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Carme Artigas

James Manyika

Like the steam engine and electricity, artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative, foundational technology. If developed to its full potential, AI can create opportunities for people around the world, enable businesses small and large, power economic growth, advance science and help humanity make significant strides towards achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals.
But realising AI’s potential requires addressing the risks, complexities and inequities that limit access to its benefits. First, we must rethink our approaches to global cooperation and governance. Too many countries are left out of key policy discussions.
As we show in a new report, a sample of major non-UN international AI governance efforts found that only seven countries have participated in every one, while 118 countries – primarily in the Global South – have not been included. The international community can and must do better.
Over the past year, we have co-chaired the UN secretary general’s high-level advisory body on AI, a group of 39 individuals from government, civil society, the private sector and academia representing a wide range of regions, genders, age groups and disciplines.
We developed a set of principles and recommendations for international AI governance, aiming to ensure the technology serves the public interest by grounding it in human rights and international law. To engage diverse perspectives and voices, we involved more than 2,000 participants from every region, consulted more than 1,000 experts, reviewed 250 written submissions and held more than 100 virtual discussions.
We believe this moment presents a unique opportunity for the international community to lay the foundation to harness the potential of AI, address key governance shortcomings and capacity gaps in its development, deployment and use, and enable a more equitable AI ecosystem.


Our report offers seven concrete recommendations for fostering global cooperation, closing governance gaps and creating mechanisms to enable all countries to benefit from advances in the technology.
AI’s technical and social trajectory remains the subject of fierce debate, even among experts. This makes sense, given AI is in its early stages, with its capabilities, applications and uses evolving rapidly. But uncertainty should not lead to inaction. Instead, it underscores the need for guardrails that can evolve with the technology and our understanding of it.
Governance efforts must therefore be rooted in both technical expertise and global perspectives. With this in mind, our first recommendation is to establish a truly international scientific panel on AI.
This panel would work with global organisations and initiatives to collect, analyse and promote research, and publish an annual report on AI-related capabilities, opportunities, risks and uncertainties.
By highlighting areas of agreement and identifying topics that require further study, the report could enhance transparency and inform policy debates and decision-making. The panel could also conduct focused investigations into specific issues, such as how AI could be used to discover new materials or treat neglected diseases.


In addition to knowledge-sharing, many countries need better access to essential AI resources like computational power, inclusive and representative training data sets, skilled talent and a global data framework. We recommend establishing a global AI fund to support data sharing, build digital infrastructure, nurture local AI ecosystems and foster entrepreneurship.
We also propose creating an AI capacity-development network to expand global access to talent and expertise, and make progress towards the sustainable development goals. To ensure standardisation, regulatory alignment and coordinated approaches to ethics and safety, we recommend establishing an AI standards exchange and an inclusive policy forum.
These initiatives would build on the work of UN agencies and other international efforts, promoting interoperability and cross-border collaboration.


Effective coordination will be vital. We propose establishing a small, agile AI office reporting directly to the UN secretary general. This office would act as a central hub, connecting and integrating institutional initiatives. By linking efforts led by regional organisations and other stakeholders, it could reduce the costs of cooperation and streamline collective action.
Putting these institutional structures in place can pave the way for a more inclusive approach to AI governance. This is crucial to preventing the emergence of an “AI divide”, to expanding global access to education and healthcare, and to unlocking the full potential of emerging technologies.
While it is critical to guard against AI’s potential harms and misuses, it is just as important to seize the opportunities the technology creates to achieve the sustainable development goals, drive scientific breakthroughs and fuel economic growth.
Realising these benefits will require building trust, improving communication and expanding capacity across many sectors – areas where the UN is uniquely positioned to facilitate cooperation. We hope our report triggers an urgent global conversation about how AI can help create a more sustainable and inclusive future for all.


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Artificial intelligence (AI)

To unlock AI’s potential for good, we all need to work together

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening ceremony of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24, amid growing calls for more international cooperation to address issues such as AI. Photo: Xinhua

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Competition in artificial intelligence has become heated but there are no formal bans on collaboration between countries. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Can we curb our destructive behaviour before AI takes control?

Participants chat in front of an electronic image of a soldier at a summit titled Responsible AI in the Military Domain, in Seoul on September 10. Humans, not artificial intelligence, should make the key decisions on using nuclear weapons, it was agreed in a non-binding declaration. Photo: AFP

World chess champion Gary Kasparov looks at the board before his next move in the early part of the fifth game against the IBM Deep Blue computer in New York on May 10, 1997. Photo: AFP

For the best AI outcomes, good policy is key

An AI-powered robot makes coffee at the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2024 in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on August 28. Photo: Xinhua

Beyond tech, the US-China AI race is a tussle over ethics

Illustration: Stephen Case

A US Air Force mechanic checks the interior of a test aircraft after it performed several AI flights in the skies above Edwards Air Force Base, on May 2. Photo: AP

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UN report with principles and recommendations for international AI governance aims to ensure the technology serves the public interest


UN report with principles and recommendations for international AI governance aims to ensure the technology serves the public interest.


US-China tech war

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Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


To unlock AI’s potential for good, we all need to work together

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}UN report with principles and recommendations for international AI governance aims to ensure the technology serves the public interest

UN report with principles and recommendations for international AI governance aims to ensure the technology serves the public interest