Fourth revision of draft UNGA resolution for Scientific Panel on AI and Dialogue on AI Governance

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UN member states continue negotiations on the terms of reference and modalities for the International Scientific Panel on AI and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance, a process that started in January 2025 and follows up on a decision made in September 2024 to establish these two new mechanisms.

On 17 July 2025, a fourth revision of the resolution (Rev4) negotiated in New York was published. The main substantive change in Rev4 is found in paragraph 8. Instead of requesting the President of the General Assembly to appoint co-facilitators to steer consultations on an AI governance resolution (as stated in Rev3), Rev4 now specifies that the co-facilitators of the High-Level Review of the Global Digital Compact will lead intergovernmental negotiations to develop a declaration on AI governance. This declaration would then serve as input to the High-Level Review of the GDC, as well as to ‘future discussions’.

Other notable updates include:

  • In paragraph 1(d), the General Assembly dialogues with the Panel – through which the Panel will provide updates on its work – are to include the Co-Chairs of the Panel.
  • Paragraph 3 introduces new language encouraging a broad representation of countries with varying technological development, reinforcing the commitment to inclusivity, particularly from developing countries. It also modifies the restriction to no more than two candidates from the same affiliation (instead of nationality, as in Rev3).
  • The description of the initial high-level launch event in paragraph 6 is softened from a ‘side event’ to an ‘informal meeting’.
  • In paragraph 9, language is strengthened to stress that the Panel and Dialogue will inform and improve UN-wide AI capacity-building efforts. While Rev3 said their work ‘shall contribute’, Rev4 says it ‘will contribute’, reinforcing the expected impact. The paragraph also encourages entities in the UN System to take into consideration contributions of the Panel and the Dialogue.

Other elements, such as the Panel’s composition, reporting obligations, and the Dialogue’s agenda topics – including open-source AI, capacity gaps, and human rights – remain unchanged from Rev3.