Civil society read‑out report on inaugural United Nations Global Dialogue on AI governance
A civil‑society read‑out report on the first United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance was released on 20 September 2024. The report was prepared jointly by the Global Digital Rights Coalition, the Global Digital Justice Forum, the Global South Alliance, MAP‑AI and the civil‑society members of the Gender in Digital Coalition.
The inaugural Dialogue, created by the United Nations General Assembly, provided a platform for governments and other stakeholders to discuss international cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI). The civil‑society report summarises the discussions held during the Dialogue and identifies gaps that the authors say should be addressed in a second Dialogue. The document does not include responses from governments, UN bodies or other actors.
Key observations and recommendations
The authors state that AI systems are developed within existing social, economic and historical contexts and may reinforce global and local inequalities, particularly between the Global North and the Global South. They call for inclusive AI development that integrates diverse knowledge systems, languages and the lived experiences of women, Indigenous Peoples and other historically marginalised groups.
The report recommends robust data governance that safeguards collective privacy and recognises community data stewardship. It urges alignment with the work of the Working Group on Data Governance at All Levels of the United Nations Commission on Science, Technology and Development. The authors also suggest regulatory and oversight measures to curb manipulative AI‑enabled design practices, with particular attention to AI in education and its impact on children.
In a second cluster the authors call on Member States to commit to broad capacity‑building that includes technical, institutional and human‑rights dimensions, and to treat provenance‑based, consent‑based data for under‑documented populations as a core digital foundation alongside connectivity infrastructure. They recommend the development of diverse, high‑quality datasets that reflect women, underrepresented linguistic communities and other marginalised groups, and the promotion of context‑appropriate AI models that are co‑designed with local stakeholders.
The third cluster urges the adoption of secure‑by‑design AI frameworks across the AI lifecycle and the convergence on shared human‑rights frameworks such as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI. The authors propose the establishment of content‑authenticity infrastructures that prioritise privacy over surveillance and call for a multistakeholder working group on content authenticity and information integrity.
The fourth cluster focuses on human‑rights accountability. The authors request that national AI policies and regulations be grounded in existing international human‑rights law and that ex‑ante safeguards such as human‑rights due diligence and impact assessments be applied across the AI value chain. Referring to the 2024 United Nations General Assembly resolution on safe, secure and trustworthy AI, they ask that the Chairs’ Summary incorporate precautionary red‑line provisions, including prohibitions on biometric mass surveillance, social‑scoring systems, manipulative AI design, lethal‑force AI applications and AI that enhances chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats.
Procedural recommendations
The report makes a series of procedural suggestions for the upcoming second Dialogue. It encourages the co‑chairs and the Secretariat to attend the global Internet Governance Forum to consult with a wider range of stakeholders, and to ensure adequate resourcing of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN human‑rights mechanisms for monitoring AI‑related harms. It calls for logistical support to obtain visas for participants from the Global South, for continued online and regional consultations, and for stronger links with other AI‑related events such as the AI Summit series.
Regarding the format of the Dialogue, the authors ask that plenary speaking slots for representatives of developing countries include civil‑society organisations, and that speaker allocation follow the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science to ensure meaningful participation of groups such as ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, women and girls, LGBTIQ+ persons and youth. They also request that speakers be confirmed at least two weeks before the event and that mechanisms be established for participants who cannot take the floor to provide input.
The civil‑society coalitions conclude by thanking the co‑facilitators for their openness and express readiness to discuss the recommendations ahead of the second United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance. Their input is intended to inform the development of an inclusive, rights‑based and effective global AI governance framework.
