2025 was a year of breakneck technological progress: advances in large AI models fueled discussions on the arrival of artificial general intelligence while new small and open-source models offered new paths to AI diffusion and adoption. Advances in quantum computing brought the world closer to practical applications of quantum, while digital twins and virtual modeling began to power more serious uses across city planning, manufacturing, and disaster preparedness and resilience.  

Even in the midst of systemic shocks, 2025 also witnessed multiple milestone moments in technology policy, with world leaders agreeing to establish a scientific panel and global dialogue on AI, new commitments to strengthen international cooperation to realize the full potential of AI, and the reaffirmation of a multistakeholder approach to internet governance.  

2026 will offer a number of promising policy moments for governments, the private sector and civil society to build on this progress with a focus on impact, delivery, and learning across country contexts.  

Here are twelve of the most important moments to watch in 2026: 

African Union Summit, 11-15 February, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 

The African Union will hold its 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government, also known as the AU's annual summit, in February. The convening will serve as a critical milestone after the agreement in 2025 to declare AI a strategic priority. The summit will also be an important opportunity to assess progress and key obstacles in implementing the continent’s AI strategy, which was agreed in 2024 and identifies five priorities, namely harnessing benefits, building capacity, mitigating risks, boosting investment, and fostering regional and international cooperation. 

Several continent-wide AI initiatives are fostering new partnerships and supporting inclusive and locally-led AI developments in Africa. These include the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, co-created by the Government of Italy and UNDP, which seeks to accelerate sustainable AI-driven industrial growth in Africa.  

India AI Impact Summit, 19-20 February, New Delhi, India 

In February, the government of India will host the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, bringing together leaders from government, civil society, the private sector, researchers and others under the banner of “shaping AI for humanity, inclusive growth, and a sustainable future.” The summit will be preceded by more than three hundred pre-summit events and focus on delivering action across seven themes including safe and trusted AI, democratizing AI resources, and AI for economic development and social good.  

India's AI Action Summit is the fourth global AI summit, which began in 2023 in the United Kingdom, and is the first to be held in a developing country. As greater attention turns to the opportunities AI can offer in developing countries, the need to safeguard against potential harms, and the urgency of closing the global AI equity gap, the India AI Impact Summit comes at a crucial moment to deliver new commitments and action. 

Global Fraud Summit, 16 – 17 March, Vienna, Austria 

In March, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and INTERPOL will host the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, a ministerial level event bringing together officials from government and law enforcement together with international organizations, the private sector, and academia. Meeting under the theme “Together against fraud: Moving from commitment to joint action,” the summit will aim to galvanize action to tackle the growing global scourge of fraud, delivering action against a global call to action against fraud. 

Each year, the world loses more than a trillion dollars to scams. But the cost is borne disproportionately by developing countries. While rich countries experience losses amounting to approximately 0.2 percent of GDP, losses in developing countries can reach 3-4 percent of GDP. At a time when developing countries are struggling with historically high debt payments, reduced development assistance, and uncertain economic futures, tackling scams is a pressing development priority. As advances in digital technologies, including AI, are acting as a force multiplier for scammers, they are also presenting new opportunities to detect and defend against scams as part of a whole-of-society approach for improving digital hygiene and security.  

Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, 20 – 22 May, Singapore 

In May, Singapore will host the Asia Tech x Singapore conference, bringing together leaders from government and the private sector to explore critical digital themes including on AI governance, quantum computing, sustainability, and compute. Crucially, the convening elevates the importance of trust, which underpins inclusive digital transformations, as one of its four pillars.  

The conference has become a launchpad for new partnerships and commitments to support safe and inclusive digital economies. At the 2025 Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, the government of Singapore and partners launched a platform bringing together government, research institutions, private sector and others to use Singapore’s Large Language Model – Multimodal Empathic Reasoning and Learning in One Network (MERaLiON) to develop practical AI applications, leveraging the model's strengthened multilingual processing capabilities.