcement was shared exclusively with Axios.