The Takeaway: UN General Assembly debate Day 5

This article is published in association with United Nations.

From artificial intelligence to migration, some of the forces reshaping the twenty-first century took centre stage at the UN General Assembly on Saturday. Leaders wrestled with a common dilemma: how to harness profound technological and social change without allowing it to deepen the divisions already separating countries and communities. This edition of The Takeaway distils key points from Day 5 of the annual high-level debate.

AI: Great promise, serious peril

Why it matters: Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the day’s defining themes, with speakers describing a technology capable of transforming economies and improving lives, but also potentially widening inequality, undermining trust and threatening security.

• China’s Vice President Han Zheng said AI should be developed “for the positive and for good”, while calling for efforts to narrow the digital divide.
• Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan described AI as “the most urgent frontier”, arguing that governments need to invest in infrastructure and skills alongside safeguards and rigorous rules. His bottom line was distinctly human: “Human beings must remain in control and accountable.”

Who gets to shape the AI future?

The big picture: Several speakers warned that the AI revolution risks reproducing a familiar global divide, with technological power and decision-making concentrated in a few countries.

• Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith cautioned against allowing AI to “deepen old inequalities and create an entirely new global divide”, calling for investment in infrastructure, skills and capacity in developing countries.
• Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Haji Hasan put the question even more pointedly: “The Global South cannot simply become a destination for data centres while decisions about AI are made elsewhere.”
• Belize’s Prime Minister John Briceño noted that well-governed AI could expand access to knowledge and improve public services. Poorly governed, however, it could deepen inequality, displace workers and leave developing countries dependent on technologies and rules created elsewhere.

The rules are struggling to keep up

Reality check: Technology is evolving across borders faster than many governments can regulate it.

• Moldova’s Prime Minister Vasile Tofan warned that “technology is moving faster than regulation almost everywhere”, with AI widening that gap.
• Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul captured both sides of the argument, imagining AI helping humanity prevent famine and cure cancer, while warning that in the wrong hands it could disrupt economies and influence global peace and security. “Whenever power becomes global, responsibility must become global, too,” he said.

Migration puts solidarity to the test

Beyond technology: The movement of people across borders brought the debate back to immediate human realities.

• Djibouti appealed for international assistance as thousands fleeing violence in Yemen place pressure on the country’s capacity to receive refugees.
• The Holy See called for an end to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya, while Tunisia urged countries to move beyond treating irregular migration primarily as a security issue and address underlying causes such as conflict, poverty and unemployment.
• The Philippines stressed that migrant workers are entitled to human rights and protection from trafficking and exploitation, regardless of status.

Youth as an opportunity, not a crisis

Looking ahead: Zambia offered a different perspective on demographic change, describing Africa’s youthful population as one of the continent’s greatest assets.

• Foreign Minister Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe noted that by 2050, one in every four young people worldwide will be African, arguing that education, skills, technology, entrepreneurship and decent jobs will determine whether that demographic shift becomes an engine of global prosperity.

And up next: The General Assembly returns on Monday for the final day of the 2026 general debate, bringing this year’s week of speeches, warnings and prescriptions for a changing world to a close. Follow Meetings Coverage here, and a special site dedicated to the debate here.