Not UN’s role to regulate AI, says Guterres as world body plans annual global dialogue
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out that an annual global dialogue on artificial intelligence is planned in the international organization with the participation of all countries, governments, private sector and civil society, and emphasized that it is not the duty of the UN to regulate artificial intelligence.
Guterres will arrive in New Delhi soon to attend the India AI Impact Summit, the first summit on AI held in the Global South.
In an exclusive interview with PTI ahead of his visit to India for the summit, Guterres outlined the international organisation’s efforts aimed at global cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emphasized that these were “fully aligned” with the strategy demonstrated by India’s leadership at the AI summit.
Guterres underlined three main areas within the scope of the Global Digital Principles Agreement launched at the UN to contribute to the global artificial intelligence architecture.
The first is the creation of a new high-level Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, consisting of 40 experts from around the world.
Last week, the UN General Assembly appointed 40 members recommended by Guterres to the independent panel.
Balaraman Ravindran, Head of the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI), IIT Madras, is among the global group of 40 eminent experts recommended by Guterres to serve on the panel for a period of three years from the date of appointment.
Guterres said through the panel, “We will have a completely independent and universal scientific body that will be able to tell the world at any time where we are in relation to artificial intelligence? What are the advances that have been made? What are the discoveries that have been identified? What are the risks of (various) mechanisms or tools, and will be able to do this in a completely independent way.”
He called it a “great source of information” for governments to make the right decisions on AI-related policies and measures, and said, “In democratic countries like India, it is very important for the general public to know the public opinion.”
Guterres also pointed out that an annual global dialogue on artificial intelligence is planned at the UN with the participation of all countries, governments, the private sector and civil society.
Emphasizing that it is not the UN’s duty to regulate artificial intelligence, Guterres said the global dialogue would be “a platform where everyone can come and everyone can discuss, where we can learn from each other and eventually reach possible consensus on the best way to maximize the opportunities of AI and minimize its risks.”
Finally, he expressed hope that the funding proposal would be approved.
“There was an agreement in the General Assembly to support developing countries to build capacity to benefit from artificial intelligence. So these are three very important contributions of the UN and I believe these contributions are perfectly aligned with the strategy that India has shown in leadership in the preparation of the current Summit,” he said.
The UN chief has proposed a voluntary global fund of up to three billion dollars to support countries in AI capacity building.
The Global Digital Principles Agreement, adopted at the 2024 Future Summit, set out a common vision for an open, secure and inclusive digital future.
The UN said its commitments include the establishment of an Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence to advance scientific understanding and ensure international discussions are supported by the best available evidence.
Guterres is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Summit, a plenary session of heads of state and government, as well as a session on the role of science in international artificial intelligence governance, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, told reporters.
The Secretary-General will hold bilateral talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also meet members of the International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, among other global and technology leaders attending the Summit.
While in India, Guterres is also scheduled to attend a roundtable organized by the UN to discuss renewable energy and the energy transition.
“With India emerging as a global leader in renewable energy expansion, the discussion will bring together senior figures from industry, finance, policy and civil society to identify concrete steps to further accelerate renewable energy deployment, strengthen grids and storage, and mobilize investment at scale.
“This engagement is part of the Secretary-General’s ongoing efforts to advance a faster, fairer and more inclusive global energy transition consistent with the Paris Agreement,” Dujarric said.
More than 30 events organized by the UN system are planned during the five-day summit and will include sessions on AI for resilient agriculture, health systems innovation, ethical AI governance, women’s leadership in technology, digital capacity building in the Global South and responsible business practices, United Nations India said in a statement.
The UN statement in India stated that discussions will focus on “how artificial intelligence can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals while protecting human rights and addressing emerging risks.”
Guterres will be joined by senior UN leaders at the summit, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk; Amandeep Singh Gill, Under-Secretary-General and UN Secretary-General’s Technology Envoy, and Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Also among the participants were International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva; Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labor Organization, and Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union.
It was published – 18 February 2026 11:28 IST
