Episode 8 of Multilateralism UNpacked examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping global governance at a moment when the technology is advancing faster than multilateral systems can adapt. AI is reshaping information environments, influencing conflict dynamics, transforming labour markets, and accelerating both opportunities and risks for sustainable development.

For the United Nations – an institution mandated to maintain peace and security, protect human rights and advance global development – AI presents both a major governance challenge and an important test of international cooperation.

To examine these issues, Dr. Jack Durrell, Head of Communications at UNU-CPR, speaks with Dr. Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, whose research at UNU-CPR has helped shape global debates on AI governance. Her work has ranged from analysing AI’s implications for peace and conflict to co-developing the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs and contributing to emerging thinking on scientific consensus mechanisms and the International Scientific Panel on AI. Most recently, she co authored the ITU’s AI for Good flagship report, Unlocking AI’s Potential to Serve Humanity, which outlines practical pathways for deploying AI in support of human and planetary well being.

As Eleonore now transitions into a senior public leadership role as New York State’s Chief AI Officer, she reflects on her work at UNU CPR and considers:

1. How AI is challenging existing UN capacities and processes;
2. What role the UN can realistically play in global AI governance;
3. How that role is evolving as Member States, companies and civil society shape the agenda;
4. And where the most significant future risks and opportunities are likely to emerge.

For more information:

1. Unlocking AI's Potential to Serve Humanity: https://unu.edu/cpr/report/unlocking-ais-potential-serve-humanity-robotics-geospatial-ai-and-communications
2. Four Ways the International Scientific Panel on AI Should Approach AI Risks: https://theglobalobservatory.org/2025/09/how-international-scientific-panel-on-ai-should-approach-risk/
3. Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs: https://unu.edu/cpr/news/hamburg-declaration-responsible-ai-sdgs
4. Foundation of Scientific Consensus for International Cooperation: https://unu.edu/cpr/brief/foundations-scientific-consensus-international-cooperation
5. Disinformation and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa: https://unu.edu/publication/disinformation-and-peacebuilding-sub-saharan-africa

In this episode of Multilateralism Unpacked, UNU-CPR’s Head of Communications, Jack Durrell, speaks with Senior Researcher Michael Franczak, sharing insights from his experience at COP30 in Belém.

Their conversation explores why COP 30 felt substantially different from previous summits – marked by the acknowledgement of a 1.5°C overshoot, shrinking aid budgets and Europe’s energy and security pressures.

While meaningful advances emerged on trade, adaptation and subnational leadership, the absence of new finance pledges and stalled fossil fuel phase-out language underscored the limits of the process.

Together, they reflect on the mixed outcomes, the obstacles holding back global climate ambition and the opportunities that could still drive momentum forward.

In this episode of Multilateralism Unpacked, Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation at UNU-CPR, speaks with Laurent Gisel, Head of the Arms and Conduct of Hostilities Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), about one of the most urgent challenges in global governance: the rise of AI-enabled autonomous weapons.

Military investment in AI is accelerating, and systems capable of independently selecting and attacking targets are already being developed. Gisel explains how the use of these weapons can violate the principles of the Geneva Conventions.

Drawing on a recent ICRC report to the UN Secretary-General, as well as the ongoing activities of the UN’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security, the podcast explores the various military uses of AI and considers the urgent need for a new international treaty on lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Related information:

The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols: https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/geneva-conventions-and-their-commentaries

ICRC Submission to the UN Secretary-General on Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain: https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/ICRC_Report_Submission_to_UNSG_on_AI_in_military_domain.pdf

United Nations Resolution 78/241 on lethal autonomous weapons: https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/78/241