UN Secretary‑General attends AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, urges inclusive global governance

The United Nations’ spokesperson said the Secretary‑General is in New Delhi, India, for the AI Impact Summit and used his opening remarks to press for global, inclusive governance of artificial intelligence. "The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of country and the whims of a few billionaires," the spokesperson said, summarizing the Secretary‑General’s message and his call to build "AI for everyone with dignity" as the default setting.

The spokesperson told reporters that, in the past year, the General Assembly took two concrete steps: it created an independent international scientific panel on artificial intelligence and launched a global dialogue on AI governance within the UN that includes governments, the private sector, academia and civil society. Those measures, the spokesperson said, are intended to broaden participation in decisions about AI policy.

The Secretary‑General was reported to have exchanges and meetings with government and technology leaders attending the summit. The spokesperson also said the Secretary‑General is scheduled to participate in a United Nations‑organized roundtable on renewable energy and energy transition and later to join a panel on the role of science in international AI governance. The spokesperson said the Secretary‑General is additionally expected to hold bilateral meetings, including with India’s President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The remarks signal the UN’s push to position multilateral institutions and the newly formed scientific panel at the center of international discussions over AI policy, emphasizing inclusion of a range of stakeholders. The UN said it will provide updates on the Secretary‑General’s program as the summit continues.

The Secretary‑General’s attendance underscores the UN’s effort to expand global input into AI governance and to link discussions on technology to other topics such as renewable energy and science policy.