Two decades later, delegates said the challenge is no longer simply getting people online, but ensuring that digital technologies – including AI – are governed in ways that protect human rights, build trust and close growing digital divides.
Why the summit is important
The WSIS was created in 2003 to help countries work together on the opportunities and risks posed by information and communication technologies, or ICTs.
It brought together governments with businesses, civil society and technical experts, a multi-stakeholder approach that remains fundamental to digital governance today.
In this year’s review, participants reflected on how deeply digital tools shape the economy, education, healthcare and daily life today, while warning that millions of people remain excluded.
A broad overview of the General Assembly meeting on the Implementation of the Outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.
Digital divides are widening
Speaking to the General Assembly on Tuesday, its president, Annalena Baerbock, said Internet access has become essential – from telemedicine in remote villages to online education and digital financial services – but progress is slow.
While global Internet access reaches around two-thirds of the world’s population, she noted that in developing countries it is much lower, and women and girls continue to be disproportionately left behind.
“Two decades later, our shared vision of a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society remains unfinished,” he said.
He warned that access alone is not enough and emphasized the need for responsible governance of emerging technologies such as AI, particularly as innovation often advances faster than regulation.
New priorities
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a final document that reaffirms the countries’ commitment to a people-centered digital future based on human rights and the principles of the United Nations Charter.
The text calls for faster measures to close digital divides, greater investment in digital infrastructure and skills, and more predictable policy environments to support digital development. It also highlights the importance of trusted data and AI governance, building on commitments already made in the Global Digital Compact.
Member States encouraged stronger international partnerships for AI capacity development, particularly for developing countries, including training programmes, access to resources and support for smaller businesses.
The document also notes plans to establish an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and launch a Global Dialogue on AI Governance in 2026.
Delegates at a WSIS high-level meeting in Geneva in 2016.
people in the center
Throughout the process, speakers emphasized that governments cannot shape the digital future alone. The result reinforces the approach that brings together governments, industry, civil society and the technological world.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the WSIS was born from the belief that digital innovation must reflect human needs, while United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu described the review as a moment to recognize progress and chart a way forward.
That people-centered message also reached beyond the negotiating rooms.
Creative and inclusive: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
talking to UN News On the sidelines of the meeting, actor and filmmaker Joseph Gordon-Levitt reflected on the human side of digital transformation, focusing on creativity, inclusivity and the shared responsibility of shaping healthier digital spaces as technology becomes increasingly integrated into daily life.
“What inspires me about the UN and the community I have met here is that, despite it being an uphill battle – a sort of David and Goliath dynamic – people are trying to work not just for a dollar, but to help, to make the world better, often to support the most vulnerable in the global south,” he said.