Meeting on the margins of the Summit of the Future at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen and the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Singh Gill, announced a new enhanced collaboration between the UN and the OECD on global AI governance.  

“The speed of AI technology development and the breadth of its impact requires diverse policy ecosystems to work more cohesively. And in real time. I am delighted that the OECD and the UN will link their efforts to help governments improve the quality and timeliness of their policy response to AI’s opportunities and its risks,” UN Under-Secretary General Gill said. “We will work with all stakeholders, including leading scientists and academic centres from around the globe, to realise this goal.”

“Rigorous scientific and evidence-based assessment must be at the heart of global AI governance. This announcement marks a significant step in that direction by bringing the technical and analytical capabilities of the OECD together with the UN's global reach and complementary efforts to support globally coordinated AI governance.” OECD Deputy Secretary General Knudsen said. “The OECD's AI Policy Observatory, our extensive work to advance the implementation of the AI Principles and the Global Partnership on AI at the OECD provide a strong foundation for this collaboration. Our joint efforts will help countries to seize all the opportunities of AI while mitigating and better managing the associated risks and disruptions to foster human-centred, safe, secure and trustworthy AI.”

UN-OECD collaboration will focus on regular science and evidence-based AI risk and opportunity assessments. The two organisations will leverage their respective networks, convening platforms and ongoing work on AI policy and governance to support their member States and other stakeholders in their efforts to foster a globally inclusive approach.

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Elisabeth Schoeffmann in the OECD Media Office (tel. + 33 1 45 24 97 00).

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.