Empowering parliaments to shape our digital future
January 27, 2025

Harnessing AI's potential to drive scientific discovery, economic growth and advancements in areas such as healthcare and energy.
Last year saw significant steps across the UN system to advance AI governance. At the UN Summit for the Future in October, global leaders adopted the Pact for the Future and Global Digital Compact (GDC). A few days prior, the UN High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence released Governing AI for Humanity, laying out a global governance agenda and recommending action across the UN system.
The lawmaking, oversight, public education and engagement roles of parliament are essential as digital technologies reshape economies, societies and governance processes. This blog looks at how we can empower parliaments with the knowledge, tools and resources to meet the opportunities and challenges of the modern digital era.
The GDC represents a milestone for digital governance. It envisions an “inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future”, harnessing technology to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (“governing through digital”). The GDC outlines efforts to reduce the digital divide through investment in digital public infrastructure such as digital identity and payments and promoting digital public goods such as open-source software, data and AI models. It also emphasizes that safe, secure and trustworthy digital technologies require effective global governance , outlining a balanced, risk-based approach to AI governance.
In a world where knowledge and influence on digital technology increasingly lies with the private sector, we need well-informed and active democratic institutions to ensure technology serves the common good. Parliamentarians will play a key role in ensuring digital infrastructure is accessible and inclusive, to protect rights and ensure that rapid digitization and datafication does not risk deepening structural inequalities. The engagement of elected representatives is vital to ensuring a strong democratic element in shaping our collective digital future.
Governing AI for Humanity highlights AI's potential to drive scientific discovery, economic growth and advancements in areas like healthcare and energy, while noting that global AI governance has significant representation, coordination and implementation gaps. National regulatory regimes are fragmented, and 118 countries are not involved in international governance initiatives related to AI at all. The absence of binding rules risks privacy and security threats, increased societal inequalities, job displacement and environment strain.
In response, the report proposes building blocks for a comprehensive international AI governance framework, including scientific collaboration, policy dialogues and global standards, alongside capacity-building initiatives, funding mechanisms and data frameworks.
Amidst these comprehensive recommendations, there remain democratic gaps. As we see automated decision-making and predictive analytics increasingly incorporated into government functions in the name of efficiency and cost-saving, it is crucial that support and expertise is also mobilized for parliaments to enable effective checks and balances, safeguard rights and maintain public trust. Without this, we risk an erosion of parliament’s oversight powers that could shift power disproportionately toward the executive branch. Efforts to “reduce regulatory friction across borders”, develop “interoperable governance approaches anchored in global norms” and engage “more voices … in decisions about how to govern technology” also require well-informed and engaged MPs to help nationalize emerging international agreements in regulation and ensure the needs of the public are brought into discussions on AI governance.
The report ends with a call to action, emphasizing that the ultimate impact of technological change depends on humanity's response. To turn the principles of the GDC and recommendations of Governing AI for Humanity into tangible outcomes, parliaments must have a central role as the bridge between public interests and global agreements. What does this require?
While Governing AI for Humanity calls for a global capacity development network for public officials, there is an urgent need for a similar mechanism that can help meet the specific needs of parliaments and provide foundational knowledge on issues such as ethics, privacy, socioeconomic impact and regulatory responses. Their engagement with civil society, academia, the private sector, AI safety institutes and other governance bodies can provide up-to-date briefings and data on technological developments, emerging risks and regulatory approaches.
A parliamentary network on AI governance would also allow MPs worldwide to share with each other their experience and expertise on initiatives like AI risk assessments, standards, policy responses and regulatory interoperability. The network could share model legislation and pool knowledge and evidence from research services and committee inquiries on emerging technology. Over time it could help coordinate a voice for parliaments in regional and global discussions on AI governance, further supporting a wider range of public views, including those of harder-to-reach groups, into discussions on AI governance.
UNDP is uniquely positioned to lead these efforts as the world's largest provider of parliamentary strengthening support, and it is already receiving high levels of demand on these issues. Its network of country offices can provide support on the ground to help ‘future-proof’ parliaments. For instance, helping conduct human rights and democratic impact assessments, strengthening research services and information to MPs, and supporting inclusive public engagement initiatives on uses of AI and other technologies. National support can assist parliaments to develop their own digital infrastructure and integrate AI into different functions, essential to help develop modern, effective institutions that leverage the benefits of technology responsibly.
The GDC and “Governing AI for Humanity" suggest an urgent need for democratic oversight and public engagement in AI governance. It is time to focus on practical action. A global agenda to support parliaments is essential for fostering a safe, equitable, inclusive and sustainable digital future for all.