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A successful first Global Dialogue on AI Governance should establish an inclusive and action-oriented global framework that ensures AI technologies are developed and deployed responsibly, ethically, and equitably. The dialogue should prioritize meaningful participation from developing countries, women, youth, academia, civil society, and technical communities to avoid widening existing digital and economic inequalities.The dialogue should also support capacity-building initiatives for low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa, to strengthen AI research, digital literacy, infrastructure, and policy development.

• Safe, secure and trustworthy AI
• AI capacity-building
• Transparency, accountability, and human oversight
• Open-source software, open data and open AI models

These priorities are essential to ensuring that AI technologies benefit society while minimizing risks and unintended harms. Safe, secure, and trustworthy AI is critical because AI systems increasingly influence education, healthcare, cybersecurity, governance, and public information. Without proper safeguards, AI can amplify misinformation, bias, cyber threats, and harmful online behaviors. AI capacity-building is especially important for developing countries and underserved communities. Many regions, particularly in Africa, face significant gaps in digital infrastructure, AI expertise, research opportunities, and policy readiness. Strengthening local capacity will enable more equitable participation in the global AI ecosystem. Protection and promotion of human rights must remain central to AI governance. AI systems should respect privacy, dignity, inclusion, freedom of expression, and the rights of children and vulnerable populations. Human-centered governance is necessary to prevent discrimination, exclusion, and harmful surveillance practices. Transparency, accountability, and human oversight are also crucial because AI systems should remain understandable, explainable, and subject to human responsibility. Clear accountability mechanisms can help build public trust and ensure that AI technologies are used ethically and responsibly across sectors.

Yes. One important emerging issue is the protection of children and young people in AI-driven digital environments. AI-powered platforms increasingly shape children's online experiences through recommendation systems, generative AI tools, social media algorithms, and automated interactions. This raises concerns related to cyberbullying, online exploitation, misinformation, addictive design patterns, and exposure to harmful content. Greater attention is needed to child-centered AI governance and age-appropriate digital protections.Another cross-cutting issue is the growing gender and digital inclusion gap in AI development and governance. Women and marginalized communities remain underrepresented in AI research, policymaking, and technical leadership, which can contribute to biased systems and unequal access to opportunities. The environmental impact of AI systems should also receive more attention, particularly the energy consumption and sustainability implications of large-scale AI infrastructure. Finally, there is a need to address AI governance preparedness in low-resource settings, including support for local languages, culturally relevant datasets, and inclusive participation from the Global South to ensure that global AI governance reflects diverse realities and perspectives.

Governance gaps in AI are significantly affecting developing countries, particularly in Africa, where AI adoption is growing faster than policy, infrastructure, and public awareness. One major challenge is the limited availability of comprehensive AI governance frameworks that address safety, transparency, accountability, cybersecurity, and ethical use of AI technologies. This creates risks related to misinformation, algorithmic bias, data privacy violations, cyber threats, and the misuse of generative AI tools. In the education and children's online safety sector, AI-driven platforms are increasingly exposing young people to harmful content, cyberbullying, manipulation, and online exploitation without sufficient protective mechanisms or digital literacy support. Many parents, educators, and institutions also lack the capacity to understand and manage AI-related risks effectively. Another challenge is the unequal access to AI infrastructure, funding, research opportunities, and technical expertise across regions. Developing countries risk becoming consumers rather than contributors to AI innovation, which may deepen existing social, economic, and digital inequalities. Limited representation of African languages, cultures, and local contexts in AI systems can also lead to exclusion and biased outcomes. Despite these challenges, AI presents significant opportunities for Africa and other developing regions. AI can improve education, healthcare, agriculture, cybersecurity, accessibility, and public service delivery. It also offers opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth, especially for young people and women in technology. Strengthening AI capacity-building, inclusive governance, digital literacy, and international collaboration will help ensure that AI development benefits all communities fairly and responsibly while protecting human rights and vulnerable populations.

The AI Dialogue can serve as an inclusive global platform for strengthening cooperation, trust, and shared responsibility in the governance of artificial intelligence. Its most important role is to bring together governments, academia, civil society, the private sector, technical communities, and international organizations to develop common understanding and coordinated approaches to AI governance challenges. The Dialogue can help bridge the gap between developed and developing countries by promoting equitable participation, knowledge-sharing, and capacity-building. Many countries in the Global South still face challenges related to digital infrastructure, AI expertise, policy readiness, and research funding. Through international cooperation, the AI Dialogue can support more inclusive access to AI education, innovation, governance frameworks, and technical resources. The platform can also encourage the development of interoperable governance principles that promote safe, secure, transparent, and human-centered AI systems while respecting cultural diversity and national contexts. In addition, the Dialogue can facilitate collaboration on emerging risks such as misinformation, cyber threats, algorithmic bias, online exploitation, and the impact of AI on children and vulnerable populations. Another important role is enabling continuous multi-stakeholder engagement and ensuring that discussions lead to practical recommendations, implementation support, and measurable outcomes. By connecting diverse voices and experiences, the AI Dialogue can strengthen global solidarity and help ensure that AI technologies contribute positively to sustainable development, human rights, inclusion, and global peace.

The AI Dialogue should build upon existing global and regional initiatives focused on responsible AI, digital governance, cybersecurity, and human rights. These include the United Nations Global Digital Compact process, UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the ITU AI for Good initiative, the OECD AI Principles, and regional efforts by the African Union and other multilateral organizations working on digital transformation and AI policy. The Dialogue should also connect with initiatives focused on children's online safety, digital inclusion, cybersecurity awareness, and capacity-building for women and youth in technology. Collaboration with academic institutions, civil society organizations, and technical communities can strengthen evidence-based policymaking and ensure broader participation from underrepresented regions and groups. The added value of the AI Dialogue lies in its ability to provide a truly global, inclusive, and multistakeholder platform under the United Nations system. It can help reduce fragmentation across existing initiatives by promoting coordination, shared learning, and interoperability between governance approaches. The Dialogue can also amplify the voices of developing countries, particularly from Africa and other underserved regions, which are often underrepresented in global AI policy discussions. Additionally, the AI Dialogue can encourage practical cooperation through capacity-building partnerships, policy support, knowledge exchange, and collaborative research that addresses local and global AI challenges in an equitable and sustainable manner.

Governments, academia, civil society, youth, technical experts, and the private sector should contribute through inclusive consultations, policy discussions, technical workshops, and collaborative research. The AI Dialogue should combine plenary sessions, regional forums, hybrid participation, and interactive breakout groups to ensure diverse perspectives, practical recommendations, and meaningful global engagement.

Developing countries, women, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous communities, and grassroots organizations remain underrepresented in AI governance discussions. Their inclusion can be strengthened through funding support, multilingual participation, regional consultations, hybrid engagement formats, and partnerships with local institutions, ensuring that AI policies reflect diverse cultural, social, and developmental perspectives globally.

Continuous engagement mechanisms such as online working groups, mentorship networks, and year-round stakeholder consultations should be established to sustain collaboration beyond annual meetings. These platforms can support knowledge-sharing, monitor progress, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that recommendations from the AI Dialogue translate into practical actions, inclusive policies, and measurable long-term impact.

Examples of effective AI governance include UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI and the OECD AI Principles, which promote transparency, accountability, human rights, and trustworthy AI. Platforms like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and AI for Good encourage multistakeholder collaboration. Capacity-building, digital literacy, ethical impact assessments, privacy protection, and children's online safety initiatives are also important approaches for addressing AI governance challenges while promoting inclusive and responsible AI development.