Summit provides glimpse of tomorrow's governments

July 20, 2018

Tbilisi - Thousands of government, business and civil society representatives from around the world called for deep commitments to transparency and accountability as the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit concluded, raising the possibility of AI-augmented governments.

Sophia, a humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, took the stage to answer questions from dozens of journalists. Asked whether people should be afraid of artificial intelligence, she said “AI can make people’s lives more livable and maybe even less stressful.”

“AI and robotics can relieve humans of repetitive tasks, enable better decision making and help with truth and transparency," she said.

Think-tanks and civil society organizations around the world, including the Edelman Trust Barometer, are warning of a loss of trust in public and private institutions and shrinking civic space. Peace, the rule of law and human rights are key elements of Sustainable Goal 16, which is widely seen as a basis for “leaving no one behind”.

“We are entering a new era in development, with many countries around the world recognizing the need for a new social contract between governments and citizens they serve”, said Niels Scott, Resident Representative of UNDP, and UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia.

“That contract is grounded in the principles of openness, transparency, engagement and trust. Legislative openness is not just an essential element of this transformation. It is a must do prerequisite of its success,” he added.

Not far from the venue stood Georgia’s Public Service Hall. With its customized service and modern technology, the space operates as a one-stop shop for all government services. Using one single database for each user, the building allows people to change passports in a day or register property while enjoying a cup of coffee within the same hall.

Georgia is hosting the Fifth OGP Global Summit and will be chairing the OGP until the fall, when it passes the chairmanship to Canada. The small, middle-income country has made impressive progress on public service efficiency, and increased its commitments to transparency, anti-corruption efforts and involving people in decisions.

Participants at the summit discussed how to boost anti-corruption, increase the proportion of women in public administrations, open parliaments to the wider public and accelerate the use of open data. Speakers included Achim Steiner, the Administrator of UNDP, Helen Clark, former UNDP Administrator and OGP Ambassador, OGP’s Joe Powell, Nigeria’s Zainab Ammed, and leaders from Argentina, Norway, Ghana, and Transparency International.

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For media queries, please contact nicolas.douillet@undp.org (Istanbul) andsophie.tchitchinadze@undp.org (Tbilisi). For more information and the summit agenda, please visit https://ogpsummit.org/