by Editor BGF | May 11, 2026 | News
May 7, 2026
John Quelch
“The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.” The words in 1991 of African American CNN news anchor Bernard Shaw brought the start of the Iraq war live into our homes through the power of 24/7 cable news. Non-stop coverage of the Iraq War cemented the importance of CNN on the world stage. Now there’s hardly a decent hotel in any country that doesn’t include CNN (Cable News Network) as an option on its guest bedroom televisions. This was all thanks to the vision of one man, Ted Turner.
I never really knew Ted Turner but on three occasions, I learnt an important lesson from him.
In 1983, as a young Harvard Business School professor, I wanted to write a case on the recently launched Cable News Network. All the top professors were calling Ted but being rebuffed, so what chance did I have? One day, I saw CNN’s VP of advertising quoted in the New York Times. I called him and proposed a case which went up to Ted for approval which he then gave. From this, I learnt that, if you want something, it’s not always smart to go to the top guy. A good boss, Ted let someone down the organization take the initiative and draw the limelight.
Seventeen years later, I was one of a hundred people invited to a Deloitte reception at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ted and Jane Fonda were the guests of honor. I managed to introduce myself to Ted and mentioned the case and my friendship with his old VP. When Ted started his remarks, he introduced me to the Davos elite as “the most important person here, who wrote the first Harvard case study on CNN.” You can’t buy that kind of endorsement. Ted had an ego but he was also nice to mice.
In 1988, Ted was the guest of honor at the annual Reebok human rights award ceremony in Boston. It was the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and I was a Reebok board member at the time. A thousand people were looking forward to being entertained with some salty remarks and juicy anecdotes. Ted, who had then pledged $ 1 billion to support the United Nations Foundation, started with a question: “How many of you here have read the UN Declaration of Human Rights?” Only around six hands were raised. Ted then spent the next fifteen minutes reading word for word the thirty articles in the Declaration. That was his speech. Ted despised hypocrisy and stuck it to the audience. That was another good lesson.
It seems paradoxical – though it shouldn’t – that a man so quintessentially American, dedicated to preserving lands in Montana and restoring the bison population, could also be a global visionary, inventing CNN, championing the UN and launching both the Goodwill Games and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Being American versus being global is a false dichotomy. For America to continue to lead abroad, we need more patriots like Ted Turner who see bringing harmony to a diverse world as their responsibility.
by Editor BGF | May 11, 2026 | World Leader for Peace and Security, News, World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates
At the America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age Conference, held on May 1, 2026, at Harvard University’s Loeb House, Vint Cerf accepted the 2026 World Leader for Peace and Security Award as the symbolic representative of the American people. The award honored the leaders of the United States and the American people for their enduring contributions to peace, security, innovation, democratic values, and human progress.
Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet” and co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols, Vint Cerf represented the creativity, openness, civic spirit, and technological imagination of America in the digital age. His remarks, titled “Building Information Trust Infrastructure for Democracy in the AI Age,” connected America’s 250-year legacy with one of the most urgent challenges of the future: how to build trusted information systems in a world transformed by artificial intelligence.
Cerf’s message carried special meaning for the Boston Global Forum and AI World Society. Having previously been honored by BGF in 2019 as a World Leader in AIWS, he has long embodied the principle that technology must serve humanity with responsibility, openness, and wisdom.
His acceptance speech reinforced a central theme of the conference and the book America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age: America’s leadership in the AI Age must be measured not only by innovation, but by its capacity to build trust, defend truth, protect human dignity, and strengthen democratic society.
Vint Cerf’s remarks helped elevate the May 1 conference from a celebration of America’s past into a call for action: to build AIWS Information Trust Infrastructure as a foundation for peace, security, and a more trustworthy civilization in the AI Age.
Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxdlwPyF5wI
by Editor BGF | May 11, 2026 | News, Shaping Futures
Trust as the Foundation of Society
At the America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age Conference, held on May 1, 2026 at Harvard University’s Loeb House, one of the most significant discussions was the panel “Building AIWS Trust Infrastructure for the AI Age.”
This panel brought together distinguished Alex Pentland, Cynthia Dwork, and other America 250: AI Pioneers to explore how trust can become the essential foundation of governance, technology, and civilization in the AI Age.
Watch the Panel Discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0nMkYKP_I&t=4109s
by Editor BGF | May 11, 2026 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance
A distinctive feature of the official launch of the book America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age at the May 1, 2026 conference at Harvard University’s Loeb House is that the book was presented not merely as an intellectual work, but as the beginning of an international movement for implementation.
Co-authored by Governor Michael S. Dukakis and Nguyen Anh Tuan, the book calls on America to lead in the AI Age through trust, human dignity, ethical responsibility, and service to humanity. Its central message is that the future of artificial intelligence cannot be shaped by technology alone; it must be guided by values, culture, accountable institutions, and a new global architecture of trust.
What made the May 1 conference especially significant was that the ideas of the book were already being translated into action by partners from three important regions of the world.
From Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party’s Global South initiative, under the leadership and support of Yasuhide Nakayama, has become a strategic partner in advancing AIWS Trust Infrastructure, AIWS Trust Order, and AIWS Lumina. Japan contributes a unique combination of strategic vision, cultural depth, and the enduring values of harmony, discipline, and beauty.
From Vietnam, Vietnam Report has joined as an implementation and support partner for developing AIWS Trust Rating (ATR), AIWS Trust Index (ATX), and practical trust standards for Vietnam and ASEAN. This partnership provides a concrete pathway to transform the book’s vision into measurable standards, operational platforms, and real-world applications.
From Europe, Media Tenor contributes world-leading expertise in media intelligence, reputation measurement, and public trust analytics. Its participation is particularly important in building the AIWS Information Trust Infrastructure, helping democratic societies address misinformation, deepfakes, and the erosion of trust in the digital age.
Together, these partnerships demonstrate that America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age is far more than a commemorative book for America’s 250th anniversary. It is a practical blueprint for cooperation among America, Japan, Vietnam, and Europe to build the trust infrastructure needed for the future of humanity.
The May 1 conference marked the beginning of this new phase of global collaboration. America contributes moral leadership and innovation. Japan contributes strategic and cultural wisdom. Vietnam contributes implementation capacity and regional connectivity. Europe contributes analytical rigor and information trust expertise.
Together, they are helping to build a world in which technology serves humanity, trust becomes infrastructure, and civilization is elevated by responsibility, compassion, and human dignity.
The Boston Global Forum and the AI World Society warmly invite leaders, scholars, innovators, policymakers, and citizens around the world to join this historic effort.
We welcome ideas, partnerships, and contributions to help advance the implementation of America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age, AIWS Trust Infrastructure, AIWS Information Trust Infrastructure, and AIWS Lumina.
Please share your thoughts, proposals, and expressions of interest with the Boston Global Forum at: [email protected]
Together, we can build a more trustworthy, humane, and enlightened civilization in the AI Age.
by Editor BGF | May 10, 2026 | News
America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age and the America at 250: AI Pioneers
On April 30, 2026, Trần Đức Thắng, the highest-ranking leader of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, sent an important letter to Governor Michael S. Dukakis and the distinguished leaders of the Boston Global Forum:
Hanoi, April 30th, 2026
To:
- Governor Michael S. Dukakis, former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Co-Founder and Chair of the Boston Global Forum;
- Distinguished Leaders of the Boston Global Forum.
On behalf of the leadership of the city of Hanoi, we extend our congratulations to you and the Boston Global Forum on your efforts to advance dialogue on governance, innovation, and human-centered artificial intelligence in the age of AI.
We appreciate the vision reflected in America at 250: A Beacon for the AI Age and in your recognition of the America 250: AI Pioneers, whose contributions have helped shape science, technology, public life, and responsible innovation.
Hanoi places great importance on international cooperation in science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, and the responsible development of artificial intelligence.
We have noted with interest the Boston Global Forum’s discussions on trustworthy and human-centered AI, including governance, public trust, information integrity, and the role of institutions in the AI Age.
In this spirit, Hanoi would welcome the opportunity to engage with the Boston Global Forum and, through your good offices, with a selected group of experts, scholars, institutions, innovators, and, where appropriate, technology enterprises in your network to explore practical areas of cooperation relevant to the city’s development priorities.
Areas of mutual interest may include trustworthy AI governance for public services, information integrity and AI-generated deepfake response, data governance, healthcare, education, and AI capacity development.
We would be pleased to host a working exchange, virtually or in Hanoi at a mutually convenient time, in order to identify suitable forms of cooperation and a practical roadmap for further discussion.
We look forward to strengthening dialogue and cooperation with the Boston Global Forum for the benefit of human-centered, trustworthy, and responsible innovation.
We extend our regards and best wishes.
Respectfully,
Trần Đức Thắng
Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Hanoi Municipal Party Committee
