Canada Pushes Safe AI Governance at the United Nations

Canada is pushing artificial intelligence governance higher on its diplomatic agenda at the United Nations, as the fast-moving technology shifts from a purely technical issue into a global political, economic, and security challenge.

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, David Lametti, has said that AI governance has become a priority for his team in New York, stressing the need for international cooperation that brings governments, major technology companies, and less-resourced countries into the same conversation.

Canada’s position focuses on three central principles: safety, fairness, and inclusion. The debate is no longer only about developing faster tools or smarter platforms. It is increasingly about preventing misuse, protecting privacy, countering misinformation, and reducing the digital gap between countries.

Many governments worry that they may become only consumers of artificial intelligence while the rules are shaped by a small number of powerful countries and major technology companies that control the data, infrastructure, and expertise. Ottawa argues that the United Nations, despite its slow processes, remains one of the few global platforms capable of giving smaller and middle-income countries a meaningful voice in shaping the future of AI.

The Canadian push comes as the UN works to build clearer international mechanisms for AI governance, including global dialogue on the issue and independent scientific input on the opportunities and risks created by the technology.

Lametti’s role gives Canada’s position an added dimension. Before becoming Canada’s ambassador to the UN, he served as minister of justice and attorney general, and his academic background includes work related to privacy, technology, and governance. This places Canada’s approach at the intersection of law, human rights, innovation, and international diplomacy.

The main challenge remains finding the right balance between supporting innovation and creating rules that prevent harm. Artificial intelligence can improve education, health care, public services, and economic productivity. But it can also be used for disinformation, cyberattacks, privacy violations, and discriminatory outcomes if left without fair and effective safeguards.

For Canada, the issue is not simply a technology race. It is a new diplomatic test: how can the world build common rules for a technology that is developing faster than governments can regulate it? And how can global governance ensure that artificial intelligence does not become another tool that widens the gap between powerful countries and the rest of the world?