Independent International Scientific Panel on AI
In plain wordsA group of 40 independent experts set up by the United Nations in 2025 to give every country a shared, science-based picture of what AI can do, its risks and its benefits.
A body of 40 experts, appointed as individuals rather than as national delegates, that the United Nations General Assembly created to give every member state a common, evidence-based account of what AI offers, what it threatens and how it is changing societies, outside the military sphere. It produces an annual report presented to the Global Dialogue on AI GovernanceGlobal Dialogue on AI Governance, prop. n.: A yearly United Nations meeting, launched in 2025, where all countries — joined by companies, researchers and civil society — discuss how to cooperate on governing AI., may issue thematic briefs and can update the General Assembly up to twice a year; it is explicitly not a regulatory or enforcement body. Members, drawn from all regions, were chosen from more than 2,600 applicants and appointed by the General Assembly in February 2026; at its inaugural meeting on 3 March 2026 the panel elected Yoshua BengioYoshua Bengio, prop. n.: A Canadian computer scientist who helped found deep learning, including ideas behind today's language models, and who has become a leading voice on the risks of advanced AI. and the Filipino journalist Maria Ressa as co-chairs. Its preliminary report appeared on 1 July 2026, and its first thematic brief, on AI agents, misalignment and the risk of losing human control, in September 2026.
The UN scientific panel's preliminary report framed the debate at the first Global Dialogue in Geneva.
Origin
Recommended by the UN Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on AI in its 2024 report Governing AI for Humanity and endorsed in the Global Digital Compact (September 2024); established together with the Global Dialogue by General Assembly resolution 79/325, adopted by consensus on 26 August 2025. Often likened to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Usage note
Distinct from the International AI Safety ReportInternational AI Safety Report, prop. n.: A large scientific review, led by the computer scientist Yoshua Bengio and backed by more than 30 countries, summing up what is known about what advanced AI can do and how it could go wrong., a summit-born process focused on risks from general-purpose AI. The UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies provides secretariat support.
Related
- Global Dialogue on AI GovernanceGlobal Dialogue on AI Governance, prop. n.: A yearly United Nations meeting, launched in 2025, where all countries — joined by companies, researchers and civil society — discuss how to cooperate on governing AI.
- International AI Safety ReportInternational AI Safety Report, prop. n.: A large scientific review, led by the computer scientist Yoshua Bengio and backed by more than 30 countries, summing up what is known about what advanced AI can do and how it could go wrong.
- Yoshua BengioYoshua Bengio, prop. n.: A Canadian computer scientist who helped found deep learning, including ideas behind today's language models, and who has become a leading voice on the risks of advanced AI.
- AI governanceAI governance, n.: The rules, institutions and habits that shape how AI is built and used — from laws and treaties to technical standards and a company's own review processes.
- AI red linesAI red lines, n.: Limits on AI that would be forbidden worldwide no matter what — for example AI that copies itself without permission or controls nuclear weapons — which campaigners want governments to agree on.
Sources
- United Nations (2026). Independent International Scientific Panel on AI: Frequently Asked Questions. un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en/faq
- UN High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (2024). Governing AI for Humanity: Final Report. United Nations.
Defined in law or standards
UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/79/325 (26 August 2025)
Mentioned in
AI governanceAI governance, n.: The rules, institutions and habits that shape how AI is built and used — from laws and treaties to technical standards and a company's own review processes., AI red linesAI red lines, n.: Limits on AI that would be forbidden worldwide no matter what — for example AI that copies itself without permission or controls nuclear weapons — which campaigners want governments to agree on., Global Digital CompactGlobal Digital Compact, prop. n.: A 2024 agreement among United Nations member countries setting shared goals for the digital world — closing digital divides, protecting rights online, governing data and AI — and creating new UN bodies on AI., International AI Safety ReportInternational AI Safety Report, prop. n.: A large scientific review, led by the computer scientist Yoshua Bengio and backed by more than 30 countries, summing up what is known about what advanced AI can do and how it could go wrong., Global Dialogue on AI GovernanceGlobal Dialogue on AI Governance, prop. n.: A yearly United Nations meeting, launched in 2025, where all countries — joined by companies, researchers and civil society — discuss how to cooperate on governing AI., High-level Advisory Body on Artificial IntelligenceHigh-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, prop. n.: A group of experts set up by the UN Secretary-General in 2023 to advise on governing AI worldwide; its 2024 report led to the UN's AI science panel and global dialogue., IAEA for AIIAEA for AI, phr.: The idea of an international agency for the most advanced AI, modeled on the UN's nuclear watchdog, which inspects countries' nuclear programs to keep them safe and peaceful., World AI Cooperation OrganizationWorld AI Cooperation Organization, prop. n.: An international organization for cooperation on AI, based in Shanghai, set up in 2026 by an agreement among 29 countries on China's initiative.