TLDR: Kenya has achieved a significant diplomatic victory by leading the Group of 77 and China in securing a unanimous UN agreement to establish two crucial institutions for AI governance: an Independent Scientific Panel on AI and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance. This landmark decision, following six months of intense negotiations, aims to guide international efforts in managing the opportunities and risks presented by artificial intelligence.
In a major diplomatic triumph, Kenya has played a pivotal role in brokering a landmark United Nations agreement on artificial intelligence (AI) governance. All 193 UN Member States unanimously endorsed the establishment of two new institutions: an Independent Scientific Panel on AI and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance. This historic decision, reached after six months of rigorous negotiations at UN Headquarters in New York, underscores a rare global consensus on the critical issue of AI’s future.
Representing the Group of 77 and China, Kenya was instrumental in shaping the creation of these bodies, which are designed to steer international efforts in harnessing the opportunities and mitigating the risks associated with AI. The agreement comes at a time when AI’s potential to disrupt economies, exacerbate inequalities, and challenge democratic processes, alongside its capacity to drive innovation and progress, dominates global policy discussions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres lauded the outcome as ‘a significant step forward,’ acknowledging Kenya’s substantial contributions in achieving such rare unanimity on a subject intersecting technology, ethics, and geopolitics.
Two Mutually Reinforcing Institutions:
1. Independent Scientific Panel on AI: This body is envisioned as a neutral, evidence-based entity tasked with synthesizing global research on AI’s opportunities, risks, and impacts. Modeled partly on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it will provide authoritative assessments to guide governments and international organizations in policymaking.
2. Global Dialogue on AI Governance: This platform will foster multi-stakeholder engagement, bringing together governments, industry leaders, academia, civil society, and the UN system. Its mandate is to strengthen international cooperation, build trust, and explore shared principles for governing AI in a safe, inclusive, and sustainable manner.
Ambassador Philip Thigo, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI (which originally proposed these institutions), hailed the deal as a landmark achievement, describing the negotiation experience as ‘enriching and challenging.’ He also commended Tony Oweke of Kenya’s UN Mission in New York, who led Kenya’s delegation and served as the G77’s lead negotiator, for his ‘outstanding leadership in steering negotiations to consensus.’ Oweke characterized the process as ‘science guiding dialogue, and dialogue amplifying evidence into cooperation.’
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The agreement reflects a growing global recognition that AI governance must be inclusive. Kenya’s leadership in this initiative has significantly reinforced the Global South’s role in shaping emerging technologies and international digital policy.
