THE FUTURE OF CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

Live interpretation and translation are major cost drivers for conferences and event management service providers reaching out for a global constituency, particularly in cases where several languages are captured at a time. Large-Language Models (LLMs) powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and support these live interpretation and translation services.

The field of natural language processing with the help of AI has taken massive strides over the last 15 years, but the last 12 months have exhibited spectacular improvements in general usability due to the advent of feedback-optimized LLMs such as ChatGPT. While research in the field was already growing rapidly, the ecosystem of software applications building on NLP foundational models is even more substantive. The introduction of open-source models have changed the game yet further, by giving developers the ability to host their own models and thus avoiding data privacy and intellectual property concerns.

The result is a vibrant marketplace where new products are introduced almost on a daily basis. 

The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) is a global conferences and event management service provider and takes a material interest in AI powered Technology for Development that can bridge the language barrier between participants from different countries. ITCILO has therefore commissioned research on the state of play in this fast evolving industry. As part of its UN system wide knowledge sharing activities, ITCILO invites other service providers in the UN system to join a free online symposium and to access the research findings.

The overall objective of the event is to contribute towards stronger development partnerships between UN agencies tasked with the facilitation of conferences and meetings. The immediate objective of the symposium is share knowledge among development partners in the UN system about the future of conferences and meeting facilitation, here with focus on AI powered natural language processing applications to augment live interpretation and translation services.

The symposium is directed at staff from UN agencies tasked with the facilitation of conferences and larger meetings, including the design of concepts, the curation of content and the provision of logistical support.

The symposium will take place on 30th November 2023 from 14:00-15:00 hours. It will be live-streamed from the ITCILO innovation lab.