Spanish national Ana García Robles to head the UN's AI Governance for Humanity Lab

Minister Óscar López during the event "AI at the service of humanity"

Spanish national Ana García Robles will head the United Nations' AI Governance for Humanity Lab, an international initiative created to support the global governance of Artificial Intelligence. The lab will be based in Valencia and will report to the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UNODET).

García Robles is a telecommunications engineer with an Executive MBA and has served for nearly a decade as Secretary General of the Big Data Value Association, one of Europe's leading public-private partnerships, which promotes the data economy, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation ecosystems in the European Union.

The Minister for Digital Transformation and Civil Service, Óscar López, spoke with her during the "AI at the Service of Humanity" event, organised by the Ministry and moderated by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, María González Veracruz. Both agreed on the need to create a global governance framework for Artificial Intelligence, adapted to different contexts and interoperable. "Because we're not talking about technology, we're talking about politics and geopolitics. Having a global discussion to establish standards means we must address a series of debates currently underway," the Minister stated, alluding to democracy, healthcare, women's rights, and energy. "We're not talking about the latest innovation, we're talking about a civilizational shift that affects everything. What we're doing isn't an option, it's an obligation," he added.

In this regard, López highlighted Spain's leadership, "recognised in all international reports," by recalling the numerous initiatives promoted by the government, such as the push for AI regulation in the EU, which EU governments now want to amend to prohibit, at Spain's request, systems that allow the creation of sexual deepfakes. López also referred to the creation of the State Agency for the Supervision of AI (AESIA), the Digital Rights Observatory, and the Charter of Digital Rights, among others. He also noted that the newly created UN Scientific Panel on AI will meet for the first time next week in Madrid.

The minister defended "sensible regulation and a humanistic AI that moves us forward as a civilization, not backward," against those who advocate for "the law of the jungle." "If we can prevent a 13-year-old girl in Spain from being undressed by Grok, that's a good thing. If we can prevent someone's data from being used to scam an elderly person. If we can stop a hoax that discredits democracy or rolls back women's rights, it's worth it. We have everything at stake," added López, who expressed optimism, but not naiveté, and hope that "AI will be at the service of those who created it, which is humankind."

For her part, García Robles explained the importance of considering "who decides the future of AI governance and with what tools." She warned that "inclusion may be formal, but not substantive" if countries in the Global South do not actively participate. "They should not only be heard, but also be able to shape the conversation," she added, asserting that "the future of AI cannot be decided by a group of countries nor left in the hands of a few billionaires."

"The question is whether we will govern the transformation together or whether we will let it govern us," continued the head of the Lab, who confirmed that the first results of the Lab's work on governance and global dialogue on AI will be released in July.

An initiative to boost global governance

This Lab is established to support and strengthen the Global Dialogue on AI Governance from within the regions and communities that global governance processes should reflect. It connects regional perspectives, expertise, and partnerships with these global processes and serves as a platform to drive innovation in global AI governance. Furthermore, it will support the implementation of the AI governance commitments of the Digital Global Compact, facilitating cooperation among governments, businesses, the scientific community, and civil society.

The UN's goal is to advance these efforts toward durable and agile institutional structures and a global architecture that orients AI toward shared prosperity, human rights, and sustainable development. The Lab will work on key issues such as the interoperability of AI governance and analyse how industry is applying AI governance in practice, aligned with the Digital Global Compact, with a focus on safe and trustworthy AI.

Spain has spearheaded recent global AI governance initiatives at the UN, such as the recent creation of the Scientific Panel and the Global AI Dialogue. In 2025, it pledged a voluntary contribution of three million euros to support these initiatives.

Spain is confident that the UN laboratory in Valencia will become an indispensable producer of knowledge for AI governance and develop intellectual leadership in areas where Spain has a comparative advantage. This Laboratory aspires to become a recognised benchmark in global AI governance, contributing to the development of international frameworks that guide artificial intelligence toward the shared benefit of humanity.

Non official translation