Riyadh Hosts UNESCO Global Forum on AI Ethics for First Time

More than 100 speakers will take the stage across 30 sessions and workshops over four days, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, cited by Gulf Daily News. Arrivals began ahead of Monday’s press briefing, with venues, media centers and meeting halls readied for sessions that formally open Tuesday.

Prior editions took place in Prague, Kranj and Bangkok, according to UNESCO’s own forum page, which frames Riyadh 2026 as a continuation of the organization’s mandate to help member states implement its 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence — the first global normative framework of its kind.

Why UNESCO Chose Riyadh

Speaking to Mubasher, he said the forum represents an opportunity to mobilize international cooperation and help global AI governance keep pace with the accelerating pace of innovation, framing it as an effort no single country could achieve alone. According to Mubasher, he stressed that ethical governance must keep pace with AI’s accelerating disruption of societies.

Four Days, Thirty Sessions, One Framework Under Test

The agenda centers on turning UNESCO’s 2021 ethics recommendation from principle into practice. Since its adoption, more than 75 member states have engaged with UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) — a tool for measuring how prepared countries are to deploy AI responsibly, according to UNESCO’s forum page.

Sessions will cover a wide range of ground. Al-Jazirah Online reported the forum will examine institutional, financial and technical barriers to converting ethical principles into working policy, along with financing AI governance and building accountability into government use of AI systems.

• AI readiness and institutional capacity, including RAM follow-up
• AI supervision, accountability, and public administration
• Gender equality, inclusion, and accessibility
• Education, health, and youth well-being
• Culture, linguistic diversity, and neurotechnology
• Sustainability, energy, and international cooperation on shared AI risks

Arab News reported that registration for the event opened publicly, with SDAIA describing the goal as advancing global dialogue on responsible AI governance and showcasing best practices through high-level sessions and specialized workshops featuring leading experts and policymakers, according to the Arab News report, which credited the Saudi Press Agency.

Logistics Behind the Scenes

Saudi outlet ajel.sa detailed the physical preparations: press briefing rooms, main ceremony halls, meeting spaces and workshop venues were finished ahead of Tuesday’s opening, alongside media centers and reception facilities for arriving delegations. That account, filed as delegations were still landing in Riyadh, lines up with Gulf Daily News’ report that comprehensive arrangements are in place to welcome ministers, decision-makers, academics and public- and private-sector officials.

Both outlets agree on the headline numbers — over 100 speakers, 30 sessions — but neither specifies exact attendance figures or a full list of participating countries. Al-Jazirah Online’s report is the outlier here, framing the event in terms of anticipation rather than arrival, noting that 194 states are watching the outcome of the discussions, a figure not repeated in any of the other source accounts.

What Riyadh’s Hosting Signals

None of the sources specify what, if any, binding outcomes the forum will produce by its close on September 17. The stated ambition — moving from ethical principle to enforceable governance — remains, according to every outlet in this cluster, a discussion in progress rather than a settled framework. What emerges from the 30 sessions in Riyadh will be the first real test of whether that translation happens.