Global AI in the Bletchley Process
At the 3rd AI Summit of the Bletchley Process in Paris on 11 and 12 February 2025, 61 countries signed a "Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet". For the first time, "AI and energy" and "AI and the labour market" were on the agenda. The declaration reinforces the multi-stakeholder model for AI governance, welcomes the expansion of the "AI Safety Institute" established at the second summit in Korea, and supports the UN initiatives for a global AI dialogue and an international AI panel. 10 countries, including Germany and India, established a "Public Interest AI Platform" (PIAP), which aims to counteract the fragmentation of AI discussions and involve developing countries more closely. The statement was signed by all EU member states and many developing countries as well as China, but not by the USA and the UK. US Vice President Vance criticised the European AI law: "Excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry". US AI should remain the "gold standard" worldwide and be free from ideologically motivated restrictions.
Global AI in the UN
On 17 and 18 February 2025, two UN consultations were held with governments and stakeholders on the "International Scientific Panel on AI" and the "Global Dialogue on AI Governance". The topics were mandate, structures and results. An "Elements Paper" dated 28 February 2025 calls for the UN to play a major role in global AI governance. The AI Panel should be "independent, multidisciplinary and global". A "Selection Committee" will nominate members through a transparent nomination process. An annual "Global AI Report" is to be published. The AI dialogue should be "multistakeholder" and "multilateral", use synergies with other initiatives, take place annually (in conjunction with other UN conferences such as ITU or IGF) and develop non-binding recommendations. The AI Panel and AI Dialogue will be supported by a UN secretariat and evaluated by the GDC review conference in 2027.
Key points for the 19th IGF
On 13 February 2025, the MAG decided in a virtual meeting on the key points of the 19th IGF (June 2025, Oslo). Under the overarching theme "Building Digital Governance Together", four topics will be discussed: "1. Digital Trust and Resilience, 2. Sustainable and Responsible Innovation, 3. Universal Access and Digital Rights, 4. Digital Cooperation." In addition to the established formats, there will be a high-level government meeting to set the course for the WSIS+20 process, which will have to decide on an IGF mandate extension in December 2025. Proposals for IGF workshops can be submitted until 12 March 2025.
WSIS+20 process officially launched
On 7 February 2025, Philemon Yang, President of the 79th UN General Assembly, officially launched the WSIS+20 process. In a first step, to be completed by 30 March 2025, the modalities shall be clarified. The plan is to establish an "intergovernmental preparatory process that also takes into account inputs from all relevant WSIS stakeholders", which will culminate in a high-level intergovernmental conference in New York on 15 and 16 December 2025. However, it remains unclear how "input" from non-state actors is to lead to "impact" in intergovernmental negotiations. The Zero Draft states: "The President of the General Assembly will organize informal interactive consultations with all relevant WSIS stakeholders in order to collect their inputs for the intergovernmental negotiation process."
Estonia having taken over the chairmanship of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) in 2025, the FOC put forward four proposals for the WSIS+20 review conference on 12 February 2025: The multistakeholder model is to be further developed, the mandate of the IGF to be extended, digital inclusion to be strengthened and the creation of new processes or institutions to be avoided.
Cyber warfare reached new dimension
At the Munich Security Conference held from 13 to 16 February 2025, it became clear that digital topics are increasingly being viewed from a military perspective. "Cyber warfare", like land, air and sea warfare, has become an integral part of military conflict between states. This concerns both the ‘hardware’ such as the application of AI in traditional weapons systems, the use of autonomous weapons or cyber attacks on infrastructure, and the ‘software’, i.e. hybrid warfare such as fake news. [see https://securityconference.org/msc-2025/ und https://mcsc.io/mcsc-2025/]
ITU-CWG Internet scrutinizes resource management on the internet
At the meeting of the ITU-CWG Internet in Geneva on 19 and 20 February 2025, the proposal put forward by the RCC Group/Russia to once again look into the question of intergovernmental oversight of the management of critical internet resources, including the Domain Name System (DNS), did not receive broad support. It is recommended that the ITU mention the topic in its report for the WSIS+20 review conference. The IGF received widespread support as an important forum, especially for developing countries. Since the GDC has recognized that "Internet governance must continue to be global and multistakeholder in nature," the question of opening the CWG Internet to non-state actors was raised again by some governments. But there was no majority for this either. The next open consultation with stakeholders is to take place by September 2025 on the topic of "Ensuring Meaningful Connectivity to the Internet in Landlocked Developing Countries".
The new US memorandum
On 21 February 2025, US President Trump signed a memorandum on "Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties". Among other things, it requires the US Department of Commerce to investigate the extent to which the legislation of other countries restrict the freedoms of US Internet companies – i.e. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, X, Open AI & Co. – and how the US should proceed against them. The memorandum states: "Instead of empowering their own workers and economies, foreign governments have increasingly exerted extraterritorial authority over American companies, particularly in the technology sector, hindering these companies’ success and appropriating revenues that should contribute to our Nation’s well-being, not theirs." American technical companies were "plundered" in other countries, including the EU. "Where a foreign government takes action that is designed to transfer intellectual property from American companies, we will take responsive action. Regulations that dictate how American companies interact with consumers in the EU, such as the DMA and the DSA, will be scrutinized." Legal regimes that "limit cross-border data flows, require American streaming services to fund local productions, and charge network usage and Internet termination fees" are not acceptable and "violate American sovereignty and offshore American jobs, limit American companies’ global competitiveness, and increase American operational costs while exposing our sensitive information to potentially hostile foreign regulators."
BRICS and G20 call for digital sovereignty and inclusion
On 25 February 2025, Brazilian President Lula, who is chairing BRICS in 2025, called in Brasilia for greater participation of the Global South in the AI discussion. "This technology must not become the monopoly of a few countries and a few companies. Large corporations do not have the right to silence and destabilize entire nations with disinformation. ... We cannot allow the unequal distribution of this technology to leave the Global South on the sidelines. Public interest and digital sovereignty must prevail over corporate greed."[13] He announced the preparation of a "BRICS Leaders’ Declaration on Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Development".
On 19 February 2025, the G20 Employment Working Group (EWG) discussed a proposal from South Africa on "Social security and digitization for an inclusive future work" in Gqeberha, which, among other things, calls for the agreement of global regulations to protect employees working for transnational platforms. On 21 February 2025, the G20 Foreign Ministers decided in Johannesburg to establish a "G20 Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance and Innovation for Sustainable Development".
