The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held two decades ago, helped lay the foundation for today’s digital cooperation architecture. At its heart was the vision of a people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented information society – a vision that continues to shape much of the digital governance ecosystem, including the IGF.

This session will discuss how algorithms in social media and digital participation can affect children and youth and how we can ensure that children are safe online.

The session will have three parts, where each part builds on the other. The session will:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is, along with robotics, at the forefront of technological innovation, and may have a profound and lasting impact on the global labour market.

Sam Altman of OpenAI has predicted that 2025 will be the year we may see the first AI agents 'join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies. How will this development change the nature of work, and how are businesses, employees and governments preparing for it? 

In September 2024, UN Member States adopted the Global Digital Compact (GDC) to “harness the immense potential of digital technology and close digital divides”. The GDC highlights digital public goods and digital public infrastructure as key drivers of inclusive digital transformation and innovation. The GDC furthermore includes a commitment to increase investment and funding towards the development of digital public goods and digital public infrastructure, especially in developing countries.

The influence of global tech companies is growing across the political, social and economic realms. The business model of tech companies is underpinned by data, particularly data collected on their platforms’ users. Platform economics, which optimize the capture of users’ attention, leave open considerable risks for manipulation of the information space by mis- and disinformation campaigns. How can we safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms at stake?