The United Nations (UN) has called on governments, mayors, and the private sector to harness the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation to improve urban living as cities face growing challenges due to rapid urbanization.
UN Virtual World Day Highlights AI-Enabled Citiverse
During the Third UN Virtual World Day, held on May 11-12, 2026, at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, with support from UN entities worldwide, experts emphasized the role of AI and emerging technologies in shaping future cities. The UN noted that by 2050, 70 percent of the global population is projected to live in urban areas, making it crucial to leverage the AI-enabled citiverse—a digital ecosystem combining AI, spatial intelligence, digital twins, and immersive technologies.
Call to Action for Humanity
Participants issued a Call to Action for Humanity: Shaping the Future of Cities in the Age of AI and Citiverse, outlining five strategic priorities: delivering global commitments locally, building trusted and inclusive AI systems, improving decision-making through data and simulation, enabling responsible economic and social growth, and strengthening international cooperation and standards.
“We are entering a new era: AI systems interacting with the physical world, infrastructure becoming intelligent, and decisions informed by real-time data. This is the foundation of inclusive communities that are more efficient, resilient and responsive to all inhabitants,” the participants stated.
Executive Briefing on Urban Digital Transformation
The UN partners also released an executive briefing on AI, spatial intelligence, and the AI-enabled citiverse, offering practical guidance for ministers, regulators, and city leaders. The briefing warned of urgent challenges requiring global coordinated action, including governance gaps, data and interoperability issues, trust and safety concerns, institutional readiness, digital fragmentation, and the digital, rural, and gender divides known as the “triple divide.”
Both the call to action and the briefing emphasize that the benefits of AI and the citiverse must reach all communities, including developing economies and underserved populations.
