UNITED NATIONS - The UN General Assembly appointed 40 members to the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence on Thursday.

The members' three-year term will begin on Feb 12, 2026, and run until Feb 11, 2029.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the appointment "marks a foundational step toward global scientific understanding of AI."

The members were selected from more than 2,600 candidates, after independent review by the International Telecommunication Union, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, and UNESCO, he said.

The members of the new panel, established within the United Nations, will serve in their personal capacity, according to the statement.

The UN chief said the panel is a multidisciplinary group of leading AI experts from across the globe, geographically diverse and gender-balanced, who will provide independent and impartial assessments of AI's opportunities, risks and impacts, including to the new Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

"In a world where AI is racing ahead, this Panel will provide what's been missing -- rigorous, independent scientific insight that enables all Member States, regardless of their technological capacity, to engage on an equal footing," he said.