LocationsSDG AI Lab Hosts Fall 2024 Demo Day to Showcase Innovative Digital Solutions for Sustainable Development
October 15, 2024
This year’s Demo Day highlighted a wide range of groundbreaking projects developed by the SDG AI Lab, focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and other frontier technologies.
Istanbul, Türkiye, October 8, 2024 — The UNDP ICPSD SDG AI Lab hosted Demo Day - Fall 2024 to showcase innovative digital solutions for sustainable development and the SDGs.
This year’s Demo Day highlighted a wide range of groundbreaking projects developed by the SDG AI Lab, focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and other frontier technologies. During the webinar, the SDG AI Lab team presented new projects, including AI for Tourism, Audit Recommendations Tool, Public Finance Simplification App, and Automated Dumpsite Detection.
The AI for Tourism project, implemented in Malawi and Tanzania, harnesses AI to obtain valuable insights from major tourist platforms for national governments and private sector companies. The Public Finance App and Audit Tool projects further solidify the SDG AI Lab’s expertise in text analysis, large language models, and the fintech sector.
Additionally, the SDG AI Lab presented its signature GIS project, the Digital Social Vulnerability Index (DSVI), showcasing its progress in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, and other countries. The team also shared the DSVI white paper, published earlier this year. The Lab expanded its GIS portfolio with the Illegal Dumpsites Detection project in Guatemala, experimenting with computer vision and satellite imagery.
Overview of global roadmap.
The SDG AI Lab and UN Volunteers unveiled their most recent initiative, Tech Volunteers for Resilience (Tech4R). Tech4R aims to build a global community of tech volunteers for immediate, coordinated, and innovative responses to emergencies.
The SDG AI Lab also presented its new training workstream in collaboration with the Samsung Innovation Campus, the Data Science Fellowship, and the Frontier Tech Leaders Programme. On the importance of developing digital skills for youth, Mr. Gökhan Dikmener, ICPSD Technical Specialist, emphasized: “Our focus on youth skills development remains central, and we have continued to expand our training programs.”
The Innovation Campus, a partnership with Samsung Türkiye and UNDP Türkiye, trained 150 young people in Türkiye in AI and programming skills. The Frontier Tech Leaders Programme, in collaboration with the UN Technology Bank, continues to nurture tech leaders in Least Developed Countries. So far, FTL has trained 71 participants in machine learning, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With 5 local chapters, FTL alumni and volunteers have trained over 400 peers in AI and digital skills in their communities. Additionally, the Data Science Fellowship Programme has gained significant recognition, with 12 fellows contributing to over 40 projects in 30 countries. Notably, 50% of the fellows are women, and 25% hold PhD degrees.
Frontier Tech Leaders Programme
Demo Day also provided a platform for participants to interact with the team behind the SDG AI Lab. Attendees engaged in discussions on the latest trends in digital solutions for promoting the SDGs and were invited to ask questions about the projects, exploring how tools like ChatGPT can contribute to SDG achievement.
Demo Day also provided a platform for participants to interact with the team behind the SDG AI Lab
Demo Day - Fall 2024 reaffirmed the SDG AI Lab’s commitment to leveraging frontier technologies to develop more digital solutions, while engaging volunteers and youth.
Related
content
content
