NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 1 – A United Nations-backed panel of leading scientists has warned that artificial intelligence is advancing faster than governments and researchers can understand or regulate it, cautioning that current safeguards are struggling to keep pace with the technology’s rapidly expanding capabilities.
The warning is contained in the Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, released on Wednesday as the first global scientific assessment of AI’s opportunities, risks and impacts.
The report, prepared by 40 independent scientists and experts drawn from every region of the world, comes as governments grapple with increasingly complex decisions on AI amid rapidly evolving technologies and competing evidence.
It will serve as the scientific foundation for discussions at the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, scheduled to take place in Geneva on July 6 and 7, ahead of the panel’s first comprehensive assessment due in 2027.
The panel cautioned that policymakers face a growing dilemma: by the time sufficient scientific evidence emerges to fully understand the implications of advanced AI systems, it may already be too late to put effective safeguards in place.
“AI capabilities are outpacing both scientific understanding and governments’ ability to adapt. With growing evidence of deceptive AI behaviour, science currently cannot guarantee that as capabilities continue to increase, AI will not cause catastrophic harm, either on its own or due to malicious users,” said Yoshua Bengio, co-chair of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.
“To act effectively, global policymakers must understand these systems. This Panel provides exactly that: a rigorous, shared scientific foundation to guide our collective way forward.”
The report examines AI across seven key areas, including scientific advances, healthcare, education, agriculture, economic development, security, environmental impacts, human rights, democracy, child safety and governance.
While highlighting AI’s potential to transform sectors such as healthcare, scientific research and education, the panel warned that the benefits are unlikely to be shared equally unless governments invest in institutions, skills and governance frameworks capable of managing the technology responsibly.
Co-chair Maria Ressa cautioned that humanity risks missing AI’s enormous promise if current trends continue unchecked.
“The technology is transformative, but if the world keeps moving along this trajectory, humanity will fail to realize the gains it promises. The risks—to societies, to security, and to our species—are too high, and the forces driving AI forward are not the forces that will deliver its benefits,” she said.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged world leaders to use the report as a common scientific reference point for global AI governance.
“The world cannot govern what it cannot understand. The Panel’s report provides independent science, drawn from every region, and available to every government,” Guterres said.
“Its message is clear: the potential is great, but the risks are real, and the cost of waiting is rising. I urge all leaders to use this shared evidence to act together, and without delay.”
UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill said AI alone would not bridge global inequalities, warning that countries lacking the necessary digital infrastructure, institutions and skills risk falling further behind.
“The benefits land where institutions, skills and data already exist. Where they do not, the same technology can displace workers, widen inequality and leave communities dependent on systems built without them in mind,” Gill said.
The panel was established by the United Nations to provide independent, evidence-based scientific assessments of artificial intelligence. It will publish regular reports and thematic briefs as AI technologies evolve, with its first full global assessment expected in 2027.
