Prof. James Ong

Dr. James Ong brings four decades of experience across industry, venture building, and academia. He is the Founder of the Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII), co-author of AI for Humanity, and a leading global advocate of “AI for Humanity” as the proposed UN Sustainable Development Goal #18. He actively collaborates with United Nations entities including UNU, UNESCO, UN DESA, and UNIDO, and currently serves as a Founding Member of the UN Singapore Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and a UNESCO G20 2025 Expert Network Member.

Dr. Ong is the CEO of Origami Frontiers, a venture-building platform dedicated to nurturing AI-for-Humanity startups, and a Venture Partner at Delight Capital, where he champions impact investing aligned with long-term societal and environmental value. He is deeply engaged in the AI for Sustainability ecosystem, working with financial regulators and institutions to advance Sustainable AI and AI-enabled sustainability financing for climate-tech and impact-driven startups, including blended-finance models grounded in a Humanity-First impact investing approach.

In academia and policy, he serves as Adjunct Professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Chair of the Programme Advisory Committee at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) School of Business, Head of AI and Industry Fellow at the Global Fintech Institute (GFI), Senior Fellow at The Conference Board (TCB), Fellow of the Academy of Engineering and Technology of the Developing World (AETDEW), and a Member of the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee (SRAC) at Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC). He holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in AI for Governance.

Internationally, Dr. Ong serves as International Strategic Advisor to the World AI Conference (WAIC), advocating “AI for Good and for All.” He founded the AI for Humanity Forum and co-founded AICON 2025, the world’s leading consumer AI show promoting “AI for Everyone” through AI literacy and fluency for the public good. A sought-after global thought leader, he is a frequent speaker at major international platforms including Davos, SXSW, Economist Impact Summits, Fortune 500 Summits, Singapore FinTech Festival, Black Swan Summit, Dubai Doers Summit, and the Oman AI Summit.