NEW YORK, NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Khalilur Rahman, president of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, warned Tuesday that the UN is falling behind advances in artificial intelligence. He said AI already operates across critical systems that affect daily life worldwide. Rahman called for scientifically informed safeguards that protect the public interest while allowing innovation to continue. His remarks opened the General Debate at United Nations headquarters in New York. He linked effective AI governance with broader efforts to make the organization more responsive to global change.
Rahman said governments must remain central to international discussions over AI governance and regulation. He also said governments do not hold all the expertise, technology, capital or influence needed to address the issue. Businesses, researchers, innovators and civil society already hold significant knowledge and technical capacity, he said. Rahman urged the United Nations to engage directly with those developing and deploying artificial intelligence. His appeal focused on expanding expertise available to policymakers as AI systems become more deeply integrated into economies and public infrastructure.
The UNGA president said artificial intelligence is already embedded in water systems, electricity grids, health records, economies and militaries. That level of integration distinguishes AI from earlier international challenges involving emerging technologies, he said. Rahman also warned against an arms race for control of artificial intelligence. He said governments need prudent and reliable guardrails based on scientific evidence. At the same time, he argued that international AI governance should preserve room for innovation and recognize the potential for technology to support human progress.
UN expands global AI governance framework
The United Nations has already created new mechanisms for international discussions on artificial intelligence. The General Assembly established the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence under Resolution 79/325. The Global Dialogue held its first session in Geneva on July 6 and 7, 2026. It provided a forum for governments and other stakeholders to discuss major AI governance questions. The 40-member scientific panel provides independent evidence on AI opportunities, risks and impacts for international policy discussions.
Rahman also addressed multilateral AI governance in New York on September 10, before the General Debate began. He said the central question was how governments and other stakeholders would govern technologies already transforming societies. On September 20, Rahman met International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. Their discussions covered cooperation between the General Assembly and the ITU on artificial intelligence governance. They also discussed advanced AI challenges and the importance of maintaining engagement with industry as international discussions continue.
AI debate becomes part of wider UN reform agenda
Rahman placed artificial intelligence within a broader argument for a more open and inclusive United Nations. He said member states and the UN Secretariat remain essential to the organization’s work but cannot provide every capability required. His remarks called for stronger engagement with businesses, innovators, researchers and civil society where relevant expertise exists. The comments came during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week in New York. The 81st session’s General Debate began September 22 and runs through September 26 before concluding on September 28.
Rahman presented AI governance as an area where the United Nations must respond more quickly to technological change. He pointed to earlier international efforts on nuclear non-proliferation, ozone protection and human cloning as examples of UN engagement with major global challenges. His speech called for “prudent and reliable guardrails” supported by scientific evidence and wider expertise. He also stressed that governments should remain at the center of the process. The approach combines government leadership with technical input from institutions and organizations already developing, studying and using artificial intelligence.