The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has urged governments to move quickly on AI governance after the Independent Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI) released a preliminary assessment.
As AI continues to advance without shared rules, Guterres warns that governments and people will have less influence over its outcomes. He called on governments not to delay taking action.
The UN Secretary General made the call ahead of the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva on 6 and 7 July.
The Secretary-General said the assessment highlights AI's potential to accelerate progress in areas including health, education, food security, and climate action, while also warning of risks if the technology advances without internationally agreed governance.
He said the panel's work would continue as AI evolves and would help inform discussions at the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance, where member states will seek to translate scientific findings into coordinated international action.
Guterres also announced that he will soon present proposals to help countries strengthen their capacity to manage AI and benefit from its opportunities.
Before addressing AI, Guterres welcomed the General Assembly's decision to reform UN financial rules.
Under a new trial methodology, unspent funds will be returned to member states only when they are backed by cash, ending what he described as a long-standing contradiction that required the UN to return funds it had never received because of unpaid assessed contributions.
“It will allow us to manage resources more responsibly, protect the continuity of our operations and better support critical mandates, including peacekeeping. And I'm grateful to member states for taking this important action which will greatly benefit the incoming administration and contribute to the financial stability of the United Nations in the coming years. But today, we are here for a different reason. We are here to present an extremely important UN initiative on artificial intelligence that was decided by the General Assembly in the follow-up of the Fact for the Future, the Independent Scientific Panel on AI.”
The AI panel was established following the Summit of the Future to provide independent scientific advice on artificial intelligence.