UN Secretary-General António Guterres has told the inaugural meeting of a newly formed Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence that its members have a major responsibility to help shape how the technology is used “for the benefit of humanity”.
The new 40-member panel brings together experts from different regions and disciplines and is expected to help close what Guterres described as ‘the AI knowledge gap’. Its role is to assess the real impact AI will have across economies and societies so that countries can act with the same “clarity” on a more level playing field.
Addressing the scientists at the panel’s first meeting, Guterres said: “Individually, you come from diverse regions and disciplines, bringing outstanding expertise in AI and related fields. Collectively, you represent something the world has never seen before.”
He stressed that the group would provide scientific assessments independently of governments, companies, and institutions, including the UN itself. “AI is advancing at lightning speed… no country, no company, and no field of research can see the full picture alone,” he said, adding that “the world urgently needs a shared, global understanding of artificial intelligence; grounded not in ideology, but in science.”
Guterres also linked the panel’s work to a much broader global agenda, warning that AI will shape peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development for decades to come. He cautioned that misunderstanding around the technology could deepen political and social divisions, saying: “I have seen how quickly fear can take hold when facts are missing or distorted – how trust breaks down and division deepens.”
At a time when “geopolitical tensions are rising and conflicts are raging,” he said, the need for shared understanding and “safe and responsible AI could not be greater.”
He also framed the panel’s task as urgent, arguing that governance efforts are struggling to keep pace with the speed of technological change. “Never in the future will we move as slow as we are moving now. We are indeed in a high level of acceleration,” he said, while warning that the panel is also “in a race against time.”
Referring to earlier UN work through the High-Level Advisory Body on AI, Guterres said the panel does not “start from zero”, before concluding: “I can think of no more important assignment for our world today.”
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