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ITU Launches Global Initiative to Standardize Trusted Identity and Behavior for Autonomous AI Agents

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched a new global initiative to establish trust frameworks for agentic AI, ensuring autonomous systems remain accountable and controllable. This Focus Group will develop international standards for digital identity and behavior to safeguard interactions between humans and AI agents across critical sectors.

RMN Digital Policy Desk
New Delhi | July 9, 2026

ITU Establishes Global Framework for Trusted Agentic AI Identity

GENEVA — The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency specialized for digital technologies, has announced the formation of a high-level Focus Group dedicated to establishing global standards for “agentic AI”. Announced at the AI for Good Global Summit, the ITU Focus Group on Trust and Identity for Humans and Agentic AI arrives as artificial intelligence shifts from simple assistive tools to autonomous agents capable of acting on behalf of individuals and organizations.

Addressing the Risks of Autonomy

While the rise of agentic AI promises significant productivity gains, it introduces unprecedented risks. These include the potential for autonomous agents to impersonate people or execute unauthorized actions across interconnected digital systems. The Focus Group is tasked with creating frameworks that preserve “meaningful human control” over AI, particularly for high-stakes tasks like financial transactions and the operation of critical infrastructure.

“The future of AI depends on trust.” – Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General.

“The future of AI depends on trust,” stated ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. She emphasized the necessity of cross-industry and governmental collaboration to ensure maximum confidence as these systems gain independence.

A Foundation for Digital Identity

A core component of the initiative is the intersection of identity and trustworthiness. As AI agents begin to negotiate and transact independently, they must be able to identify and authenticate one another. Identity systems will establish who is acting, while trust frameworks will determine if that actor is reliable, providing the essential foundation for safe human-AI interaction.

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Debora Comparin, Co-Chair of the Focus Group, noted that AI agents will soon 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,” she explained.

ITU’s new standards ensure AI agents are identified, authenticated, and held accountable on a global scale.

Strategic Roadmap and Global Collaboration

The group is open to technical, legal, and policy experts worldwide. Its primary objectives include developing:

Common terminology and reference architectures for AI identity and discovery.
Lifecycle assurance models and trust frameworks.
Security criteria and benchmarks for continuous assessment of AI behavior.
A standardization roadmap to coordinate efforts across the global expert community.

The Focus Group will report to ITU-T Study Group 17, the expert body responsible for security standards. Arnaud Taddei, Chair of Study Group 17, remarked that the ITU is moving “strategically and swiftly” to ensure the right foundations are in place.

The inaugural meeting of the Focus Group is scheduled for November 2026 in Paris, followed by a second session in Geneva in January 2027. This initiative joins other active ITU Focus Groups currently addressing AI applications in smart cities, health, and disaster risk reduction.