Daily Times

The digital revolution offers “tremendous opportunities” to fast-track sustainable development, but Least Developed Countries need much more help getting online if they’re to benefit too, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. In a message on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, he insisted on the need to confront technology’s perils, including the amplification of economic inequalities, the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation, as well as the lack of governance and unchecked development of artificial intelligence, or A.I. The UN chief said the digital revolution was a “defining force of our era.” “The opportunities are tremendous: from transforming education and healthcare, to accelerating climate action and the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals.” He stressed that technology must be an instrument that can reduce divides – not deepen them. And while the internet becomes ever more central to value creation and innovation, “we must dramatically improve accessibility and inclusivity and eliminate the digital divide.” This starts with supporting digital public goods such as open-source software, data accessible to all, and open content.