Geneva workshop to examine parliamentary oversight of AI

A workshop at the first session of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance will examine how parliaments can strengthen transparency, accountability and human oversight of AI.

The session, titled Parliamentary oversight for increased transparency and accountability of AI, is scheduled for 6 July at Palexpo in Geneva. The Inter-Parliamentary Union organises it, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the UN Development Programme.

The workshop frames AI oversight as part of parliament’s constitutional role in lawmaking, scrutiny of government action, committee inquiries, budget oversight and the protection of rights.

Organisers say parliaments need stronger technical capacity to legislate and oversee AI effectively, particularly as public institutions and private companies deploy AI systems with consequences for democracy, rights and public services.

The session will bring together parliamentarians from different regions to share case studies, identify the support legislatures need and consider how the Global Dialogue and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI can engage with parliaments.

The workshop forms part of the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which will take place in Geneva on 6 and 7 July alongside the AI for Good Global Summit and WSIS Forum.

Why does it matter?

Parliaments are often underrepresented in AI governance discussions, even though they are responsible for passing laws, scrutinising government deployment of AI and protecting rights through domestic legal systems. Stronger parliamentary capacity could help make national AI governance more transparent and democratically accountable. The workshop also points to a wider challenge: AI governance capacity-building should include legislatures, not only executive agencies, regulators and technical bodies.

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