Geneva UN event discusses AI governance

The Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva hosted the "Geneva Dialogue: Solidarity for AI Governance" on November 25. The event was co-organized with Permanent Missions of Pakistan and Zambia. 

The aim of the event is to provide a platform for Geneva's diplomatic community to exchange views, share experiences and explore pathways for AI governance.

The room for the event at the United Nations Office in Geneva was full with diplomats and representatives of various countries. 

The event opened with a speech from Tatiana Valovaya, Director General of the UN Office in Geneva. The World Meteorological Organization's Director General Celeste Saulo also spoke about initiatives such as AI for natural disaster management in collaboration with WMO.

China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Chen Xu, also made opening remarks. He told CGTN that "today's event offers a unique opportunity to solicit the strengths of all interlocutors because there are so many initiatives in artificial intelligence. 

"We are now at another crossroads – that is, how to better organize ourselves and also how to offer better governance. So this event offers an opportunity to listen to many players."

Common understanding

The event was attended by member states representing different continents and different models of governance and the aim is to produce a common understanding and solidarity when it comes to AI governance.

The Geneva Dialogue is timely as, according to the UN, its member states are not party to any significant international AI governance initiative. Yet the capabilities and deployment of AI continue to accelerate worldwide. 

The United Nations General Assembly has recently launched the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the International Scientific Group on AI, marking the first mechanism for universal and inclusive global participation in AI governance. The first meeting of the Global Dialogue will be held in Geneva in 2026.

The Geneva Dialogue brought together experts who spoke of high costs of not addressing technological advances. The session included discussions on topics such as "Advancing Global AI Governance at UN: Momentum, challenges and the way forward" and "Strengthening AI Capacity Building: Towards Inclusive access to the components of AI and coordination".

As the event closed, Ambassador Chen said "I'm sure as long as we work together we will turn challenges into opportunities and really make AI for good and for all."