The ‘Global Digital Compact’ (GDC) was adopted in the recently concluded UN ‘Summit of the Future’.
It is not a binding law but a diplomatic instrument with a set of shared goals for governments, institutions, firms, and other stakeholders to bear in mind.
The GDC is a collaborative project with the objective of ensuring human oversight of technologies in ways that advance sustainable development.
To address the digital divide, the GDC proposes “digital public goods” that will include open-source software, open data, and open AI models, plus adherence to privacy and best practices.
Earlier, the UN helped pilot and legitimise two other compacts.