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Secretary-General Statements and Messages Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the virtual first meeting of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI (artificial intelligence), held today: Welcome — and my warm congratulations on your appointment by the General Assembly — and on the responsibility that comes with it. You have my profound gratitude for accepting this task. I recen...
Secretary-General Statements and Messages Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the virtual first meeting of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI (artificial intelligence), held today: Welcome — and my warm congratulations on your appointment by the General Assembly — and on the responsibility that comes with it. You have my profound gratitude for accepting this task. I recently returned from the AI Impact Summit in India, where I had the opportunity to meet some of you. And in conversation after conversation — with leaders and innovators — I felt real excitement about the Panel. The world is looking to you for clarity. It is a huge responsibility. It is also an historic one. And I have no doubt that you are up to it. Individually, you come from diverse regions and disciplines, bringing outstanding expertise in AI and related fields. Collectively, you represent something the world has never seen before. A first-of-its-kind, one-of-a-kind, global, independent scientific body dedicated to helping shape the trajectory of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity — while there is still time. And that is the operative word: time. When I mentioned “artificial intelligence” in my first address to the opening of the General Assembly in 2017, only two other world leaders even uttered the term. Today, AI is advancing at lightning speed — reshaping economies and societies. And for those who think we are moving too fast, I would only say that never in the future will we move as slow as we are moving now. We are indeed in a high level of acceleration. No country, no company and no field of research can see the full picture alone because today AI is reshaping economies and societies. As an engineer, I share your conviction that science and facts matter. And as a longtime politician and diplomat, I have seen how quickly fear can take hold when facts are missing or distorted — how trust breaks down and division deepens. The world urgently needs a shared, global understanding of artificial intelligence; grounded not in ideology, but in science; not in fake news, but in knowledge. That is where you come in. Your role is to bring independent, credible science into the global conversation — and to do so at a time when geopolitical tensions are rising, conflicts are raging and the stakes for safe and responsible AI could not be greater. In this fractured context, an unbiased and trusted understanding of AI is essential. Your mandate is intentionally broad — spanning from frontier systems to the impacts already unfolding across societies and economies. AI will shape peace and security, human rights and sustainable development, the three areas of intervention of the United Nations for decades to come. Your work will help decision-makers move from competing claims to shared facts — and from shared facts to workable solutions: Building effective guardrails, unlocking innovation for the common good and strengthening international cooperation. Like AI itself, this Panel is in a race against time. In the span of a few months, you will establish your working methods; set priorities, form focused working groups and deliver a substantive, evidence-based assessment. This work will inform the first annual Global Dialogue on AI Governance — co-chaired by Egriselda López of El Salvador and Rein Tammsaar of Estonia, who will join us today. Your first report will be a reference point for that Dialogue — and it will set the standard for what follows. You are not starting from zero. Before you, the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI demonstrated that despite differences of perspective and approach, it was possible to produce clear and concrete recommendations — including the creation of this very Panel. Their work was policy-oriented. Yours is scientific — a disciplined foundation that others can build on. Let me underscore one final point: all members serve in their personal capacity — providing scientific assessments independent of any Government, company or institution, including the United Nations. Grounded in conflict-of-interest safeguards, this scientific independence will help ensure that the Panel’s advice remains impartial and trusted. Your schedule is demanding. But, you will have the full support of the United Nations. I am pleased to be joined today by my Special Envoy on Digital and Emerging Technology, Amandeep Singh Gill, who will coordinate the Panel Secretariat. I am also grateful for the participation of the Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Doreen Bogdan-Martin; and the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Khaled el-Enany. These entities will also co-staff the Panel’s Secretariat. Once again, thank you for stepping forward at this decisive moment. I can think of no more important assignment for our world today.
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