UN Report Calls for Global AI Governance as Risks Grow

Geneva: An independent United Nations (UN) scientific committee has warned that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) presents significant opportunities for development, while also creating growing risks that require effective global governance, according to the first global scientific report on AI.

Prepared by 40 independent scientists and experts from around the world, the report will be presented to governments during the First UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, scheduled to take place in Geneva on 6–7 July 2026. A more comprehensive edition of the report is expected to be released next year.

The report stated that the pace of AI development has surpassed existing regulatory frameworks, highlighting the need for evidence-based policies and legislation.

It noted that while AI has the potential to deliver benefits across multiple sectors, its rapid and unregulated expansion could have implications for mental health, social systems, the environment and the control of highly autonomous systems.

Yoshua Bengio, Co-Chair of the committee, said that evidence of deceptive behaviour by AI systems is increasing, adding that the scientific community cannot currently rule out the possibility of serious harm resulting either from the systems themselves or their misuse.

According to the report, more than one billion people use conversational AI every week. However, adoption remains lower in developing countries, while AI development is highly concentrated, with the United States accounting for 75 percent of computing capacity among the world’s top 500 AI supercomputers and China accounting for 15 percent.

The report also noted that current AI models support only a fraction of the world’s 7,000 languages, increasing the risk of translation errors in critical sectors such as healthcare.

It further warned of growing risks related to human rights, environmental impacts, the misuse of deepfake technology to produce illegal or misleading content, and the erosion of information credibility, public trust and social cohesion.

The report concluded that most countries, including advanced economies, still lack the technical expertise needed to assess advanced AI models and participate effectively in the development of international AI governance frameworks.