A major United Nations summit on AI governance convened in Geneva on July 6-7, 2026, bringing together governments, technology companies and civil society groups. Members of the UN’s Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, including Yoshua Bengio, said AI is approaching or surpassing human capabilities in many domains faster than science or governments can adapt, warning of risks including catastrophic harm and threats to democratic institutions. Participants also raised concerns that AI development is concentrated in a small number of countries, risking an ‘AI divide’ that could leave developing nations without adequate safeguards.
