San Francisco, CA (November 18, 2024) – Last week, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, INNOVIT, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Venture Capital, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hosted a landmark three-day Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference in San Francisco.  

Titled ‘Growing Together: Building Public-Private Partnerships to Boost the AI Revolution’, the conference marked a pivotal moment in Italy's G7 Presidency. Public sector leaders, AI innovators, and financial stakeholders came together to forge new partnerships that can address critical challenges in equitable AI development, such as capital, computing infrastructure, and capacity building.  

Three thematic sessions were organized, each focused on advancing discourse and action on crucial aspects of AI: adoption, sustainable development and investment. Themed on the adoption of ‘AI as a Catalyst for Competitiveness and Innovation’, the opening session drew insights from the recently released G7 Report on Driving Factors and Challenges of AI Adoption and Development Among Companies, Especially Micro, and Small Enterprises. This established a framework for discussions on the role of AI in economic transformation.  

Like 1945, when the UN Charter was drafted in San Francisco, this conference laid the foundation for monumental shifts in cooperation on AI for sustainable development, particularly in which Africa is an equal partner and shaper for years to come. The second session was aligned with this vision, focusing on the AI Hub for Sustainable Development – a key outcome of the G7 Leaders' Declaration in June. The AI Hub aims to co-create innovative partnerships, solutions and investments between G7 countries and Africa's private sector to transform the energy, agriculture, health, water, education and training, and infrastructure sectors in Africa.  

The work of the AI Hub is centered on four key opportunity areas: 1) inclusive and representative datasets including low resourced languages, 2) local AI talent development across African countries, 3) accessible and affordable green computing infrastructure, and 4) enabling environments for responsible AI adoption. One of the key highlights of this conference was the inspiring showcase of African AI startups, as part of the AI Hub’s Startup Accelerator Pilot being carried in partnership with AIMS, ITU, INNOVIT. African startups that participated in the conference include: Ethiopia's IRIF Birrama, Tunisia's IrWise and NextAV, and Kenya's Trade Pulse and Kytabu. This engagement represents the AI Hub’s commitment to fostering impactful public and private-sector partnerships between African and G7 countries.  

The third session, titled ‘The Emerging Technologies Revolution: How G7 Members, PDBs and DFIs could pave the way for a collaborative investment framework,’ brought together G7 Public Development Banks (PDBs), Development Financing Institutions (DFIs), and Bay Area venture capital to discuss and identify common standards for responsible AI investment.  

The potential of a new digital divide will not just exclude billions from AI's benefits – it will fundamentally limit AI's full potential for innovation and growth. By changing the current trajectory and setting a new course, with Africa as a proactive shaper rather than passive beneficiary of the AI revolution, new markets can be created to ensure equal participation in defining AI's future. The stakes are clear: without taking proactive action to foster inclusivity today, unwanted exclusivity will be perpetuated tomorrow.

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