Open Letter calling for an urgent UN Special Session on AGI
- On 23 March 2026
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- AGI, artificial intelligence, Club of Rome, open letter, united nations
The Club of Rome has published an open letter to senior United Nations leadership calling for the convening of a Special Session of the UN General Assembly dedicated specifically to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
The letter is addressed to the President of the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Secretary-General’s Technology Envoy, and the Co-Chairs of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. It urges urgent multilateral action to address the governance of AGI before its development accelerates beyond institutional control. The signatories emphasize the need for immediate political engagement on AGI, distinguishing it from current narrow AI systems. While existing AI tools are limited to specific tasks such as medical diagnosis or content generation, AGI is described as a system capable of solving novel problems at or beyond human cognitive capacity.
The letter warns that advanced AGI systems may eventually be able to modify their own code and pursue objectives beyond human oversight, raising the possibility of systemic and existential risks if not properly governed. At the same time, it highlights the transformative potential of AGI, which could significantly advance healthcare and medical research, education systems, economic productivity, climate solutions, and global peace and security
A central concern of the letter is the gap between technological acceleration and institutional readiness. The authors note that global investment in advanced AI systems is rapidly increasing, early forms of AGI are already being reported in scientific discourse, more advanced systems are expected to emerge within this decade, and international governance mechanisms risk lagging behind technological development
For this reason, the letter calls for a special session of the UN General Assembly on AGI, immediate dissemination of existing UN-level reports on AGI governance, dedicated briefing sessions for UN Member States, and the inclusion of AGI governance as a core focus within the UN’s newly established AI scientific panel
Among the signatories are prominent figures from the global futures and systems-thinking community, including representatives of The Millennium Project such as Jerome Glenn, Co-founder and CEO, Ibon Zugasti, Deputy Director, and Sirkka Heinonen, Member of the Board of Directors.
The Millennium Project is highlighted as a key actor in advancing global foresight on AGI governance, including through its ongoing research on the global governance of Artificial General Intelligence, which examines scenarios, risks, and institutional frameworks for managing AGI development at the international level.
The central message of the open letter is that AGI governance cannot be delayed. Without coordinated international action, the development of AGI may be driven primarily by competitive geopolitical and commercial dynamics, rather than global public interest.
The Club of Rome and its signatories therefore call on the United Nations to urgently elevate AGI governance to the highest level of international political attention.
