Monday 7th April 2025
The Artificial Intelligence Summit 2025 was held today Monday 7th April, at the Crown Hotel in Port Moresby, organized by the International Training Institute and the PNG Centre for Advancement of Internet Technology, with the theme for the summit was “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for a Resilient and Inclusive Papua New Guinea.”
Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Hon. Timothy Masiu, during his keynote address at the Summit said it was timely and a sign of how far the nation has come in embracing the digital age.
He linked the summit to the government’s digital transformation agenda that began in 2019, saying it lays the groundwork for AI to be adopted across government and the private sector.
“Issues such as AI bias, data privacy, and the risk of automation displacing jobs must be at the heart of our national dialogue,” Minister Masiu said.
“We must not allow AI to deepen inequalities or threaten our cultural values. Instead, we must guide its adoption to serve the public good.”
Minister Masiu announced that the Department of Information and Communications Technology is finalizing a National AI Adoption Framework—a national policy and governance structure that will guide how AI is used responsibly, ethically, and inclusively across the country.
He also called on education institutions to take the lead in preparing young people to use AI wisely.
“I take this opportunity to challenge our universities and higher education institutions to integrate AI and digital ethics into their curricula,” he said.
“It is not enough to produce coders—we must produce citizens and leaders who know how to harness AI for national development, in a way that is ethical, inclusive, and grounded in our values.”
The Minister emphasised that AI is already shaping the world, and its impact depends on how countries choose to handle it.
“Artificial Intelligence is not the future—it is the now. But whether it becomes a tool for liberation or a driver of division depends on the choices we make today,” he said.
He expressed concern over the growing misuse of AI, especially in areas like fake videos and images, saying this raises important questions about how society should respond.
“It can be abused and used for purposes that can be detrimental to our development,” he warned.
Masiu said as a responsible government, it is our responsibility to make sure that the use of AI is governed to protect our citizens.”
“Therefore, how we approach the use of AI must be guided well by policy and legislation.”