One of the key outcomes of the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in September 2023 was the International Conference on Open and Fair Data Ecosystem Principles, Policies, and Platforms. The conference brought together policymakers and experts from all over the world to exchange ideas and discuss ways forward.

As holder of the G20 Presidency and incoming Council Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, India successfully fostered consensus among G20 leaders, leading to the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration on September 9th, 2023. The Declaration, published prior to the conference, focused heavily on digitalisation. The document devoted 11 out of 83 articles to digital issues, reflecting India’s emphasis on digital development so far during its G20 presidency. The Declaration unequivocally commends India’s proposal to establish and maintain a Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR). This repository will serve as a digital sanctuary for DPI, which will be shared voluntarily by G20 members and beyond.

Following on from this success, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit 2023 will be held in New Delhi from 12-14 December 2023. Twenty-nine international partners, including the USA and the European Union, will unite to promote the responsible development and usage of AI.

Inspired by the concept of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future,’ the G20 Declaration and digital agenda also propose enhancing digital public infrastructure to address disparities in developing nations and emphasize the importance of addressing the digital gender divide. Artificial intelligence was a major topic of discussion during the September Conference, with calls for further international discussions on AI governance.

Dr. Suchith Anand, Director of Outreach and Programs for the Ethical Data Initiative, was invited to speak about the EDI’s work at the conference. He shared information on the Data Ethics in Education Campaign, which was launched by the African Association of Universities, the University of Nottingham, and the Ethical Data Initiative in Summer 2023. The campaign advocates for the integration of data ethics into all higher education courses focused on data science and research to educate the next generation of data and research professionals about their legal and ethical obligations when using, reusing, and sharing data.