IGF 2025 Open Forum #58 Collaborating for Trustworthy AI: An OECD Toolkit and Spotlight on AI in Government

1. Collaborating for Trustworthy AI: An OECD Toolkit

Since its adoption in May 2019, 48 countries and the European Union have adhered to the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Egypt and eight Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. This legal instrument outlines five value-based principles and five policy recommendations to foster trustworthy AI, promote innovation, and uphold democratic values and human rights.

The OECD AI Principles also serve as the common foundation guiding the work of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), which recently joined forced with the OECD in July 2024 in a new integrated partnership. This session will leverage the multistakeholder and wide regional reach of the GPAI and OECD AI communities, including nearly 600 experts and 44 countries.

Despite AI’s transformative potential, its development and benefits remain concentrated in advanced economies. Many countries face difficulties in policy development, governance, and capacity building, along with higher exposure to challenges such as task replacement. Growing disparities, such as unequal access to compute resources and governance frameworks shaped by advanced economies, can further disadvantage populations and stakeholders in emerging and developing economies.

To address these challenges, the OECD is developing the AI Principles Implementation Toolkit, offering practical, region-specific guidance for countries working to strengthen their AI ecosystems.

Building on this effort, this Open Forum will explore key challenges, opportunities, and policy needs in fostering inclusive AI governance. Speakers will share regional perspectives, policy approaches, and initiatives aimed at supporting AI capacity-building and equitable access to AI technologies.

This Open Forum contributes to digital cooperation by showcasing the OECD AI Principles Implementation Toolkit as a practical initiative to bridge AI divides and support governments in adapting AI governance frameworks to their unique contexts.

2. Spotlight on AI in the Public Sector

While governments are widely recognised for their leadership in shaping AI policy and regulation, their role as major users of AI is equally critical—and often underexplored. Despite AI’s transformative potential, public sector adoption still lags behind the private sector due to unique challenges: skills shortages, outdated systems, limited data quality, and fiscal constraints. Yet, the stakes are higher for governments, whose use of AI directly impacts citizens’ lives—especially in sensitive areas like law enforcement, welfare, and fraud prevention.

This session draws on insights from the OECD’s forthcoming global report Governing with AI, which analyses over 200 real-world use cases across 11 core government functions. We will explore how governments are deploying AI to enhance service delivery, streamline operations, inform policymaking, and strengthen accountability. It will also offer a platform to share experiences, confront implementation challenges, and identify strategic policy responses.