New York

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday described the appointment of members to the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a foundational step towards strengthening global scientific understanding of the rapidly evolving technology.

In an official statement, Guterres said the United Nations General Assembly has appointed 40 members to the panel for a three-year term. The experts will serve in their personal capacities.

He said the panel members were selected from a pool of more than 2,600 candidates following an independent review process conducted by the International Telecommunication Union, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, and the UNESCO.

According to the Secretary-General, the panel brings together a multidisciplinary group of leading AI experts from across the world, ensuring geographic diversity and gender balance. The body will provide independent and impartial assessments of AI’s opportunities, risks and societal impacts, including inputs for the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

“In a world where AI is racing ahead, this panel will provide what has been missing — rigorous, independent scientific insight that enables all Member States, regardless of their technological capacity, to engage on an equal footing,” Guterres said.

Expressing confidence in the panel’s mandate, he added that its work would help inform collective global dialogue on artificial intelligence and support evidence-based policymaking grounded in international cooperation and solidarity.

According to the United Nations’ official website, the General Assembly formally appointed the 40 members on Thursday, following a request by the United States that the vote be conducted on the record.

Established through a General Assembly resolution in 2025, the panel is the first global scientific body of its kind dedicated exclusively to AI. It is tasked with assessing how the technology is transforming societies worldwide.

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The panel will publish an annual report presenting evidence-based scientific assessments that synthesise and analyse existing research on AI’s opportunities, risks and impacts, the UN said.