Press Release | UN launches AI Governance for Humanity Lab in Valencia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UN launches AI Governance for Humanity Lab in Valencia
Accelerating Cooperation on AI Governance
The Lab's first convenings advance practical cooperation on AI governance interoperability and implementation
Valencia, 28 May 2026 – The United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UN ODET) today officially launched the AI Governance for Humanity Lab in Valencia, Spain. A UN initiative anchored in ODET, based in Valencia, the Lab focuses on the practical side of AI governance: building shared understanding of how AI is governed across countries, advancing interoperability between governance frameworks, and supporting implementation across regions and sectors. The Lab was established with the support of the Kingdom of Spain.
The launch brought together AI governance experts, industry practitioners, researchers, and policymakers across two days of expert workshops and a public launch event.
"As artificial intelligence advances at extraordinary speed, we need international cooperation that is inclusive, practical, and rooted in shared principles so that innovation serves humanity. AI Governance needs innovation. And it is here where the Valencia Lab stands."
– Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies
The Valencia Dialogues featured four expert workshops across two days, focused on two workstreams: AI governance interoperability and private-sector implementation of AI governance frameworks. Both workstreams will produce outputs to inform international processes. A white paper for Member States maps the fragmented AI governance landscape and sets out policy options for cooperation. An insights report covers how industry is operationalising AI governance globally. Both will be offered as analytical contributions to the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, scheduled for 6–7 July 2026 in Geneva. The views expressed in these outputs are those of the contributing experts and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the United Nations.
The Lab operates across three areas: network mobilisation across governments, industry, civil society, and academia; comparative analysis of AI policy landscapes; and prototyping new cooperative tools and practices. It advances the recommendations of Governing AI for Humanity, the report of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. The Lab delivers on ODET's mandate to facilitate inclusive, multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on AI governance, and supports the architecture for global cooperation on AI governance, including the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, both established under UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/79/325.
The Lab is open to collaboration with experts, institutions, and initiatives across regions.
About the AI Governance for Humanity Lab
The AI Governance for Humanity Lab is a UN initiative anchored in the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UN ODET) and based in Valencia, Spain. Established with the support of the Kingdom of Spain, the Lab advances the recommendations of Governing AI for Humanity, the report of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, and delivers on ODET's mandate to facilitate inclusive, multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on AI governance. The Lab works across network mobilisation, policy analysis and learning, and innovation in AI governance.
Website: https://www.un.org/digital-emerging-technologies/content/ai-governance-h...
Contact: ai-governance-lab@un.org
Media contact: Karoline Hassfurter (karoline.hassfurter@un.org)