To the Co-Chairs of the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance 18 March 2026

Excellencies and Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, distinguished delegates, colleagues,

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

My name is Bennett Iorio, and I make this representation on behalf of the Geopolitical Insight & Education Foundation (GIEF), an independent policy and research think tank based in Washington, DC, focused on democratic stability and resilience.

The scientific record is one of civilization’s most consequential public institutions. It is the foundation on which all policy is built and all challenges are addressed, from medicine to climate policy to technological innovation to democratic governance. Science as an institution functions because it is cumulative, verifiable, and trusted. This epistemic trust in science is one of the most important foundations of stability in our democracies.

That trust is now under existential threat.

Generative AI is now entering the scientific record at a speed and volume that the self-correcting institutions science relies on cannot combat. Synthetic text, references, and data are being published, cited, and built upon, while disclosure is inconsistent and enforcement is weak. Once embedded, AI-generated material is reused and, after only a few cycles, becomes harder to audit. At that point, work grounded in real evidence and work built on synthetic science become indistinguishable.

Further, the gatekeeping mechanism itself is now compromised by the same technology it is supposed to evaluate: Peer review is increasingly being automated by AI systems, meaning the system that validates knowledge is being flooded and compromised at the same time.

This is already happening, and it is a threat to trust in the scientific record as a whole.

Consequently, if we lose the ability to reliably distinguish what is true, we lose the basis on which our democratic societies operate. 

There is, however, a clear intervention point. A few major academic publishing conglomerates publish the vast majority of all published science. No other actors in the scientific ecosystem have the reach, the authority, or the structural position to act at the scale this moment requires. This is an enormous responsibility, but it is also an historic opportunity to be the protectors of the scientific record.

Through our Responsible AI in Science program, we aim to work collaboratively with the major academic publishers, as well as policymakers, institutions, and experts to align detection, disclosure, and enforcement standards. We are calling for alignment of AI usage and disclosure requirements, movement beyond self-reporting toward real detection and real enforcement mechanisms, and the formation of a publisher-led coalition to build the governance infrastructure science now needs.

This is a tractable problem, but it is time-sensitive. The scientific record took centuries to build. It will not take centuries to lose.

We urge the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and its participants to recognize the integrity of the scientific record as an urgent priority for coordinated international action.

Safeguarding epistemic trust is a condition for effective governance, for international cooperation, and for the stability of our societies.

Thank you for the opportunity to make this representation to the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

Bennett Iorio

Founder and Director

Geopolitical Insight & Education Foundation