UN approves global AI scientific panel despite US opposition

Friday 13 February 2026 - 13:20

By: Dakir Madiha

UN approves global AI scientific panel despite US opposition

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to establish a 40 member global scientific panel tasked with assessing the impacts and risks of artificial intelligence, moving ahead despite strong objections from the United States.

The resolution was adopted by 117 votes in favor and two against in the 193 member body. The United States and Paraguay opposed the measure, while Tunisia and Ukraine abstained. US allies in Europe and Asia joined Russia, China and numerous developing countries in backing the initiative, marking a rare instance of broad international alignment on technology governance without Washington’s support.

UN Secretary General António Guterres, who initiated the panel, described its approval as a fundamental step toward building a shared scientific understanding of artificial intelligence. He said the body would function as the first fully independent global scientific entity dedicated to closing knowledge gaps in AI and evaluating its real world effects on economies and societies.

The administration of President Donald Trump opposed the measure. Lauren Lovelace, an adviser at the US Mission, said the panel represented a significant expansion of the UN’s mandate and argued that AI governance should not be dictated by the organization. She warned that the United States would not hand authority over artificial intelligence to international bodies that could be influenced by authoritarian governments seeking to promote surveillance based models of society. Lovelace also raised concerns about what she described as a lack of transparency in the panel’s selection process.

The 40 experts were chosen from more than 2,600 candidates following an independent review conducted by the International Telecommunication Union, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and UNESCO. Members will serve three year terms beginning on February 12, 2026.

The panel includes Philippine journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, Canadian AI researcher Yoshua Bengio and Joelle Barral, a French senior director of research and engineering at Google DeepMind. Two US based experts were also appointed: Professor Vipin Kumar of the University of Minnesota and retired Professor Martha Palmer of the University of Colorado.

Ukraine said it abstained because of concerns over the inclusion of Russian AI regulation specialist Andrei Neznamov, who chairs Russia’s National AI Ethics Commission. Kyiv’s representative voiced serious reservations about his appointment, citing his close ties to Russian institutions, including a major state owned bank, and warning of a potential conflict of interest.

The Group of 77 and China expressed regret that a vote had been required on what they described as a crucial issue. In a joint statement, they said properly governed artificial intelligence could expand access to public services, improve education and healthcare, and accelerate progress toward the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.