TLDR: Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU), has emphasized the urgent need for a global, unified approach to artificial intelligence regulation. She warned that fragmented regulatory strategies could exacerbate risks and deepen global inequalities, particularly highlighting the digital divide where 2.6 billion people lack internet access and thus, AI access. Her comments come as major global powers adopt divergent approaches to AI governance, from the EU’s risk-based AI Act to the US’s proposed deregulation.
GENEVA – The world is at a critical juncture regarding the governance of artificial intelligence, with the United Nations’ top tech chief, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, calling for an urgent and unified global approach to regulation. Bogdan-Martin, who leads the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), stressed that a fragmented regulatory landscape risks deepening existing inequalities and amplifying the inherent dangers of rapidly advancing AI technologies. “There’s an urgency to try to get… the right framework in place,” she stated, underscoring the necessity for “a global approach.”
Her remarks come amidst a backdrop of starkly differing regulatory philosophies emerging from major global powers. The European Union has moved forward with a comprehensive, risk-based AI Act, aiming to establish clear guidelines for AI development and deployment. In contrast, China has adopted a more centralized, state-driven model for AI governance. Adding to this divergence, former U.S. President Donald Trump recently unveiled a strategy advocating for sweeping deregulation, with the stated goal of ensuring American leadership in AI development. This plan includes over 90 proposals, promising to “remove red tape and onerous regulation” that could impede private sector innovation.
While Bogdan-Martin refrained from directly commenting on the specifics of the U.S. proposal, she emphasized the critical need for dialogue among these disparate regulatory models. “We have the EU approach, the Chinese approach, and now the US approach. What’s needed is for those approaches to dialogue,” she explained. She expressed concern that a significant portion of the world, specifically 85 percent of countries, still lack any formal AI policy or strategy, which could lead to AI becoming a driver of inequality rather than progress.
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Bogdan-Martin highlighted the profound digital divide, noting that “2.6 billion people who still have no internet access — meaning they have no access to artificial intelligence.” She warned that without inclusive international cooperation and safeguards, AI could further entrench these disparities, stating, “AI shouldn’t stand for advancing inequalities.” The ITU, with its decades of experience in setting global technology standards, is uniquely positioned to facilitate these crucial conversations and build international consensus on AI governance. The ITU chief also pointed out the persistent gender gap within the AI and broader tech sectors, another area requiring concerted effort to ensure equitable development and access to AI’s potential benefits.
