SUPPORTING GLOBAL COOPERATION ON AI GOVERNANCE
Following the final report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI and the Global Digital Compact, global cooperation on AI governance transitions to an implementation and follow-up phase. Through the adoption of the GDC, Member States committed to key actions on AI governance, including: the establishment of a multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the initiation of a Global Dialogue on AI Governance, both within the United Nations. They also requested the Secretary-General to develop innovative voluntary financing options for AI capacity-building that take into account the recommendations of the HLAB-AI on a Global Fund on AI. The Global Cooperation on AI Governance project aims to support this next phase through 2025 and to enable globally coordinated approach that harnesses AI for humanity while addressing its risks and uncertainties.
Geneva Liaison Project
Since the World Summit for the Information Society’s first phase in 2003, Geneva-based UN and non-UN entities have played key roles in shaping global digital cooperation, including CERN, IEC, IGF Secretariat, ILO, ISO, ITU, OHCHR, UNCTAD, UNODA, WEF, WIPO, WTO and others. Geneva hosts the permanent missions of 177 States, 42 international organizations, over 420 NGOs, many multinational companies, and a relevant academic sector. With several UN digital cooperation-related processes reaching key milestones in 2024–2026, it becomes imperative to activate this Geneva based ecosystem.
These processes include:
• Summit of the Future and Global Digital Compact in 2024
• World Summit for the Information Society+20 (WSIS+20) in 2024
This project aims to strengthen the bridge between Geneva-based and New York-based processes, with full respect for the mandates of different UN entities, so as to ensure greater coherence and complementarity between relevant activities in Geneva and New York at this critical time for digital cooperation through its support to the liaison presence of the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology in Geneva. The overall impact of this project will be greater coherence and complementarity between digital cooperation activities in Geneva and New York during a key period for global digital cooperation.
Digital Public Infrastructure Safeguards
DPI is poised to turbocharge economic development by providing a foundational layer of digital infrastructure to be leveraged by governments, civil society, businesses, and individuals. However, risks of data breaches, surveillance, and exclusion, particularly affecting women and minorities, often scale in tandem. Neglect of DPIs by governments and companies creates safety and inclusivity risks, undermining citizen trust and hampering the socio-economic development potential of these transformative technologies. To guide this digital transformation towards safer and more inclusive approaches, the DPI Safeguards Initiative seeks to mitigate the risks DPIs pose to individuals, while enabling governments and organizations to harness its potential for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The DCF project is a UN high-impact initiative working to develop the f irst global DPI Safeguards Framework and to promote its uptake across countries. It is a multi-stakeholder effort, supported by governments, private sector and civil society organizations. The Framework includes guiding principles and practices for safe and inclusive DPI and is tailored to the needs of the various stakeholders in the DPI ecosystem. The project supports a joint initiative of the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology and the United Nations Development Programme.
Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence
A global approach is imperative for effective AI governance, as powerful AI models, once connected to the open Internet, can scale rapidly across borders. To foster such an approach, the UN Secretary-General convened the multistakeholder High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (AIAB) to undertake analysis and advance recommendations for international governance of AI, prior to the Summit of the Future in September 2024. The project supported the AIAB’s role as a key contributor to policy discussions on international AI governance and established the Advisory Body as a global resource, whose reports, recommendations, and knowledge products harness the world’s foremost geographically, gender and age-balanced expertise to foster cooperation among member state, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders on global governance of AI. Overall, the project contributed to a globally strengthened cooperation governance of AI. The AIAB published its final report “Governing AI for Humanity” in September 2024 at the Summit for the Future. The report focuses on the near-term opportunities and risks, based on science, and outlines recommendations for reaping the benefits of AI while minimizing and mitigating its inherent risks.
A Global Alliance of Mayors For Digital Cooperation
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) worked in close collaboration with the United Nations Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology to outline a vision contributing towards the localized implementation of the Global Digital Compact. The Global Alliance of Mayors for Digital Cooperation (MDC), with implementation starting in early 2025, is the result of this vision.
The Global Digital Compact GDC outlines a shared understanding of an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, and secure digital future for all. As urban areas are at the forefront of global digital transformation, they play a key role in its implementation. The digital cooperation of local governments is a necessary tool to harness digital technologies, fostering economic growth in cities, and to improve the provision of public services at the local level.
Recognizing the leading role that cities play in global digital transformation, the project aims to support the localization of the GDC and accelerating its implementation in cities. The Global Alliance of Mayors for Digital Cooperation will provide a forum to encourage global digital cooperation among cities and mayors, to leverage and maximize the benefits of digital technologies for sustainable urban development.