UN secretary‑general says AI governance must be science‑led after India summit
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Summary
At a New Delhi AI summit, the secretary‑general argued AI innovation is outpacing governance and urged shared, science‑based international frameworks; the UN plans an architecture to give all countries a seat at the table, the spokesperson said.
The United Nations secretary‑general, speaking from New Delhi, told participants at the AI Impact Summit that "AI innovation is moving at the speed of light, outpacing our collective ability to fully understand it, let alone govern it." He said policy "cannot be built on guesswork" and urged that "we need the facts, we need trust, and we need to share that trust" across countries and sectors.
At the summit, the secretary‑general also emphasized inclusion for countries that may not yet have advanced technology and described steps the UN is taking to "put science at the center of international cooperation on AI," according to the UN spokesperson. The spokesperson said the secretary‑general is not calling for the United Nations to "rule over AI," but rather for a practical architecture, created with member states, to ensure that "everybody gets a seat at the table."
The spokesperson said the secretary‑general held bilateral meetings with India’s president (named in the transcript as "Dhruvadi Murmu") and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and engaged with tech leaders including members of the newly formed Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. The UN also convened a round table on renewable energy and energy transition to identify steps to accelerate deployment, strengthen grids and storage, and mobilize investment.
During a later question, a journalist said the United States "opposes any global rules on regulating artificial intelligence" at the India summit. The spokesperson responded that the secretary‑general’s remarks encompass that reaction and reiterated the UN’s emphasis on science, fairness and broad participation in governance.
The secretary‑general will travel to Geneva over the weekend to address the opening of the Human Rights Council’s 60th session and to speak at the high‑level segment of the 2026 Conference on Disarmament. He is also scheduled to attend an event hosted by the vice‑president of the Swiss Confederation and return to New York on Monday evening.