Governments, tech companies, academics and civil society will spend two days at the Global Dialogue on AI Governance discussing how to regulate a technology that is evolving faster than the rules designed to contain it.
If used responsibly, AI could bring transformative benefits to people around the world, but there are also fears that the revolutionary technology brings new dangers. And as it continues to evolve rapidly, the protections needed to regulate it are struggling to keep pace.
Maria Ressa, Joshua Bengio and Egriselda Lopez. (from left to right)
Before the meeting UN News spoke to four of the participants; Two co-chairs of the Dialogue and two co-chairs of the United Nations independent international scientific panel on artificial intelligence, which has just published a report on the opportunities and risks of AI.
They spoke about the benefits but also the risks associated with AI and the need to agree on some form of widely accepted global guardrails.
Yoshua Bengio (Scientific Panel): AI is approaching or even exceeding human capabilities in many areas. It surpasses both scientific understanding and the ability of governments to adapt. There have been incredible advances changing the world, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.
Estonian Ambassador Rein Tammsaar speaks to the Security Council. (File)
Ambassador Rein Tammsaar of Estonia (Global Dialogue): For many countries around the world, AI could be a great equalizer. It can support economic development, increase competitiveness, and support science and health systems. Machine learning in general could increase productivity. That is the potential.
Ambassador Egriselda López of El Salavador (Global Dialogue): AI can be a tool for governments to better improve their work and service delivery.
Purely Tammsaar: AI is a tool that can benefit millions of people around the world. But if they fall into the wrong hands, they could also be used for coercive purposes, to undermine trust in governments, to undermine democratic structures, as well as for propaganda purposes and against information integrity.
A sign is held up that renounces hatred.
Maria Ressa (Scientific Committee): The first generation of AI was used on social media and this made lies move faster. When it is coupled with fear, anger and hatred, it goes viral. Information integrity is at the core of the fight. If you cannot distinguish fact from fiction, there can be no democracy.
This is the dilemma we face, and that’s why I call it an “information Armageddon.”
Joshua Bengio: Given the mounting evidence of fraudulent AI behavior, science cannot currently guarantee that AI will do this as capabilities continue to increase not cause catastrophic damage either alone or through malicious users.
Purely Tammsaar: The Frontier developers are essentially focused on two countries [US and China]. This poses many questions for other countries.
Developing countries in particular fear that, in the worst case scenario, they could fall behind as a result of the AI gap. The development is so rapid that they may not be able to recover and catch up.
Egriselda Lopez: The AI divide is real. Some countries have very strong infrastructure as well as strong skills and research capacity. Others, however, are still struggling with issues such as connectivity and public infrastructure.
Two little boys work on a tablet in Tanzania.
Maria Ressa: The world cannot rule what it cannot understand. The panel’s report provides independent scientific evidence from all regions and is available to any government. The message is clear: the potential is great, but the risks are real and the costs of waiting are rising.
Joshua Bengio: I would like more governments around the world to understand the scenarios for the future development of AI. We don’t have the right national or even international governance tools and we don’t have good ways to manage the benefits so that they reach everyone. To act effectively, global policymakers must understand these systems
Egriselda Lopez: The Global Dialogue is the first platform in the United Nations to discuss AI governance. It is also an opportunity for Member States to come together to have an inclusive discussion. But it’s not just governments, it’s also about bringing different interest groups together.
Maria Ressa: No single country can actually handle this technology alone; It has to be a multilateral solution. And the body that could do this is the United Nations. The question now is: will the Member States move?
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The UN and the AI
The independent international scientific body on artificial intelligence consists of 40 experts from all regions of the world who work in a personal capacity. The panel released its first report on July 1.
The panel’s work will feed into the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which will take place in Geneva from July 6th to 7th, 2026, and where the international community will discuss international approaches to managing the technology.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1167862
