UNIDO hosted a dialogue with the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, the Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien), the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) on the Global Digital Humanism initiative. The initiative is championed by Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien) which was recently awarded a UNESCO Chair, focusing on digital technologies’ ethical, social, and political implications. The initiative comes as a response to challenges and concerns related to the potential implications of technology use, prioritizing the well-being of people, being inclusive, and upholding individual rights and privacy. Much in line with UNIDO’s approach to ensuring a human-centric approach to introducing digital transformation to its member states, while having the interest of the human first and foremost at its heart.
The dialogue aimed at exploring the possibility of cooperation between UNIDO and the initiative through mainstreaming of the concept of digital humanism in the global call for sustainable development and raising global awareness on the opportunities and challenges presented by digital transformation. Collaborating with the initiative could contribute to the shaping the policies and increasing the awareness on the ethical applications of digital transformation, AI tools and devices entering the common goods market, and contribute to creating safeguards for the use of these tools and technologies through the introduction of global standards and certifications.
