GENEVA — A robot bearing the face of Mark Zuckerberg winks at the crowd before morphing into Barack Obama. It is one of many eye-catching displays at this year's AI for Good summit, held at the Palexpo convention centre in Geneva. The event, which began in 2017, has drawn more than 12,000 participants from 170 countries — a new record that underscores the mounting urgency around artificial intelligence as governments and industries scramble to keep pace with a technology evolving faster than most regulatory systems can adapt.
The summit takes place alongside a broader United Nations push on AI governance. Delegates from 193 countries are meeting in Geneva for the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, aiming to establish common principles for a technology that increasingly touches every aspect of life. The dual gatherings reflect a continent — and a world — grappling with how to harness AI's potential while mitigating its risks.
From Software to the Physical World
Across the exhibition floor, the shift from AI as a purely digital tool to a physical presence is unmistakable. Humanoid robots, robotic prosthetics, and autonomous systems offer a glimpse of where the field is heading. One standout is Robert, a robot built by Geneva-based RB Labs. Nearby, Ling Xi — a robotic guide dog controlled via mobile phone — demonstrates how AI can assist people with disabilities. Developed by China Mobile, the device costs $4,000 (about €3,506) and is designed to help blind individuals navigate more independently.
"We created AI for Good in 2017, and if you think about it, that's an eternity in terms of AI years, right, because AI is moving so fast," said Fred Werner, Head of Strategic Engagement at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which organizes the summit. "I think we're now entering what I would call a zero-click world, where AI agents are not waiting for our prompts, but they're actually acting on our behalf, autonomously. And then looking at the more physical manifestation of AI, in the form of advanced robotics, autonomous mobility, brain-computer interfaces, and even space computing."
Swiss firm Ability Neurotech is at the forefront of that physical shift. Its brain-computer interface — a small implant placed on the surface of the brain — reads neural signals that remain intact in patients with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, or spinal cord injuries. The data is sent to a processor that decodes it in real time, potentially restoring the ability to communicate or move. "We speak at 140 words per minute, more or less. And what we do, we reconstruct the capacity of 70 or 80 words per minute, in real time, for patients that cannot do that today," said CEO Rotem Kopel.
At the KAIST stand from South Korea, a wearable hip brace uses AI to customize control algorithms for people with gait disabilities. "We use AI to customise and optimise the control algorithms, especially for people with gait disabilities," said Kim Jongwon, a postdoctoral student at KAIST. A few stands away, a prototype wheelchair responds to voice commands and simple hand gestures via camera sensors and microphones. Its developer, Adwait Shinde, who teaches mechatronics at the University of the West of England, emphasized that keeping data off the cloud was a deliberate choice. "Since this is a medical device, we do not want the user data to go to the cloud or online. That's why we are using a local AI model, which runs locally on a Jetson board."
Youth and Competition
In the youth zone, teams are competing in the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge. Some 250 children, some as young as ten, have built robots from scratch using locally sourced materials to address this year's theme: food security. A Lithuanian team scores points with its robot, one of 50 national teams hoping to reach the closing ceremony, where American musician Will.i.am will hand out the top prize.
The summit's record attendance and the concurrent UN dialogue signal that AI governance is no longer a niche concern. As Europe — from Brussels to Berlin, Paris to Warsaw — debates how to regulate AI while fostering innovation, events like this provide a rare space for technologists, policymakers, and the public to confront the technology's promise and peril. The question is whether the frameworks being discussed in Geneva can keep up with the machines on display.
