UN appoints AI scientific panel members, 2 Chinese scientists selected

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday appointed 40 members to the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The three-year term of the panel will begin on February 12, 2026, and run through February 11, 2029.

Among those selected are two Chinese scientists: Song Haitao, president of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, and Wang Jian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a leading expert in cloud computing.

Public information shows that Song, born in 1986, is a leading figure behind Shanghai's first new-style research and development institution in the AI field. He has received the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. Wang, born in 1962, is the founder of Alibaba Cloud. His work focuses on cloud computing technologies and their industrial applications. He pioneered a data-centric distributed cloud computing architecture and was among the first to propose computing as a public service model.

In a statement, António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said the appointment of the members "marks a foundational step toward global scientific understanding of AI."

According to the statement, the panel members were selected from more than 2,600 candidates following an independent review process conducted by the International Telecommunication Union, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, and UNESCO.

The newly established panel will operate within the United Nations, with members serving in their personal capacity. Guterres noted that the panel brings together a multidisciplinary group of leading AI experts from around the world, reflecting geographical diversity and gender balance. The panel will provide independent and impartial assessments of AI's opportunities, risks and impacts, including contributions to the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

"In a world where AI is racing ahead, this Panel will provide what's been missing – rigorous, independent scientific insight that enables all Member States, regardless of their technological capacity, to engage on an equal footing," he said.

(With input from Xinhua)