Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

I am honoured to join you today at the Sixth World Telecommunication and ICT Policy Forum.

This is the first time the IAEA is participating in this global meeting.

As we speak, we are living through a pandemic.

The world is facing immense challenges: Climate change, food security, energy access… The list goes on.

The world can tackle these only if we work together, only if we break our silos.

None of these crises know borders; so must not we!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You may know the IAEA more for its work related to safeguards or nuclear energy.

But we have mapped it out: Peaceful uses of nuclear technology, and our work, contribute directly to 9 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

And here, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enormous potential in accelerating the safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable uses of nuclear technologies. This is literally the core of our mandate.

This year, we have held a pioneering Technical Meeting on AI for Nuclear Technology and Applications, and we are partnering with ITU and other UN organizations in “A.I. for Good.”

Excellencies,

AI is already applied across various nuclear fields.

In nuclear medicine for example, it improves diagnosis and treatment of cancer through improved image interpretation, more accurate treatment plans and precise tumour contouring, as well as through adaptive radiotherapy.

But for AI, sky is the limit!

It will play an important role in our Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative: It will help experts predict, identify, assess and contain future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

AI can be used to simulate behaviour of nuclear reactors, to help improve design, performance, safety and fuel loading.

It can also help manage environmental, hydrological and ecological resources by analysing huge amounts of data, such as those stored in the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) database, run by the Agency and the World Meteorological Organization.

Boosting non-destructive measurements, robotics and surveillance, AI can help in safeguards verification activities.

It can help us both in the field of radiation technologies, including radiopharmaceuticals production, and in radiation protection.

However, the transformative power of AI also comes with challenges of transparency, trust, security and other ethical concerns, as well as regulatory challenges.

Dear Colleagues,                              

As the industry innovates, so must we all.

We are seeking an open dialogue and collaboration. We look forward to joint work with other ITU focus groups in establishing an “AI for Atoms” knowledge-sharing platform, as well as in supporting education, training and community building in this area.

I thank you for your time and wish you all a successful Forum!