UN Establishes Global AI Scientific Panel
The United Nations has created the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, comprising dozens of global researchers. The panel is tasked with analyzing AI's societal and scientific impacts to provide evidence-based guidance to governments. Its mandate has been compared to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The panel's 40 members were selected from a pool of over 2,600 candidates and will serve a three-year term from February 2026 to February 2029. They are a geographically diverse and gender-balanced group of experts from academia, the private sector, civil society, and government. Notable members include Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa. This new body will function as a global early-warning system for AI, tasked with producing annual, evidence-based reports on the opportunities and risks of the technology in the non-military domain. Its first technical report is expected to be delivered at a rapid pace, potentially as early as July 2026. The panel's work is designed to bridge the knowledge gap on AI's real-world economic and social impacts for all UN member states. The creation of the panel was approved by the UN General Assembly with a vote of 117 in favor to two against, with two abstentions. The United States and Paraguay voted against the measure, with a U.S. representative calling the panel an "overreach of the U.N.'s mandate and competence" and expressing concerns that it could be influenced by authoritarian regimes. Ukraine abstained from the vote, objecting to the inclusion of a Russian expert in AI regulation, Andrei Neznamov, on the panel. Tunisia also abstained. Despite the opposition, supporters argue the panel is crucial for ensuring developing countries have a voice in shaping global AI governance. The panel's structure is modeled after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), serving as a scientific body to establish a shared, factual basis for international policy discussions. Its assessments will feed into the new Global Dialogue on AI Governance, a platform for member states and stakeholders to discuss cooperation and best practices. The initiative is rooted in the UN's "Pact for the Future" and the Global Digital Compact, which call for cooperative approaches to governing emerging technologies. The panel's mandate explicitly avoids military applications of AI, focusing instead on its societal and economic implications to help implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
