United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 and comprising 193 member states. Its Charter provides the institutional foundation for cooperation on international problems. Its AI-governance work includes expert reports, scientific assessment and international dialogue, with an emphasis on understanding risks and widening participation in decisions about AI.

Intergovernmental organization · International AI governance · Safety and human rights

Institutional role

The UN itself and the wider UN system are not interchangeable: the system includes programs, funds and specialized agencies with their own leadership, budgets and responsibilities. This profile covers central UN AI initiatives alongside selected work of UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), identifying the responsible institution for each contribution.

The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance have different functions. The panel supplies scientific analysis; the dialogue provides a forum for governments and other participants. Neither is an AI regulator or enforcement body, and the panel does not prescribe policies.

Governing AI for Humanity: 2023–2024 reports

The Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on AI published an interim report in December 2023 and its final report, Governing AI for Humanity, in September 2024. The final report offered seven recommendations to address gaps in international AI governance. It advocated cooperation grounded in human rights and development, with institutions designed to complement existing initiatives and adapt as AI changes.

Its preparation included expert discussions, regional consultations and written submissions. The advisory body also commissioned an AI Risk Global Pulse Check and an AI Opportunity Scan to gather assessments of emerging developments. These activities placed risk identification alongside consideration of who can participate in AI governance and share its benefits. The temporary advisory body proposed a scientific panel and a global dialogue; its policy advice should be distinguished from the standing scientific mechanism subsequently established by the General Assembly.

Scientific assessment and global dialogue

Building on the 2024 Global Digital Compact, the General Assembly established the panel and dialogue through resolution A/RES/79/325 on August 26, 2025. Forty panel members were appointed in February 2026. Its remit covers AI opportunities, risks and impacts in the non-military domain. It produces annual assessments and may issue thematic briefs.

The panel released its Preliminary Report: Evidence-based assessment of opportunities, risks and impacts of AI on July 1, 2026. The first annual Global Dialogue took place in Geneva on July 6–7, informed by that assessment. The report's official summary warns that safeguards are failing to keep up with expanding capabilities. It also identifies a timing problem for policymakers: waiting for conclusive evidence can delay intervention until opportunities to prevent harm have narrowed.

The assessment's seven domains span technical advances, societal applications, economic effects, security and environmental consequences, human rights and democracy, individual autonomy and child safety, and governance and reliability. This scope treats AI safety as both a technical and societal concern. The panel describes the report as an initial assessment in an ongoing process; its next annual report is intended to inform the May 2027 dialogue in New York.

UNESCO: ethics and prevention of harm

UNESCO's member states adopted its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in November 2021. It places human rights and dignity at the center of AI governance and connects safety with proportionality, privacy, fairness and human oversight.

Its safety principle addresses both unintended harm and vulnerability to attack. Its accountability provisions call for traceability, auditability, impact assessment and oversight, while retaining ultimate human responsibility. These are recommended governance practices; citing the framework does not establish that a particular system is safe or legally compliant.

ITU: standards and practical safety work

ITU's AI Standards for Global Impact: From Governance to Action (2025) records work from the AI for Good Global Summit and its International AI Standards Exchange, organized with ISO and IEC. Topics include trustworthy AI testing, cybersecurity and multimedia authenticity.

The report documents a standards database and collaboration on detecting deepfakes and verifying media provenance. It describes standards as voluntary tools that can support testing, risk management and regulatory compliance. Workshop findings are not themselves binding rules; the publication also cautions that its findings do not necessarily represent ITU or its membership.

Secretary-General's safety advocacy

On September 16, 2026, Secretary-General António Guterres called for national safeguards combined with international coordination. He warned that isolated voluntary pauses would be insufficient and urged protections supporting safety, transparency and accountability. These were policy recommendations, not an adopted international agreement.

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• September 16, 2026: Guterres calls for coordinated international AI safeguards