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Science & Tech
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025.
The G7 is no longer setting the table; it’s struggling to hold the cutlery. Once a pillar of the post-war world order, the group today is splitbetween the US and the rest, casting about for common ground. Before this week’s summit even kicked off in Kananaskis, Canada, host Prime Minister Mark Carney warned there would beno final joint communique. So what’s up for discussion - and what could be achieved?
The official agenda: Trade, defense, and AI
Trade trumps climate change. With US President Donald Trump back on the scene,tariffs are huge, while climate action takes a backseat. Leaders will try to defend existing net-zero goals, update plans to tackle wildfires, and boost clean tech cooperation. But the meetings’first focus is on trade, and striking deals. Countries will seek to defend themselves against Trump’s protectionist policies by both expanding trade with each other and getting Trump to lift tariffs on their countries.
Defense and Industry. Whilethe Iran-Israel war now overshadows existing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, support for Kyiv is still on the menu. The tone is shifting, however, to talk of pan-European defense against Russian aggression. Carney, French president Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to push fora “defense-industrial pact,” a long-term commitment to arms production and supply chains to “Re-Arm Europe”.
Artificial Intelligence and Misinformation Leaders are lookingat baseline safeguards around algorithmic transparency and deepfake detection, given the worldwide rise in election interference, cybercrime and cyberwarfare. While global AI regulation is unlikely, the G7 may commit to coordinating digital watchdogs and fighting cross-border disinformation campaigns.
The backstory: America alone
All these items are dominated by a larger issue: the widening gap between the US and its allies. Trump’s view of the world order diverges starkly from that of the other members of the group. His thin skin and volatility could also compromise the outcome of the talks, especially if hestorms out like he did at the infamous 2018 Charlevoix summit. Carney’smain tasks include preventing Trump from feeling disrespected, and navigating the divide between G6 goals and US ambitions such as Trump’s takedown of China.
What can this meeting achieve, then?
Expect no joint statement, but lots of bilateral action, with both Trump and other world leaders. On Sunday, for example, Carney and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a strengthened partnership on a range of issues including trade and defense. Carney has also invited a slew of non-G7 leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguing thatthey are key to solving major questions such as energy security and AI. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be present, as willthe leaders of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa. In the end, the biggest achievement may simply be keeping the group alive to meet another day.
Artificial intelligence is often seen as a futuristic tool—but for some global health challenges, it’s already the only solution. Dr. Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft's Chief Data Scientist, Corporate Vice President, and Lab Director for the AI for Good Lab, points to a powerful example: diagnosing a leading cause of childhood blindness in newborns.
In this Global Stage conversation from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations, Ferres explains how AI is being used to detect retinopathy of prematurity, a condition affecting premature babies that now ranks as the world’s top cause of childhood blindness. The problem? There aren’t nearly enough pediatric ophthalmologists to meet global demand—and without early diagnosis, the condition often leads to permanent vision loss.
“We have AI models today that can diagnose this from your smartphone,” says Ferres. “This is just one example where AI is not just the solution—it’s the only solution we have.”
He argues that technology like this can empower doctors, not replace them, and help close critical gaps in healthcare access. With billions of people still lacking adequate care, Ferres believes AI can be a transformative force for scaling health services—if deployed thoughtfully and equitably.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations in New York. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
See more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/un-sti-forum/ai-trends-in-2025-that-drive-progress-on-global-goals
As artificial intelligence becomes a foundational force in global business, many companies are rushing to adopt it—but not all are ready. According to Caitlin Dean, Director and Deputy Head of Corporates at Eurasia Group, success with AI isn’t just about access to the latest tools. It depends on leadership that actually understands what those tools can do.
In this Global Stage conversation from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations, Dean explains that while some large tech firms are integrating AI at the core of their business models, most companies are still in the early stages—using turnkey solutions to boost productivity without a clear long-term strategy. That gap, she warns, is a leadership problem.
Dean argues that organizations need more than just engineers. They need business leaders who are AI-literate—strategists who understand the technology deeply enough to apply it in meaningful, forward-looking ways. Without that, companies risk falling behind, not just in innovation, but in relevance.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations in New York. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
See more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/un-sti-forum/ai-trends-in-2025-that-drive-progress-on-global-goals
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the global economy, the spotlight often lands on breakthrough inventions from labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, or DeepSeek. But according to Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor at George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers," that focus misses the bigger picture.
In this Global Stage conversation from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations, Ding argues that the true driver of national power isn’t who invents the next great AI tool—it’s who can scale it. He calls this process “diffusion”: the broad, effective spread of general-purpose technologies like AI across entire economies, industries, and institutions.
History backs him up. From electricity to the steam engine, Ding notes that the countries that ultimately benefitted most from past industrial revolutions were those that could integrate new technologies widely — not just invent them first. “That’s where diffusion meets inclusion,” he says.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations in New York. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
See more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/un-sti-forum/ai-trends-in-2025-that-drive-progress-on-global-goals
As artificial intelligence races ahead, there’s growing concern that it could deepen the digital divide—unless global inclusion becomes a priority. Lucia Velasco, AI Policy Lead at the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, warns that without infrastructure, local context, and inclusive design, AI risks benefiting only the most connected parts of the world.
In this Global Stage conversation from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations, Velasco argues that to be truly transformative, AI must be developed with the realities of underserved regions in mind. “It’s not the same solution thought of in the US as one in any country in Africa,” she explains. Effective governance, she says, must bring together governments, companies, academia, and civil society—not just a handful of powerful tech players.
Velasco emphasizes that AI adoption isn’t just about deploying tools—it’s about building the foundations that allow every country to create its own solutions. That includes access to electricity, connectivity, and training, but also ensuring AI models speak a diversity of languages and reflect a diversity of needs.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations in New York. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
See more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage/un-sti-forum/ai-trends-in-2025-that-drive-progress-on-global-goals
Hundreds of millions of people now use artificial intelligence each week—but that impressive number masks a deeper issue. According to Dr. Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft’s Chief Data Scientist, Corporate Vice President, and Lab Director for the AI for Good Lab, access to AI remains out of reach for nearly half the world’s population.
In this Global Stage conversation from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations, Ferres outlines the barriers that prevent AI from reaching its full potential: lack of electricity, limited internet connectivity, and inadequate access to computers. Even when those hurdles are cleared, many people face another challenge—AI systems that don’t speak their language.
Most large language models are trained in a few dominant languages like English, Spanish, or Mandarin, leaving millions of speakers of local or Indigenous languages excluded from the benefits of AI. “Once you revisit the whole funnel,” Ferres says, “you have likely around half the world that do not have access to this technology.”
Bridging these divides, he argues, is essential—not just for equity, but for unlocking AI’s promise as a truly global force for development and inclusion.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 STI Forum at the United Nations in New York. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
See more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/global-stage
Bleached corals are seen in a reef in Koh Mak, Trat province, Thailand, May 8, 2024.
84: A harmful mass “bleaching” event has struck 84% of the world’s coral reefs, in the largest incident of its kind on record, the International Coral Reef Initiative announced Wednesday. Bleaching occurs when warmer seas cause the colorful algae that live inside corals to emit toxic compounds. The corals, which feed on those algae, then expel them, leaving behind a colorless “bleached” coral that is at greater risk of starvation. Coral reefs are critical for ocean biodiversity, fisheries, shoreline protection, and tourism. Last year was the hottest on record.
1 trillion: The rich get richer, they say, and the poor get poorer. In the US, the first half of that is true for sure, as a new study shows $1 trillion in additional wealth was created for the country’s 19 richest families in 2024 alone. As a result, the top 0.00001% richest Americans now control 1.8% of US household wealth, the highest share ever for the stratospherically wealthy.
6: Donald Trump’s approval rating on the economy has fallen six points since he was elected, to 37%, according to a new Reuters/IPSOS poll. Most of the drop preceded Trump’s April 2 announcement of global “reciprocal tariffs.” His approval rating on immigration fell five points since early March, to 45%. Trump’s overall approval rating is at 42%. That’s the same level he showed at this point in his first term, and 13 points below where Joe Biden was in his.
1 billion: Brazilian police said Wednesday that they have arrested the head of the country’s social security agency and seized assets worth 1 billion reais ($175 million) as part of a sprawling corruption investigation. Five other officials of the agency were also jailed, and more than 200 search warrants have been executed in multiple states. The probe’s focus is the possibly fraudulent deduction of certain fees from social security benefits.
700 million: The European Commission on Wednesday fined US tech giants Apple and Meta a total of €700 million for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act, an antitrust law. Apple must pay €500 million ($572 million) for discriminating against developers and platforms that sell apps outside of the company’s own App Store. Meta, meanwhile, got a €200 million fine for forcing users to pay for enhanced privacy protections. Apple said it would appeal, while Meta blasted EU tech regulations, saying they will “handicap American business” while helping Chinese and European competitors.