University St. Paul the Apostle

In my opinion, the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance would be successful if it creates a space where different countries and stakeholders genuinely listen to each other and work toward practical cooperation. AI governance should not be shaped only by major technological powers and large companies, but also include the perspectives of developing countries, academia, civil society, and smaller states. The Dialogue should help build shared principles for trustworthy, transparent, and human-centered AI, while also encouraging collaboration against challenges such as disinformation, algorithmic bias, cybersecurity risks, and misuse of AI technologies. Just as importantly, it should promote AI literacy, capacity-building, and long-term international collaboration that leads to practical and inclusive solutions.

• Safe, secure and trustworthy AI
• Social, economic, ethical, cultural, linguistic and technical implications of AI
• Open-source software, open data and open AI models
• AI capacity-building

I selected these priorities because I believe AI governance should balance safety, inclusion, innovation, and long-term societal impact. Safe, secure, and trustworthy AI is essential for building public trust and reducing risks related to misuse, disinformation, and cybersecurity threats. AI capacity-building is particularly important for developing countries and smaller states, which need greater access to knowledge, skills, and institutional support to participate meaningfully in global AI governance. I also believe that the social, ethical, cultural, and technical implications of AI should remain central to international discussions, as AI increasingly influences education, public services, democracy, and everyday life. Finally, open-source software, open data, and open AI models can promote transparency, collaboration, research, and more equitable access to AI technologies worldwide.

Yes. One important emerging issue is the growing AI divide between technologically advanced countries and developing regions with limited resources and capacity. Another key challenge is the impact of generative AI on public trust, democracy, education, and information integrity through deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation. Greater attention should also be given to AI literacy, public awareness, and the environmental impact of large-scale AI systems.

In the Western Balkans, the main challenges related to AI governance include limited institutional capacity, insufficient AI literacy, uneven digital development, and growing risks from disinformation and misuse of generative AI technologies. Smaller states in the region often lack the resources and expertise needed for effective AI governance. At the same time, AI creates important opportunities for digital transformation, innovation, education, and regional cooperation. Strengthening AI literacy, capacity-building, and international collaboration will be essential for ensuring responsible and inclusive AI development in the region.

The AI Dialogue can help strengthen international cooperation by creating an inclusive platform for governments, academia, civil society, and industry to exchange experiences and address common AI governance challenges. It can support collaboration on trustworthy AI, disinformation, cybersecurity, transparency, and capacity-building, while also promoting more inclusive participation of developing countries and smaller states in global AI governance discussions.

The AI Dialogue should build upon existing initiatives such as the UN Global Digital Compact, UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, OECD AI Principles, and regional AI governance frameworks. Its added value would be creating a more inclusive global platform that connects governments, academia, civil society, industry, and smaller states, while improving coordination, knowledge-sharing, and international cooperation on AI governance.

Different stakeholders can contribute to the AI Dialogue by sharing expertise, research, policy experiences, and best practices related to AI governance. The Dialogue should combine high-level discussions with practical multistakeholder workshops, thematic working groups, and opportunities for online participation to ensure inclusive global engagement.

Developing countries, smaller states, underrepresented regions, civil society, educators, youth, and academic communities are often underrepresented in global AI governance discussions. These voices could be better included through regional consultations, online participation, capacity-building initiatives, and more inclusive multistakeholder engagement processes.

The AI Dialogue could benefit from interactive multistakeholder workshops, regional roundtables, thematic working groups, and hybrid online participation formats that allow broader global engagement. Scenario-based discussions, case studies, youth forums, and collaborative policy labs could also help make discussions more practical, inclusive, and solution-oriented. These formats would encourage more dynamic exchanges between governments, academia, civil society, industry, and underrepresented regions.

One important example is the European Union AI Act, which introduces a risk-based approach to AI governance focused on transparency, accountability, human oversight, and protection of fundamental rights. It provides a practical framework for addressing risks related to high-risk AI systems while supporting responsible innovation. The EU AI Act can serve as a useful reference for developing more coordinated and trustworthy international AI governance approaches.