Director-General's remarks at the Dubrovnik Forum 2026

Dubrovnik Forum 2026
“Geopolitics of Artificial Intelligence: Who will rule the Digital Future”
Friday, 26 June 2026, 2.45 p.m.
Conference Hall Mare I

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Excellencies, 
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure to join you today at the Dubrovnik Forum for this important discussion on the geopolitics of artificial intelligence. I thank the organizers for convening this timely panel on “Who will Rule the Digital Future?”

Over the years, the Dubrovnik Forum has become an essential platform for dialogue at a time when dialogue is urgently needed – particularly on emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, which are rapidly reshaping global power dynamics.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The title of today’s panel poses a provocative question. Yet, from a United Nations perspective, an even more fundamental question is “How can we ensure that the digital future serves humanity as a whole?”.

AI is no longer merely a technological innovation. It has become a strategic factor shaping economic competitiveness, national security, scientific leadership and geopolitical influence. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned, “AI is a transformative technology whose impact will reach every aspect of our lives”.

Today, discussions on AI are increasingly framed in terms of competition: competition for talent; competition for computing power; competition for semiconductors; competition for data and competition for the ability to define standards and norms. These debates are legitimate.

However, AI also presents a profound paradox. While its development may be concentrated in a relatively small number of countries and companies, its consequences are global.

The risks do not stop at national borders. Neither do the opportunities. No country alone can, on its own, effectively address challenges such as AI-enabled disinformation, cyber threats, algorithmic bias and discrimination, a widening digital divide, the implications for labor markets, or the ethical questions raised by increasingly autonomous systems.

This is why multilateralism remains indispensable.

Encouragingly, the international community has recently taken important steps in this direction. At the Summit of the Future in 2024, Member States adopted the Global Digital Compact. More recently, the General Assembly established two new mechanisms: 
-    The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI;
-    The Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

Together, they represent the beginnings of a new global architecture for AI governance —one that combines scientific evidence with inclusive political dialogue to ensure that decisions about AI are informed, coordinated, and globally representative.

In March this year, the United Nations Office at Geneva hosted an Executive Briefing with the Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. A clear message emerged from Member States: AI governance must be inclusive.

Delegations stressed that the benefits of AI remain unevenly distributed. Persistent gaps in infrastructure, computing capacity, skills and access to data risk deepening existing inequalities. The notion of an “AI divide” is now becoming as important as the digital divide itself.

A second key message was the importance of diversity. Delegations emphasized linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as the need for broad stakeholder participation. Many highlighted that AI systems must reflect the world’s diversity rather than reinforce existing imbalances. This is particularly relevant because the majority of the world’s languages remain underrepresented in AI systems. If we are serious about inclusion, multilingualism cannot be an afterthought.

A third theme was trust. Innovation and governance are sometimes portrayed as competing objectives. In reality, they are mutually reinforcing. Trustworthy AI is not an obstacle to innovation — it is a precondition for sustainable innovation. As has been rightly noted by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, innovation that undermines trust ultimately undermines itself.

This brings me to the unique role of Geneva.

The Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue recently described Geneva as the “heart of AI dialogue efforts.” International Geneva brings together unparallel expertise across human rights, telecommunications, trade, intellectual property, health, science, standards-setting and humanitarian action. It hosts a unique ecosystem of actors, including ITU and many other UN entities working across the digital agenda.

Few places in the world offer such a concentration of institutions and stakeholders. At a time of growing geopolitical tensions, Geneva continues to provide a trusted space where dialogue remains possible.

The inaugural session of Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, to be held in Geneva in a few days, illustrates this role — bringing together global stakeholders to explore how AI can support sustainable development while addressing ethical, societal and security risks. In this context, the Secretary-General has called for a “global, inclusive and networked approach to AI governance.”

Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to conclude with three reflections.

-    First, the future of AI should not be determined exclusively by technological power. It should also be shaped by shared principles and common responsibility.

-    Second, AI governance must be global. No country, company, or region can effectively govern this technology alone.

-    Third, the true measure of success will not be how powerful AI becomes, but whether it advances peace, sustainable development, human rights and human dignity.

The challenge before us is therefore not simply who will rule the digital future. It is how we can ensure that humanity remains at the centre of it.

Thank you.