ITU to Build Trust in AI Behavior and Identity Through Global Standards Initiative

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, is spearheading a global standards initiative to foster trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, focusing on both AI behavior and identity. This new effort seeks to establish frameworks for reliable digital identities and guarantee that AI agents act in a trustworthy and accountable manner throughout their operational lifespan.

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The future of AI depends on trust. As AI becomes more autonomous, we need to work together across industry, governments, academia and civil society to ensure the greatest possible confidence in AI systems.

The ITU's Focus Group on Trust and Identity for Humans and Agentic AI announced this initiative at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva. The move comes as AI rapidly evolves beyond simple tools into autonomous agents capable of acting independently on behalf of individuals. While this evolution promises significant productivity gains, it also introduces new risks, including AI agents impersonating people or organizations and performing unauthorized actions within interconnected systems.

To mitigate these risks, the ITU Focus Group aims to develop frameworks that maintain meaningful human control over critical functions. This includes tasks like executing financial transactions and operating essential infrastructure. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasized the critical role of trust, stating, "The future of AI depends on trust. As AI becomes more autonomous, we need to work together across industry, governments, academia and civil society to ensure the greatest possible confidence in AI systems."

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AI agents will soon negotiate, transact and make decisions on our behalf. Before that future becomes reality, we need common international foundations that establish who these agents are, when they can be trusted, and how people will remain in control. That is the challenge this Focus Group has been created to address.

The group highlights that establishing an AI agent's identity and verifying its trustworthiness is crucial as these systems gain independence in planning and action. "Increasingly, AI agents need to identify and authenticate one another. Just as importantly, their decisions and actions must remain accountable, controllable and trustworthy," the ITU stated. Co-Chair Debora Comparin added, "AI agents will soon negotiate, transact and make decisions on our behalf. Before that future becomes reality, we need common international foundations that establish who these agents are, when they can be trusted, and how people will remain in control."

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Identity tells us who is acting and trustworthiness tells us how that actor can be expected to behave. Bringing these together creates the foundation for safe interaction between humans and autonomous AI systems.