Senior Indian diplomat Amandeep Singh Gill appointed by UN chief as his Envoy on Technology

UNITED NATIONS: Senior Indian diplomat Amandeep Singh Gill has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as his Envoy on Technology, with the world body describing him as a "thought leader on digital technology" who has a solid understanding of how to leverage the digital transformation responsibly and inclusively for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Gill, who was India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2016-to 2018, is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

"A thought leader on digital technology, he brings to the position a deep knowledge of digital technologies coupled with a solid understanding of how to leverage the digital transformation responsibly and inclusively for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals," said a statement issued by the UN here on Friday.

Previously, Gill was the Executive Director and Co-Lead of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (2018-2019).

In addition to delivering the report of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Gill helped secure high-impact international consensus recommendations on regulating Artificial Intelligence (Al) in lethal autonomous weapon systems in 2017 and 2018, the draft Al ethics recommendation of UNESCO in 2020, and a new international platform 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 affairs, with postings in Tehran and Colombo.

He was also a visiting scholar at Stanford University.

Gill holds a PhD in Nuclear Learning in Multilateral Forums from King's College, London, a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Electrical Communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh and an Advanced Diploma in French History and Language from Geneva University.