Event highlights
10 October 2025
How can we, in our respective roles and as a global community, ensure accountability and good health data governance amid the rapid expansion of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI)? How can leaders strike the right balance between innovation and regulation in the pursuit of digitally enabled, smarter and healthier communities? In short, how can we collectively advance the use of AI “with a conscience”?
These questions were at the heart of a high-level session held on 30 September 2025 co-organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Transform Health Association and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific as part of the Smart Life Week 2025 policy and innovation conference.
Smart Life Week is a joint initiative of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization, aimed at fostering innovative and inclusive smart cities. The 2025 event, held in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 30 September to 2 October was themed “AI for Humanity, Smart Cities Leading Tomorrow”. More than 60,000 people from over 200 cities gathered and showcased cutting-edge technologies and policy innovations for smarter, more sustainable and inclusive urban living.
Feeding into this theme, the session “AI with a conscience: Ensuring Safety and Equity in Health” explored what it truly means to use AI ethically in health. Discussions centered on key principles such as: Intelligibility and accountability; Safety and human wellbeing; and equity and inclusiveness – all essential for building and upholding public trust.
In his opening remarks, Mr Dong-ryul Lee, Director-General of the Citizen Health Bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated: “The use of AI and the internet of things (IoT) in digital health can improve elderly care and quality of life, however inclusion, privacy protection and the ethical use of data are essential.”
Dr Kidong Park, Director of Data, Strategy and Innovation at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific further emphasized the importance of ethics and inclusion: “How we govern health data will determine whether digital health strengthens or undermines equity and trust.”
Ms Kirsten Mathieson, Deputy Director and Policy Lead at Transform Health, delved into health data governance legislative frameworks as the foundation for safe, ethical and trusted digital health.
The session also featured insights from city and country experiences, which all underscored a shared commitment to ethical data governance and people-centered health care. Examples included:
- Seoul’s “Wrist Doctor 9988” initiative, which tracks citizens’ physical activity;
- Singapore’s Healthy 365 platform, supporting individual health and wellness tracking;
- The Philippines’ efforts to integrate health information systems for more coordinated care.
Participants identified common challenges, such as the difficulty of integrating personal health and wellness data with medical records due to separate governance frameworks. There was a broad agreement that, while maintaining data sovereignty, the Region could benefit from common principles and a shared understanding of acceptable data granularity when integrating health data.
Effective health data governance in the age of rapid AI expansion must pursue dual goals: enabling seamless data sharing for improved health outcomes and greater efficiency, while safeguarding privacy and preventing misuse.
Dr Kidong Park concluded: “Let us continue to ask the hard questions and learn from one another as we collectively strive to ensure that AI and digital health innovation lead not only to smarter systems, but also healthier, fairer and more dignified lives for all.”
WHO’s work in digital health transformation
The WHO Regional Action Framework on Digital Health in the Western Pacific, endorsed by Member States in 2024, provides guidance for countries to leverage digital technologies and empower all actors within the digital health ecosystem to improve access to quality sustainable health care. WHO stands ready to work with Member States, civil society and technology partners to advance people-centered and trustworthy digital health governance.
Event notice
A high-level session titled “AI with a Conscience: Ensuring Safety and Equity in Health” takes place on 30 September 2025, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, as part of Smart Life Week 2025. Co-organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Transform Health Association, and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the event brings together global and regional leaders to discuss how to ensure accountability, safety, and equity in the use of artificial intelligence in health, and how to build people-centred, ethical, and trustworthy digital health systems.