Global Network Initiative

From Dialogue to Action: reflections on the first UN Global AI Dialogue We're pleased to share a new piece on the GNI Confluence Blog by Baraka Matinde, reflecting on the inaugural United Nations Global AI Dialogue (UNGDAI). The Dialogue brought together governments, international organizations, academia, civil society, technical experts, and the private sector around a shared recognition: no single country or institution can govern AI alone. Inclusive multistakeholder cooperation must become the foundation of global AI governance. A few themes stood out: 🔹 Governance shouldn't focus solely on managing risks: it must also ensure countries, particularly in the Global South, can genuinely benefit from AI innovation. 🔹 For many African countries, the immediate challenge is building the enabling conditions for responsible AI adoption: digital infrastructure, connectivity, compute, quality datasets, research funding, and skilled talent. 🔹 AI governance must be grounded in international human rights standards, including dignity, privacy, transparency, accountability, and non-discrimination. 🔹 Meaningful inclusion extends beyond attendance. Africa, least developed countries, youth organizations, and indigenous communities should have the opportunity to shape agendas, not simply respond to them. Read Baraka's full reflections, part of GNI's Multistakeholder Approaches to Participation in AI Governance (MAP-AI) project: https://lnkd.in/gqXpY7DP #AIGovernance #HumanRights #MultistakeholderApproach #GlobalSouth #MAPAI #ResponsibleAI

👁️🗨️ GNI welcomed the opportunity to participate in the European Commission’s call for evidence on ensuring a common EU approach in view of the negotiations for the rules of procedure of the future Conference of the States Parties and on a draft protocol to the United Nations Convention against #Cybercrime (UNCC), to ensure the compatibility of this international agreement, once concluded, with EU law. As industry and civil society stakeholders have pointed out, the existing text of the UNCC contains provisions that are overbroad and lack sufficient safeguards to protect against the risks that cybercrime laws inspired and enforcement facilitated by the Convention could have significant, negative impacts on human rights. Because certain non-democratic states remain keen to further expand the scope of the UNCC through the supplemental protocol, GNI remains convinced of the importance of focusing those negotiations instead on strengthening the Convention’s human rights safeguards and protections. GNI also urges the Commission to settle the matter of stakeholder participation in the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) before allowing substantive negotiations on supplemental protocols to proceed. This participation must be substantive rather than symbolic. Input from civil society and technical experts helps align operational guidance with the principles of necessity, proportionality, and transparency. 

Global Network Initiative (GNI) and Centre for Communication Governance, at NLU New Delhi (CCG) were excited to be in Geneva for the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, as part of our broader MAP-AI project. In addition to having our respective Executive Directors speaking in plenaries and co-hosting a side session during the Global Dialogues, we co-hosted a multistakeholder day bringing together voices from across government, civil society, and industry to discuss the future of AI governance. Here is a blog by Elonnai Hickok Jason Pielemeier Jhalak Kakkar on Advancing AI Governance through Practical, Contextualized Policy Ideas reflecting on the policy priorities that emerged from the UNGDAI: https://lnkd.in/gb--uBU4 We're also pleased to share MAP-AI's report on key takeaways from that event: https://lnkd.in/gcXixkfE Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation - we look forward to continuing this work together! #AIGovernance #MAPAI #Geneva #MultistakeholderDialogue

🔊🔞 Round up of GNI's Age Assurance related engagements: Over the past quarter, GNI has engaged on age assurance through multistakeholder dialogue, regulatory submissions, and expert analysis. A round-up of that work: As more jurisdictions adopt policies requiring age assurance to restrict children's access to social media, the implications for privacy and freedom of expression, for children and adults alike, are profound. Over the past months, GNI has engaged on this issue through multistakeholder dialogue, analysis, and direct regulatory engagement: 🔊 Examining the Rights Implications of Age Assurance Requirements: Following a learning call GNI convened in May, we published key takeaways covering the fast-moving policy landscape, the range of age assurance techniques these policies depend on, deep dives on Brazil and Indonesia, and implications for privacy and freedom of expression. https://lnkd.in/g64Hy2ej 🔊 Feedback to Brazil's ANPD: GNI submitted a statement on Brazil's preliminary Orientative Guide on Age Assurance Mechanisms, commending its grounding in proportionality, necessity, and data minimization, while recommending stronger safeguards on adult impact, scope, biometric defaults, accuracy, and centralization risk. https://lnkd.in/gUbx-bjf 🔊 Human Rights Experts Should Engage in Age Assurance Standards: Building on the takeaways that came from GNI’s learning call, Emma Day and Dr Sabine K Witting of Tech Legality wrote in Tech Policy Press on why human rights and children's rights expertise must be part of the technical standard-setting processes that will shape how age assurance works in practice. https://lnkd.in/ePmiZVM6 Protecting children online is an important aim, and measures pursuing it must be clearly defined, carefully crafted, and proportionate, in line with international human rights law. Given how quickly the technologies and regulatory frameworks are evolving, GNI looks forward to continued multistakeholder dialogue that centers impacts on rights. #AgeAssurance #DigitalRights #FreedomOfExpression #Privacy #ChildSafety #TechPolicy

We are happy to share that the Multistakeholder Approaches to Participation in AI Governance (MAP-AI) project has been featured in the AI Dialogue Partnerships Hub, an initiative under the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance. MAP-AI is a community of over 300 civil society and academic stakeholders from across jurisdictions, with an emphasis on the Global Majority. It was launched by us in collaboration with the Centre for Communication Governance in 2025. Through this project, we seek to advance a substantive rights-based approach to AI governance, driven by Global Majority voices and designed to address key social, safety, and security concerns across critical policy moments, including the 2026 and 2027 UN Global Dialogues on AI Governance (UNGDs) and 2027 and 2028 government-hosted AI summits. To know more: https://lnkd.in/eP4pT5Fa

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in last week's discussion hosted by Oversight Board: "An Oversight Body for AI: Lessons in Global Content Moderation." We explored what AI can learn from years of social media content moderation, how international human rights principles should be applied to these emerging technologies, and how AI can help identify when and where human moderation is most needed. My thoughts from the discussion: 1. Human oversight remains essential. AI can improve efficiency, but it cannot replace human judgment in complex or high-impact decisions. Transparency builds trust, and meaningful appeals and accountability are critical. Bias must be continuously monitored, and a risk-based approach to moderation is key. 2. Key questions remain for AI-enabled content moderation. These include clearly defining appropriate use cases and purposes, distinguishing between moderation in public versus private channels, and determining how to address the propagation of strictly illegal content while respecting fundamental rights. As AI changes how, what, and the speed and scale at which content is produced, organizations need to also think beyond content moderation as a solution and examine more deeply the structure and design of systems and platforms. 3. AI does not shift accountability. Given the scope and scale that AI enables, for many organizations, the greater challenge may be the propagation—as opposed to the suppression—of harmful content, though both raise important questions about the impact on fundamental rights. As decisions become increasingly automated, or even partially automated, important questions arise: What level of internal risk assessment has been conducted? How are potential harms evaluated? And what costs and consequences are organizations prepared to accept? The Meta Oversight Board continues to provide thoughtful, detailed, and case-specific guidance on some of the most challenging questions surrounding content moderation. I was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the conversation and thank the Oversight Board for inviting me to join the panel.

🗽 #MRNYC26 CONFIRMED SESSION: Stakeholder Engagement to Inform Risk Management 🎤 Speakers: - Diane Chang, Senior Product Manager, Google - Allie Funk, Human Rights Manager, Cloudflare - Hilary R., Senior Program Lead, Global Network Initiative - Theodora Skeadas, Community Policy Manager, DoorDash This panel explores how digital platforms conduct stakeholder engagement with external experts and civil society to build robust risk management models. Four experts -- drawing on insights from their work at three platform companies and a leading multistakeholder initiative -- will discuss how meaningful consultation helps companies identify emergent risks, build product trust, and support regulatory compliance. Panelists will also address challenges such as engagement fatigue and uneven power dynamics. Attendees will hear strategies for conducting impactful due diligence to respect user rights, while navigating practical realities. 🔎 Join Google, Cloudflare, DoorDash, Global Network Initiative and hundreds of industry leaders from the Marketplace Risk New York Conference 2026 and be part of this incredible experience! 🎤 Submit your speaker proposal here: https://lnkd.in/e_Tgj8WT 👉🏼 Secure your spot today: https://lnkd.in/erhPF_EV

As the curtains fall on the first-ever United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance, here are some valuable takeaways from a side event that we, the Centre for Communication Governance and Global Network Initiative, co-organised under the MAP-AI banner. We are grateful for the presence of the Dialogue co-chairs, Ambassador Egriselda López and Ambassador Rein Tammsaar at our event on 8 July in Geneva, and Dr. Rumman Chowdhury for her insights. Elonnai Hickok Jason Pielemeier Jhalak Kakkar Seerat Jabeen Sukriti