Tomas Lamanauskas Is Helping Shape the AI Future From Inside the UN System

يوليو 3, 2026

10:14 ص

As the global debate over artificial intelligence accelerates, Tomas Lamanauskas has become one of the most important multilateral figures working to ensure that AI is not only powerful, but useful — not only disruptive, but directed toward the public good.

Tomas Lamanauskas, the Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, brings a rare combination of regulatory, diplomatic, private-sector and institutional experience to one of the defining governance challenges of the decade. A Lithuanian national, he was elected at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2022 and took office in January 2023. His election marked a milestone for Lithuania: the first time a Lithuanian representative had been chosen for such a senior leadership role within the UN system’s specialized agency for telecommunications and digital technologies.

Next week, that leadership will be on full display in Geneva, where ITU will convene the AI for Good Global Summit from July 7 to 10, 2026, at Palexpo. The summit has become one of the UN system’s most visible platforms for artificial intelligence, bringing together governments, technology companies, researchers, international organizations, startups and civil society to explore how AI can be applied to global challenges.

For Lamanauskas, the summit is more than a showcase. It is an expression of a career spent at the intersection of technology, governance and public purpose.

From Lithuania to the Center of Global Digital Policy

Lamanauskas’ path to ITU leadership began far from the current global spotlight on AI. Born in Lithuania, he built his career across multiple continents and sectors, working on telecommunications policy, regulation, strategy and digital transformation long before AI governance became a mainstream diplomatic issue.

His academic background reflects that blend of law, public policy and technical regulation. He earned a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Master’s in Law from Vilnius University and a Master’s in Telecommunications Regulation and Policy from the University of the West Indies.

Before becoming ITU Deputy Secretary-General, Lamanauskas held senior roles across public institutions, international organizations and the private sector. His experience spans Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific, including executive-level work in telecom regulation and digital policy. He also served as Director of the Public Policy Group at VEON, the global telecom company formerly known as VimpelCom, and previously worked within ITU as head of its Corporate Strategy Division.

That breadth matters. Lamanauskas is not approaching AI as an abstract technology issue. He comes from the world of networks, standards, spectrum, regulation, connectivity and market development — the underlying systems that determine whether digital technologies reach people or reinforce existing divides.

A Technology Leader Fluent in Governance

At ITU, Tomas Lamanauskas focuses on financial sustainability, operational excellence, impact-driven partnerships and collaboration across the organization’s core work in radiocommunication, standardization and development.

That portfolio places him at the center of a crucial institutional question: how can one of the world’s oldest multilateral organizations remain relevant in an era of artificial intelligence, satellite connectivity, digital public infrastructure, quantum technologies and rapidly shifting private-sector power?

Tomas Lamanauskas’ answer has been to connect speed with structure. In an interview with American Bazaar, he described the challenge of AI governance as a balance between rapid innovation and global standardization. Innovation, he argued, must move quickly, but standardization is what allows new technologies to interoperate, scale and be adopted widely.

That philosophy is especially relevant to AI. Without common standards, trusted systems and inclusive governance, AI risks becoming a fragmented technology landscape dominated by a handful of platforms and countries. With the right frameworks, it can become a tool that expands access to health care, education, climate resilience, disaster response, public services and economic opportunity.

AI for Good as a Global Convening Platform

The AI for Good Global Summit reflects that larger ambition. Organized by ITU in partnership with more than 50 UN sister agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland, AI for Good describes itself as the United Nations’ leading platform on artificial intelligence. Its purpose is to connect innovators with global challenges and advance AI standards, skills, policy and partnerships.

The 2026 summit arrives at a decisive moment. Governments are racing to develop national AI strategies. Companies are deploying increasingly powerful models. Regulators are trying to keep pace with systems that are already reshaping labor markets, education, media, cybersecurity, science and public administration.

In that context, next week’s summit is not merely another technology conference. It is a forum for asking whether AI can be governed before its benefits and risks become even more unevenly distributed.

For Lamanauskas, the AI for Good platform brings together two worlds that often move at different speeds: the innovators building AI systems and the public institutions responsible for ensuring those systems serve society. The summit’s relevance lies in its ability to make those conversations practical — focused not only on principles, but on standards, deployment, capacity-building and real-world use cases.

Why His Background Matters Now

Lamanauskas’ career gives him a perspective that is particularly suited to this moment. He has worked in countries and regions where connectivity, affordability and institutional capacity are not theoretical concerns. He has seen how infrastructure gaps shape development outcomes. Lamanauskas has also worked inside industry, where the pace of technological change can outstrip public-sector readiness.

That combination makes him a bridge figure: between the Global North and Global South, between regulators and innovators, between technical standards and political priorities, and between the legacy telecommunications world and the emerging AI economy.

It also gives him credibility in a debate that is too often polarized between optimism and alarm. Lamanauskas’ approach suggests a more practical middle path: encourage innovation, but make it interoperable; embrace AI, but build guardrails; accelerate adoption, but ensure countries have the infrastructure, standards and skills to participate.

A Lithuanian Voice in a Global Technology Moment

Lamanauskas’ rise also carries symbolic significance. His election in 2022 was celebrated in Lithuania as a major diplomatic achievement, placing a Lithuanian leader in one of the most senior roles at a UN specialized agency at a time when digital policy has become central to geopolitics, economic competitiveness and development.

That symbolism is not incidental. Smaller and mid-sized countries have an increasingly important role to play in global technology governance. As AI power concentrates among a small number of companies and major economies, leaders from countries like Lithuania can help broaden the conversation — emphasizing openness, interoperability, resilience and rules-based cooperation.

Tomas Lamanauskas’ leadership reflects that sensibility. His work at ITU is not about resisting technological change. It is about ensuring that change is shaped by more than market forces alone.

The Stakes in Geneva Next Week

When leaders gather in Geneva next week for AI for Good, they will be meeting at a moment when the world’s AI choices are becoming more consequential. The central question is no longer whether artificial intelligence will transform societies. It already is. The question is who will shape that transformation, who will benefit from it and whether global institutions can still play a meaningful role in steering technology toward human progress.

That is why Tomas Lamanauskas matters.

He represents a generation of digital policy leaders who understand that the future of AI will not be determined only by algorithms. It will be determined by infrastructure, standards, governance, partnerships and trust.

Through AI for Good, Tomas Lamanauskas and ITU are helping create a global platform where those pieces can come together. In doing so, they are making a case that the multilateral system still has a vital role to play in the age of artificial intelligence — not by slowing innovation down, but by helping ensure it moves in a direction that serves humanity.

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