McNerney to Speak at United Nations in New York on Artificial Intelligence Safety Risks
State Sen. Jerry McNerney will be speaking on Thursday, Sept. 24, to world leaders and artificial intelligence experts at the United Nations in New York City on AI safety risks.
The event, “Governing at the Speed of AI: High-Level International Coordination for Crisis Preparedness at UNGA 81,” will take place at UN headquarters in New York, NY, and will include heads of state, ministers, senior diplomats, frontier AI leaders and leading experts. The goal of the event is to advance “multilateral coordination toward safe, secure and trustworthy AI during High Level Week of the 81st session.”
“I’m deeply honored to be invited to speak at and take part in this important and timely event on AI safety at the UN,” said Sen. McNerney, D-Pleasanton. “As we’ve learned more in recent weeks about the catastrophic risks posed by artificial intelligence, it’s clear that effective guardrails are past due. Ideally, safety standards or protocols would already be in place, but since no real constraints exist, targeted moratoria are urgently needed.
“In addition, it’s time to form a working group of AI development engineers and safety specialists from US and Chinese companies who are mutual competitors to produce safety standards and protocols for AI systems and AI agents.”
The UN panel event will be livestreamed.
Sen. McNerney was invited to participate in the UN panel event following the recent enactment of his SB 813, which established a first-in-the-nation framework for independent, third-party assessments of potential safety risks posed by AI systems. On Sept. 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom also signed an executive order, accelerating the implementation of SB 813.
Sen. McNerney this year also authored SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act of 2026, groundbreaking legislation that would require human oversight of AI systems in the workplace to prevent abuses. SB 947 is currently on the governor’s desk, and if signed, would also become the first such AI law in the nation.
On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Sen. McNerney will also be speaking on a UN panel event in New York City on best practices for evaluating AI safety risks. This event is co-hosted by the UN Human Rights Office and UNICEF.
As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years, then-Congressman McNerney was also a leader in Washington, DC, on AI safety issues, He chaired the Artificial Intelligence Caucus in Congress and authored the AI in Government Act.
Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and is a member of the Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee, which has jurisdiction over AI legislation. His 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.
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