PAST EVENT
Governing at the Speed of AI
High-Level International Coordination for Crisis Preparedness at UNGA 81
Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM | Reception to Follow, Delegates Dining Room, UN Headquarters
OVERVIEW
AI Safety Connect at UNGA 81
Thursday, 24 September 2026 | UN Headquarters
Governing at the Speed of AI was an invitation-only evening convening 250 heads of State, Ministers, senior diplomats, frontier AI leaders and leading experts at the United Nations Headquarters during the High-Level Week of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81). As AI capabilities and risks advance at unprecedented speed, this gathering offered a rare setting to advance multilateral coordination toward safe, secure and trustworthy AI, align priorities across sectors and forge the relationships that international governance will require.
Co-hosted by:
Additionally supported by:
6:00PM-6:15PM
Welcome & Doors Open
6:20PM-6:35PM
Welcome Remarks
The evening's hosts and lead supporters welcomed guests and opened the convening, setting out its purpose and framing the central task: turning the frontier industry's proposal to pace AI development into a shared plan the multilateral system can act on.
Dr. Andrew Forrest AO
Executive Chairman and Founder of Fortescue, Founder of Minderoo Foundation and Tattarang
H.E. Haoliang Xu
UN Under-Secretary-General, UNDP Associate Administrator
Terah Lyons
Managing Director & Global Head of AI & Data Policy, JPMorganChase
6:35PM - 6:45PM
Opening Keynotes
Heads of government and state gave keynote presentations addressing AI crisis preparedness and risk management. Speakers set out national and international perspectives on anticipating, mitigating, and responding to potential crises arising from advanced AI systems, and on what the rest of the world requires from the new plan put forth by industry players. The keynotes signalled high-level political commitment to risk management and framed the substantive discussions that followed among policymakers, researchers, and technical experts.
H.E. Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva
Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda
6:45PM - 6:50PM
Rapporteur
A rapporteur relayed proposed next steps toward international cooperation on preparedness and risk mitigation following the Evidence to Action roundtable, held under Chatham House rules, where authors of international research papers tested the plan set out in We Must Pace the Frontier against their evidence and proposed action pathways from their work.
6:50PM - 7:15PM
Government in Action Panel
Following the presentations by heads of state, political leaders engaged in a more in-depth discussion on government perspectives on the current state of crisis preparedness and risk mitigation at national, regional, and international levels, and on what their governments would need for a pacing plan.
H.E. David Lametti
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York
H.E. Mary Robinson
First woman President of Ireland (former) and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Member of The Elders
7:25PM - 7:50PM
Expert Panel: Operationalizing Crisis Preparedness
Participants built on the preceding keynote presentations and discussion and moved to operational and technical detail. They examined what embedded, third-party evaluators and pre-release testing through a global standards body, Step 1 and Level 2 of the plan set out in We Must Pace the Frontier, would concretely require of industry, institutions, and the scientific community. Panelists considered the practical mechanisms, technical standards, and cross-sector cooperation needed to translate broader safety and security objectives into actionable practice.
XIAO Qian
Vice Dean for AI International Governance & Deputy Director, Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University
Sara Rendtorff-Smith
Head of the AI and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, STI, OECD
8:00PM - 8:33PM
Industry Lightning Round
In this lightning round, the moderator asked one question to representatives from frontier AI companies. Each delivered brief, time-limited remarks offering an industry perspective on AI crisis preparedness in wake of the calls for regulation. In quick succession, speakers set out how leading developers of advanced AI systems are approaching safety and security within their own organizations, and how they see this evolving to support broader, coordinated efforts to manage AI-related risks.
Dr. Gabriela Ramos
Senior fellow at Institute for Artificial Intelligence Policy and Strategy (IAPS), former Additional DG UNESCO and former OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20
8:33PM - 8:43PM
Closing Remarks
The event closed with keynote presentations from heads of international organizations and government ministers, offering institutional and national perspectives on AI crisis preparedness and risk management, and reaffirming governmental and institutional commitments to the 24-month plan and statement this evening is designed to produce.
H.E. Ambassador Youn Jong Kwon
Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations
H.E. Mariya Gabriel
Assistant Director-General, Communication and Information, UNESCO (video recording)
9:00PM - 9:30PM
Reception Begins
9:30PM - 9:37PM
Reception Brief Welcome Remarks
Event co-hosts briefly presented the excellent work they are doing to advance coordinated responses and preparedness for frontier AI-related risks.
Charbel-Raphaël Segerie
Executive Director, Centre pour la Sécurité de l'IA (CeSIA)
9:37PM - 11:00PM
Reception Extension
The event was hosted by AI Safety Connect, supported by Minderoo Foundation, sponsored by J. P. Morgan and co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Canada, Estonia, France, Netherlands and Singapore to the United Nations, the Ministries for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica and Finland, Ministry of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications of the UAE, the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology within the Executive Office of the President of Kenya, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Foundation, and additionally supported by the Centre pour la Sécurité de l'IA, Concordia AI, Fathom, the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI).
PROGRAM
PROGRAM
6:00PM - 6:15PM
Welcome & Doors Open
6:20PM - 6:35PM
Welcome Address
6:35PM - 6:45PM
Opening Keynotes (Head of State Level)
6:45PM - 6:50PM
Rapporteur
6:50PM - 7:15PM
Government in Action Panel
7:25PM - 7:50PM
Panel: Operationalizing Crisis Preparedness
8:00PM - 8:33PM
Industry Lightning Round
8:33PM - 8:43PM
Closing Remarks
9:00PM - 9:30PM
Reception Begins
9:30PM - 9:37PM
Reception Brief
9:37PM - 11:00PM
Reception Extension
