The United Nations released the first ever independent scientific assessment of artificial intelligence on 1 July 2026, produced by the newly formed Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. Led by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, the 40-member panel warns that AI capabilities are racing far ahead of the world’s ability to measure or govern them. The report paints a stark picture of global concentration, with the United States controlling 75% of the world’s AI computing power and producing 59 notable AI models, far outpacing the rest of the world combined.
What Is the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI?
The Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (IISPAI) is the first global scientific body dedicated exclusively to assessing artificial intelligence. It was established by the UN General Assembly through Resolution A/RES/79/325 on 26 August 2025, following a commitment made in the Global Digital Compact. The Global Digital Compact itself was adopted as part of the Pact for the Future at the Summit of the Future in September 2024.
The Panel is composed of 40 leading scientists and experts drawn from 37 countries, selected through an open global call that received more than 2,600 applications from over 140 countries. The members include computer scientists, economists, human rights experts, and academics, and they serve in their personal capacity, independent of any government, company, or institution. The Panel is co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio, a professor at the Universite de Montreal and recipient of the 2018 Turing Award (often called the Nobel Prize of computing), and Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Panel operates under a strictly scientific, non-political mandate. Its purpose is to document international scientific consensus and disagreements on AI, providing a shared evidence base for governments. It is designed to be policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive, meaning it presents facts and analysis without recommending specific actions. This approach has been compared to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which similarly provides scientific assessments to inform global policy without dictating outcomes.
Key Findings of the Preliminary Report
The Preliminary Report organises its analysis across seven domains: AI science and advances, societal applications, economic implications, security and environmental impacts, human rights and democracy, cultural and individual flourishing, and governance. Three cross-cutting findings stand out.
The Global AI Divide
The report warns that AI development and benefits are concentrated in a handful of countries, creating a divide that mirrors and may deepen existing inequalities. The United States accounts for 75% of the computing power among the world’s top 500 AI supercomputers, while China holds 15% and the rest of the world shares the remaining 10%. Companies in the US and China develop almost all leading general-purpose AI models.
The divide extends beyond computing power. The report finds that 118 countries, predominantly in the Global South, are not engaged in major AI governance discussions. Less than one-third of developing countries have developed national AI strategies. While over a billion people globally now use conversational AI tools weekly, adoption in the Global South lags far behind the Global North, leaving these countries disproportionately exposed to AI misuse with limited capacity for mitigation.
Concentration of Compute and Models
AI production depends on three inputs: computing power, data, and engineering talent, all of which are concentrated in a few firms in a few countries. In 2025, institutions based in the United States produced 59 notable AI models, compared to 35 in China and just 13 in the rest of the world. Of all notable AI models released globally in 2025, 91% originated from the private sector.
The supply chain for advanced AI is heavily concentrated. NVIDIA controls more than 60% of the global AI chip market. TSMC dominates leading-edge chip production, and ASML holds a near monopoly on extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed to manufacture advanced chips. Hyperscaler capital expenditure has risen from roughly $150 billion in 2023 to a projected $770 billion in 2026, an increase of about five times, driven almost entirely by American firms.
The Governance Gap
The report’s central warning is that AI capabilities are advancing faster than the world’s ability to measure or govern them. Policymakers need scientific evidence to make informed decisions, but by the time evidence is clear, it may be too late to act. There are currently no known technical guarantees that AI systems will reliably follow human instructions, norms, or laws.
The report identifies several urgent risks: harms to mental health, potential use as destructive tools, impacts on social, economic, and environmental systems, the erosion of shared reality through misinformation, and threats to democratic processes. Maria Ressa, the Panel’s co-chair, described the report’s findings as “the floor of our concern, not the ceiling,” meaning the 40 scientists reached consensus only on findings supported by the strongest evidence.
The Global Dialogue on AI Governance
The Preliminary Report was released ahead of the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, held on 6 and 7 July 2026 in Geneva. This Dialogue is a universal, multi-stakeholder forum established alongside the Scientific Panel through the same UN General Assembly Resolution 79/325. It provides a platform where all 193 UN member states have a seat to discuss international cooperation on AI governance.
The Dialogue covers four thematic clusters: AI’s social and economic implications, bridging AI divides, safe and trustworthy AI, and human rights in the context of AI. The next session of the Dialogue is scheduled for May 2027 in New York.
India’s Position on AI Governance
India participated actively in the Geneva Dialogue, led by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. India articulated a vision of “AI for All”, rooted in the principles of inclusive growth, human oversight, and prevention of misuse. Singh called for closing the AI capacity gap that limits developing countries from participating meaningfully in global AI governance.
At the national level, India has developed its own governance framework. The IndiaAI Mission, launched in March 2024 with a budget of ₹10,371.92 crore (about $1.2 billion), is the flagship initiative for building a comprehensive AI ecosystem. Its seven pillars include expanding national compute capacity, developing indigenous foundation models, scaling the AIKosh national datasets platform, and advancing safe and trusted AI.
In 2026, the government constituted the AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) as the apex inter-ministerial body for AI governance coordination. Chaired by the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, AIGEG is supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC). India’s National AI Governance Guidelines, anchored in seven guiding principles called sutras, adopt a principle-based approach that prioritises innovation while establishing safeguards.
Key Takeaways
- The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI was established by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/79/325 on 26 August 2025, following the Global Digital Compact adopted at the Summit of the Future in September 2024.
- The Preliminary Report, released on 1 July 2026, is the first UN-commissioned independent scientific assessment of AI, covering opportunities, risks, and impacts across seven domains.
- The Panel consists of 40 experts from 37 countries, co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio (2018 Turing Award) and Maria Ressa (2021 Nobel Peace Prize).
- The United States controls 75% of global AI compute capacity among the top 500 supercomputers and produced 59 notable AI models in 2025, compared to 35 for China and just 13 for the rest of the world.
- The report found that 118 countries, mostly in the Global South, are absent from major AI governance discussions, and less than one-third of developing countries have national AI strategies.
- The inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance was held in Geneva on 6-7 July 2026, with India advocating for an “AI for All” approach rooted in inclusive growth and human rights.
