Over 40 individuals gathered in person for the two afternoon panel discussions. UNITAR Division for Prosperity Director Mihoko Kumamoto opened the floor, saying:

AI can help accelerate all areas of sustainable development. Simultaneously, we all know that there are challenges, risks associated with AI and digital technologies. What’s important is that we embrace these opportunites while being aware of the challenges – making sure that we correctly use it to achieve a sustainable future, not exacerbate division or inequality.”

Panel session 1: AI innovations for strengthening societal resilience

The first panel session focused on strategies to leverage AI for livelihood development, climate action, disaster resilience, education and capacity-building, and building trust and transparency around AI usage.

“If we can rethink or reshape the youth’s thinking, we can tackle poverty, we can tackle inequality, and we can tackle unemployment in Africa by optimizing AI and learn from the best practices from all around the world.” – Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor, Division for Prosperity Advisory Board Member

Moderator

• Ms. Linda Hill (Faculty Chair, Leadership Initiative, Harvard Business School)

Panellists

Panel session 2: AI innovations and solutions for prevention of financial crime

Discussion for the second session focused on the role of AI in preventing and detecting financial crimes and countering money-laundering and for regulatory compliance.

AI technologies, capable of comprehending complex data, will revolutionize this struggle [of combating financial crimes]. By training AI models on vast data sets, we can identify anomalies in financial transactions, detect aberrant behaviour, recognize money-laundering schemes, anticipate emerging threats and uncover hidden patterns that characterize novel financial crimes.” —Mr. Luis Eduardo Llinás Chica, Director General, Financial Intelligence Unit of Colombia (UIAF)

Moderator

• Mr. Michael Fors (Adjunct Professor, Stanford University, Columbia University, and the University of Washington)

Panellists

• Mr. Vedant Ahluwalia (CEO, Dataviv Technologies)
• Mr. Luis Eduardo Llinás Chica (Director, Financial Intelligence Unit of Colombia)
• Ms. Linda Hill (Faculty Chair, Leadership Initiative, Harvard Business School)
• Ms. Ashleigh Owens (Deputy Director and Financial Institutions Lead, Shift)