What stakeholders said ahead of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance
Following the first UN process to bring every member state together on artificial intelligence: what it is, when it meets, and what the stakeholder submissions made ahead of the first session said.
What's been said
The submissions to the Dialogue, summarised: the risks they raise and the measures they propose, with confidence intervals and verbatim evidence for the main claims.
Timeline & structure
From the Global Digital Compact to Geneva, and how the Dialogue's two bodies relate.
Latest news
Selected coverage of the Global Dialogue from across the web.
Explore the submissions
Search and filter the submissions by stakeholder, region and tag, and read each one's risks, measures and answers.
FAQ
Short answers to common questions.
Next milestone: The first Global Dialogue session takes place 6–7 July 2026 in Geneva.
Official programmeHow does the Global Dialogue work?
The Global Dialogue works in tandem with a separate scientific body created by Resolution 79/325.
The Global Dialogue deliberates
The standing UN forum where every member state, alongside industry, academia and civil society, compares approaches and works toward common ground on AI governance. Its first session is in Geneva.
Co-chaired by Egriselda López from El Salvador and Rein Tammsaar from Estonia.
Learn more about the Global DialogueThe Scientific Panel informs
Forty independent experts, balanced across gender and geography, who publish evidence-based assessments of AI's opportunities, risks and impacts. It advises the Dialogue, but does not negotiate.
Co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa.
Learn more about the Scientific PanelThe making of the Global Dialogue
The Global Dialogue grew out of a multi-year UN process, from the 2024 Global Digital Compact and Resolution 79/325 to the first session in Geneva and the annual cadence that follows.
- May 2027
Second session
A second session is expected in New York, beginning an annual cadence.
Source - 6–7 July 2026 Upcoming
First Global Dialogue session
The inaugural substantive session convenes in Geneva, with thematic discussions drawn from the resolution's priority areas.
Source - 1 July 2026
A message from the Panel's co-chairs
Alongside the report, Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa warn that the competitive race is leading the world to grossly underestimate AI's risks, and urge states to act together while the window remains open.
Source - 1 July 2026
The Scientific Panel releases its Preliminary Report
The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI publishes its first Preliminary Report: an independent assessment of AI's capabilities, opportunities and risks across seven domains, intended to inform the Dialogue.
Source - March 2026
Call for written submissions
Governments, civil society, the private sector, academia and others send more than 1,500 written inputs ahead of the first session. (We analyse these on the “What's been said” page.)
Source - 26 Aug 2025
Resolution 79/325 sets up the machinery
The General Assembly establishes two complementary bodies: the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.
Source - Sept 2024
“Governing AI for Humanity” report
The Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Body on AI publishes its final report, whose recommendations shape what follows.
Source - 22 Sept 2024
The Global Digital Compact is adopted
At the Summit of the Future in New York, UN member states adopt the Global Digital Compact, committing to establish an international scientific panel on AI and a global AI policy dialogue.
Source
Latest news
All newsUN scientific panel readies its first report for Geneva
Ahead of the 6–7 July session, The National reports on the 40-member Independent International Scientific Panel, co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa, finalising the preliminary findings it will present to governments, as concerns mount over jobs, energy use and the pace of AI.
The NationalAnalysis: a day at the UN, and what AI means for humanity
Panel co-chair Maria Ressa recounts the first briefing of UN member states on the scientific panel's forthcoming report (four negotiating groups and 31 states took the floor) and argues that the body's independence from any company or country is what will let governments trust the findings it hands to the July Dialogue in Geneva.
RapplerUN sets out the four themes for the inaugural Dialogue
The UN's official preview confirms the 6–7 July Geneva programme, built around four themes (AI's opportunities and impacts, bridging AI divides, trustworthy AI systems and human rights), with the Independent Scientific Panel presenting its preliminary report on the opening day.
United NationsFrequently asked questions
Common questions about the Global Dialogue.
- What is the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance?
- The UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance is a United Nations forum where governments and other stakeholders discuss how AI should be governed. The forum is designed so that every UN member state, not only the largest economies, has a voice, and convenes periodically. The first substantive session is in Geneva.
- How is the Global Dialogue different from the Independent Scientific Panel on AI?
- The Global Dialogue and the Independent Scientific Panel are two bodies created by the same 2025 UN resolution. The Panel is 40 experts who produce evidence-based assessments of AI's risks and opportunities; the Global Dialogue is the forum where states and stakeholders discuss governance. In short, the Panel informs and the Dialogue deliberates.
- Where did the Global Dialogue come from?
- The Global Dialogue traces back to the Global Digital Compact, adopted at the UN's 2024 Summit of the Future, which called for a global AI policy dialogue and a scientific panel. UN General Assembly Resolution 79/325 (2025) then formally established both bodies.
- Is anything the Global Dialogue agrees on binding?
- No. The Global Dialogue is a forum for exchange and consensus-building, not a treaty body. The Dialogue's influence is expected to come through shared principles, best-practice exchange and the interoperability of national and regional rules, a point critics raise when questioning how much the Dialogue can achieve.
- Who can take part in the Global Dialogue, and how?
- All UN member states can take part, alongside the private sector, civil society, academia and technical communities. Ahead of the first session, the UN ran an open call for written submissions; participation in sessions is handled through the official UN programme and registration.
What 1,500+ stakeholders told the UN
We read the written submissions to the Global Dialogue and distilled the risks they raise and the measures they propose, with verbatim quotes wherever possible. Explore the patterns across governments, industry, academia and civil society.
Governments, industry, academia and civil society.
How priorities differ around the world.
The concerns submitters return to most.
The governance responses they call for.
Follow the Global Dialogue
Occasional, no-spam updates as it unfolds: new analysis, session outcomes and the documents that matter.