New Delhi, Feb 20,2026: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday called for science-driven global governance of artificial intelligence (AI), saying clear, evidence-based rules are essential to ensure innovation benefits humanity, protects human rights, and enables international interoperability.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Guterres highlighted the unprecedented pace of AI development, warning that “AI does not stop at borders, and no nation can fully grasp its implications on its own.” He stressed that policy cannot be built on guesswork, hype, or disinformation, and urged countries to adopt shared technical standards to prevent fragmentation that could raise costs, weaken safety, and widen global divides.
The UN chief introduced the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, a multidisciplinary and globally diverse body tasked with assessing the real-world impacts of AI across economies and societies. The panel, confirmed by the UN General Assembly with 40 experts, will provide a common evidence base for policymaking and deliver its first report ahead of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in July.
“When we agree on how to test systems and measure risk, we create interoperability. So a startup in New Delhi can scale globally with confidence because the benchmarks are shared and safety can travel with technology,” Guterres said.
“Once we understand what systems can do and what they cannot, we can move from rough measures to smarter, risk-based guardrails. Guardrails that protect people, uphold human rights, and preserve human agency. Guardrails that build confidence and give business clarity so innovation can move faster in the right direction. Science-led governance is not a brake on progress. It is an accelerator for solutions.AI helps us anticipate early impacts from risks for children to labour markets to manipulation at scale, so countries can prepare, protect, and invest in people,” he said.
He described science-led governance as an accelerator, not a brake, enabling risk-based guardrails that protect people, preserve human agency, and give businesses clarity. Guterres concluded by urging nations to adopt “less hype, less fear, more facts and evidence,” positioning AI as a reliable engine for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with meaningful human oversight and accountability at the center of high-stakes decisions.
Highlighting that international cooperation has become difficult, the UN chief said, “Trust is trained, and technological rivalry is growing. Without a common baseline, fragmentation wins, with different regions and different countries operating under incompatible policies and technical standards.”
He pointed out that a patchwork of rules will raise costs, weaken safety and will widen divisions. “When we agree on how to test systems and measure risk, we create interoperability. So a startup in New Delhi can scale globally with confidence because the benchmarks are shared and safety can travel with technology.”
