Can chatbots broker peace? The promise and threats of AI diplomacy

GENEVA, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In July 2026, Geneva will host the first ever Global Dialogue on AI governance, a forum established by the United Nations to discuss the opportunities, risks and impacts of AI. The event signals a shift toward a more structured global coordination on AI risks and safety. According to Dr. Athar Sultan-Khan at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, the event comes at an important time and presents an opportunity to build shared governance frameworks on AI to better understand and govern where it can support efforts, not least in diplomacy.

"AI adoption has boomed across industries, to the extent that it now presents itself as a critical global issue, requiring UN-led governance and coordination," explains Sultan-Khan. "Now is the perfect time to align on its involvement in all walks of life, ensuring that it supports humans in a way that is safe, secure and productive for all.

"For diplomats, as well as those working across government departments, embassies and thinktanks, AI can anchor a place for itself promising efficiency gains and simplifying processes, as it has done in multiple industries. The benefits of AI are clear. Speed, data analysis and pattern recognition, all of which can be useful differentiators to those negotiating tomorrow's peace settlements or trade agreements.

"Going beyond traditional uses, it can even act as a source of always-on intelligence, monitoring evolving and fast-changing scenarios to support diplomatic positioning in real time."

One such concrete example is in translation. AI can often lack the understanding of nuance to express meaning in crucial discussions without human oversight. That isn't to say it won't still play a role, in March 2026, the UN International Court of Justice began recruiting for a Translation Technologist to lead its adoption of AI and oversee integration of language technology into translator workflows.

"But while it can enhance decision-making, it also risks stifling progress and accelerating conflict, should it remove human judgment from fragile negotiations," Sultan-Khan continued. "Large language models often come with bias, risks of unnecessary escalation and lack the understanding of cultural nuance that only comes from being a seasoned operator.

"There are also risks presented by AI use such as in security, safeguarding and confidentiality, particularly in diplomatic contexts where sensitive information is often discussed. Diplomats are already accustomed to dealing with the questions of digital risk and secure comms in the established field of cyber diplomacy. AI presents a new and similarly challenging risk, and its presence in classified discussions and negotiations must be guided by clear, agreed governance on acceptable use, security standards and human accountability.

"Going further, multiple aspects of diplomacy require the expertise and experience of the modern diplomat. Relationship building and negotiation skills are taught over many years, as are an ability to monitor and respond to the room in real time, leaning on important context.

"While LLMs and private models can interpret and respond to masses of data, lived experience often shapes the differences between delegations and feeds the differing worldviews that drive productive discussions. Diversity in perception and opinion is what makes successful negotiations.

"In the same vein, access and capacity gaps between those in the Global North and Global South can also mean that AI only serves to further widen divides. There is still plenty of discussion to be had on how members of the Global South can be supported by AI in their development such as in language inclusion and work should be done to ensure members have fair representation in discussions relating to its governance in order to keep this in mind.

"AI certainly has a role as a tool to support research efforts and streamline processes and is already playing this role, but judgement, trust building and other tasks at the core of diplomacy cannot be automated. The line between assistance and dependence is certainly blurring but it's integral that we don't see diplomats lose the skills they've honed over many years," concluded Sultan-Khan.