Digital and AI

Why digital and AI?

The digital transformation our world is undergoing – with artificial intelligence (AI) at its core – is reshaping every aspect of our lives, including how we deliver on the promise of sustainable development and respond to crises. It is a pivotal moment in which the tools to tackle some of humanity’s greatest challenges are within reach. For the United Nations (UN), this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility to harness digital innovation while upholding the do no harm principle in advancing its mandate in line with UN 2.0. This requires not only technical and organizational capacity but, most crucially, a cultural shift – one that depends on the UN’s greatest asset, its people. They must be equipped to adapt, respond, and lead with imagination and integrity to not simply harness the potential of digital transformation but to proactively prioritize inclusion and design mechanisms to avert unintended harm, such as exacerbating climate change and widening existing digital divides. 

Fostering a future-ready UN workforce 

Beyond our courses on technical literacy, our learning offer also explores the intersection of AI and UN agendas – from sustainable development to peace & security and gender equality – while equipping UN personnel to engage with these technologies ethically and responsibly. Through a combination of practical skill-building and critical reflection, we foster the capacities needed for an inclusive, future-ready UN workforce that moves beyond being passive users of technology to becoming active stewards of its impact.