UNGA81: RegulatingAI and Club de Madrid convened global leaders in New York to examine who builds, scrutinizes, and governs AI for the public interest.
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Leaders from diplomacy, technology, global health, journalism and civil society asked who builds, who scrutinizes and who governs AI
Club de Madrid and RegulatingAI co-hosted the invitation-only round table “Who Builds, Who Oversees, Who Governs? Artificial Intelligence in the Global Public Interest” on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the University Club in New York, during the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). The discussion focused on how the international community can make AI governance more inclusive, accountable and effective by addressing capability, accountability and authority together rather than as three separate debates.
The round table took place at a pivotal moment for global AI governance. UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/79/325 established the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The Panel published its Preliminary Report on July 1, 2026, and the first Global Dialogue took place in Geneva in July 2026, with the second scheduled for New York in May 2027.
H.E. Laura Chinchilla, President of Club de Madrid and Former President of Costa Rica, opened the round table on behalf of Club de Madrid, followed by a welcome and framing from Sanjay Puri, Founder & President of RegulatingAI, who set out the three dimensions of the discussion and the four democratic institutions central to it: parliaments, courts, a free press and citizens. Sanjay Puri and María Elena Agüero, Secretary General of Club de Madrid, co-moderated the dialogue.
Round I, “Who builds?”, centered on how the digital divide is becoming an AI capability divide across compute, data, models, skills and energy. Alex Jacob, Director of Technology, Microsoft, delivered the lead briefing, and Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership, served as first respondent. Round II, “Who scrutinizes?”, turned to the move from voluntary commitments to meaningful accountability and independent oversight. Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, CEO, Humane Intelligence, led the round, with responses from Gerard Ryle, Executive Director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and Nuala O’Connor, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, Digital Citizenship, Walmart. Round III, “Who governs?”, addressed the path toward a coherent global governance architecture. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Former U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, delivered the lead briefing, and H.E. Laura Chinchilla served as first respondent.
Renee Fishel, Director, Responsible AI, Novartis; Alaa Moussawi, Chief Data Scientist, New York City Council; and Ladan Fakory, National Security Lead, Lenovo, joined the conversation alongside invited guests.
In the final round, moderated by María Elena Agüero, participants each named one concrete priority the international community could advance over the next two years. María Elena Agüero closed the round table. The co-hosts will distill these priorities into a set of forward-looking propositions to inform relevant multilateral and multi-stakeholder processes, including the Second Global Dialogue on AI Governance in New York in May 2027. The round table took place under the Chatham House Rule.
About Club de Madrid
Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, working to strengthen democratic values and leadership worldwide.
Upasana Das
Knowledge Networks
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