UN: Global Dialogue On AI Governance
Echoing our previous input to UNGA80 and Global Digital Compact sessions and consultations, we contributed to the UN Global Dialogue On AI Governance. The first session of the Global Dialogue will be held on 6 and 7 July 2026 in Geneva. A second session will follow in New York in May 2027.
Related
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Dialogue On AI Governance
The Global Dialogue on AI Governance was established by the UN General Assembly through Resolution A/RES/79/325, fulfilling a commitment set out in the Global Digital Compact (A/RES/79/1), adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Future. Conceived as the first platform under a General Assembly mandate where Member States and all relevant stakeholders convene on AI governance, the Dialogue is facilitated by co-chairs Egriselda López, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN, and Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, and supported by a joint secretariat comprising the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UNESCO, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET) and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG).
The inaugural session convened on 6-7 July 2026 at the Palexpo convention centre in Geneva, held back-to-back with the WSIS Forum 2026 and ITU's AI for Good Global Summit as part of a broader Digital Week. It followed six months of structured global consultations, launched in January 2026 across thematic, regional, and virtual formats, which drew more than 1,500 written submissions from governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and the technical community across all regional groups. Notably, governments were the only stakeholder group to rank capacity-building as their top priority, while most other groups placed safety first; more than 500 submissions called for the consultation process to continue beyond July. A second session is scheduled to follow in New York in May 2027.
The Geneva session took place one week after the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence released its preliminary report, providing governments with a shared evidence base on AI trends and the adequacy of current safeguards. The Panel, co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa, comprises 40 independent members selected from more than 2,600 candidates through an open call and review process. Alongside the Panel's report, the Dialogue's own outcomes centred on four thematic clusters agreed through the consultation process: the social, economic, ethical, cultural, and linguistic implications of AI; bridging AI divides through capacity-building and access; safe, secure, and trustworthy AI and interoperability of governance approaches; and human rights, transparency, accountability, and human oversight.
References
¹ United Nations General Assembly. "Resolution A/RES/79/325: Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance." 2025.
² United Nations General Assembly. "Global Digital Compact, Resolution A/RES/79/1." Adopted at the Summit of the Future. September 2024.
³ ITU, UNESCO, ODET, EOSG. "UN Global Dialogue Opens with Urgent Call for Safe and Inclusive AI that Benefits All." Press Release. Geneva. 6 July 2026.
⁴ International Telecommunication Union. "Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Geneva, 6–7 July." Media Advisory. Geneva. 2 June 2026.
⁵ Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. "Preliminary Report." 2026.