Digitally delivered services- towards an inclusive AI economy – World Trade & Tech Day and WTO Public Forum

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping digitally delivered services (DDS) — a shift that took centre stage at two WTO events this year.

Diplo took part in the inaugural WTO World Trade & Tech Day, dedicated to exploring the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and trade, as well as the 2026 WTO Public Forum, which brought together more than 4,600 participants to examine how trade in services can drive development and job creation.

The World Trade & Tech Day brought a particular focus to the rapidly evolving relationship between AI and international trade. Diplo contributed to the programme with a hands-on AI Masterclass for trade negotiators, co-lectured by Marilia Maciel and Cedric Amon. Drawing on Diplo’s AI Apprenticeship course, the masterclass provided participants with a structured introduction to AI and practical experience with emerging AI tools and approaches.

People, Person, Adult, Female, Woman, Crowd, Male, Man, Chair, Furniture, Audience, Face, Head, Indoors, Architecture, Building, Classroom, Room, School, Accessories, Glasses, Speech, Clothing, Formal Wear, Suit, Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Nadeem Malik, Scott Aukerman

People, Person, Adult, Female, Woman, Male, Man, Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Indoors, Pen, Head, Face, Crowd, Charles Rogers, Yvonne Cagle, Joel Villanueva, Chitra Magimairaj, Edward Adjaho, Mai Kieu Lien, Neil Drumming

The ‘Digitally delivered services – towards an inclusive AI economy’ discussion at the WTO Public Forum, organised by the Government of India, aimed to explore how democratising access to AI resources, encompassing infrastructure, datasets, and the digitally delivered services they enable, was a prerequisite for inclusive growth in global trade, featuring Ms Maciel as one of the speakers. The session brought together Mariagrazia Squicciarini (UNESCO), Rupanjali Karthik (Government of India), Vahini Naidu (South Centre) and Mario García Franco (NTT Data). Selected for live webcasting, the session can be watched here.

People, Person, Blazer, Clothing, Coat, Jacket, Adult, Female, Woman, Male, Man, Formal Wear, Suit, Crowd, Indoors, Amanda Ooms, Vasanthabalan, Chitra Magimairaj, Pippa Evans

Mr Amon joined a Curated Conversation co-organised by Marta Soprana, Amar Breckenridge and Stephen Ezell, examining how AI governance is shaping the future of digital trade policy.

Beyond the formal programme, Diplo also joined the TradeExperettes breakfast, celebrating the achievements and continued growth of the Trade Experettes Community.

People, Person, Adult, Female, Woman, Head, Face, Groupshot, Happy, Crowd, Laughing, Accessories, Formal Wear, Tie, Smile, Glasses, Photography, Portrait, Anwar Pervez, Olivia Wigzell, Cecilia Malmström, Filomena Moretti

Related actors: World Trade Organization

Related people: Marília Maciel, Cedric Amon