India’s Amandeep Singh Gill has been appointed as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Envoy on Technology.
The UN Director General said that a thought leader in digital technology, Gill is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) Project, located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.
Guterres commended the newly appointed tech envoy, saying, “He brings together a deep knowledge of digital technologies as well as a solid understanding of how to leverage digital transformation responsibly and inclusively to make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals “
The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-agency Affairs, Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, who recalled her contribution to the field for her dedication and commitment as Acting Envoy on Technology.
Amandeep Singh Gill was the Executive Director and co-head of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation from 2018 to 2019.
In addition to reporting to the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Gill helped secure high-impact international consensus recommendations on regulating ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) in lethal autonomous weapon systems in 2017 and 2018, the draft Al Ethics Recommendation of UNESCO in 2020, and a new International Forum on Digital Health and Al.
He joined India’s diplomatic service in 1992 and served in various capacities in disarmament and strategic technologies and international security matters, with postings in Tehran and Colombo.
Gill was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2016-2018).
He was also a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
Gill holds a PhD in Nuclear Learning in Multilateral Forums from King’s College, London, Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Electrical Communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh and an Advanced Diploma in French History and Languages from the University of Geneva and is fluent in English, French, Hindi and Punjabi.