The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (HLAB-AI) released its final report “Governing AI for Humanity” on September 19th. It builds on months of extensive global consultations and the publication of an interim report in December 2023. The uniquely diverse Advisory Body is the world’s first and most representative expert group capable of reflecting humanity’s aspirations for AI.
This groundbreaking report outlines a blueprint for addressing AI-related risks and sharing its transformative potential globally, including by:
• Urging the UN to lay the foundations of the first globally inclusive and distributed architecture for AI governance based on international cooperation;
• Proposing seven recommendations to address gaps in current AI governance arrangements;
• Calling on all governments and stakeholders to work together in governing AI to foster development and protection of all human rights.
Addressing Global AI Governance Gaps
Out of 193 Member States, only seven are party to seven recent prominent AI governance initiatives. 118 are missing entirely, primarily in the Global South. No global framework exists to govern AI. With its development in the hands of a few multinational companies in a few countries, the impacts of unleashing AI risk being imposed on most people without their having any say in the decisions for doing so.
The HLAB-AI’s report identifies key gaps in the current international AI governance landscape, and proposes measures to address these gaps. This includes light institutional mechanisms to complement existing efforts and foster global AI governance arrangements that are agile, adaptive and effective to keep pace with AI’s evolution.
Key Recommendations for Global AI Governance
A. Common Understanding: The establishment of an International Scientific Panel on AI (recommendation 1) to provide impartial, reliable scientific knowledge about AI. This panel, supported by a small UN secretariat, would help member states develop a shared understanding of AI, and address information asymmetries between AI labs and the rest of the world. The panel would produce annual reports on AI capabilities, risks, and trends, alongside ad hoc reports on emerging AI risks.
B. Common Ground: A new policy dialogue on AI governance (2) at the UN, featuring intergovernmental and multi stakeholder meetings, to foster common ground and regulatory interoperability rooted in human rights. Additionally, an AI standards exchange (3) is proposed, involving representatives from standards organizations, tech companies, and civil society, to ensure technical interoperability of AI systems across borders.
C. Common Benefits: The creation of a global AI capacity development network (4) to boost AI governance capacities, offering training, compute resources, and AI datasets to researchers and social entrepreneurs. The establishment of a global AI fund (5) to address gaps in capacity and collaboration, empowering local efforts to further the SDGs. The fostering of a global AI data framework (6) to standardize data-related definitions, principles, and stewardship, ensuring transparency and accountability in AI systems.
D. Coherent Effort: The report proposes forming a small AI office (7) within the UN Secretariat to support and coordinate the implementation of these proposals.
Global Consultation and Inclusivity
The report is the product of extensive consultations, involving more than 2,000 participants across all regions of the world. The HLAB-AI conducted 18 deep-dive discussions on key issues, reviewed more than 250 written submissions from over 150 organizations and 100 individuals, and held over 50 global engagements. The advisory body also carried out an AI Risk Pulse – the most comprehensive AI horizon scanning exercise to date – and an opportunity scan to assess emerging trends.
About the High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence
The Advisory Body, established in October 2023 comprises 39 preeminent AI leaders from 33 countries from across all regions and multiple sectors, serving in their personal capacity. Selected from over 2,000 nominations, this diverse group combined cutting edge expertise across public policy, science, technology, anthropology, human rights, and other relevant fields.