As the UN80 reform and the transition toward a post-2030 agenda unfold in parallel, artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining knowledge work, the core function of the multilateral system. How can we ensure humans remain essential in each of these transformations?
To address this urgent question, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) New York Office, together with the International Data Center Authority (IDCA) Global Foundation and Permanent Missions of the Republic of Fiji, Independent State of Samoa, and Commonwealth of The Bahamas, co-hosted on July 15 a side event of HLPF2026 on “Human Dependency and the Future of the Multilateral System: The Institutional Transition to the Intelligence Age.”
The high-level panel examined how technology bears on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their final stretch and beyond, as well as how technology might redefine the future of the United Nations. As part of the event, the IDCA Global Foundation introduced the Human-Dependency Index (HDX™), a new evidence base that measures how institutions are exposed to automation and for anticipating how roles across UN organizations will transition toward AI.
Key takeaways from the event included:
➡️ As small island developing states (SIDS) have demonstrated with climate change adaptation strategies, preparation is a choice—and one that must be made early. Yet there is no adaptation strategy for the intelligence age, which is arriving faster and will be just as transformative.
➡️ As technology revolutionizes the workplace, people and AI must co-exist, working side by side in complementarity, each doing what it does best. The Human-Dependency Index offers a valuable evidence base demonstrating where human judgment, accountability, and trust must remain in place.
➡️ The multilateral system has an opportunity to make UN80 reform forward-looking, guided by evidence about where its people remain essential (for example, in building trust and consensus) and not just cost-cutting measures.