National Council of Ethics Represents Portugal at UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
The Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence is taking place in Riyadh from today until 17 September. Maria do Céu Patrão Neves, President of the Portuguese National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences (CNECV), is leading the Portuguese delegation at the UNESCO meeting.
Portugal is taking part in the 4th UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 14 to 17 September, to discuss the challenges of AI governance and the transition from ethical principles to concrete policies and instruments. The Portuguese delegation is led by Maria do Céu Patrão Neves, President of the Portuguese National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences (CNECV).
Under the theme “Transforming Global Cooperation for Ethical AI Governance”, the Forum brings together governments, international organisations, academia, industry and civil society to advance the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Adopted in 2021, the Recommendation establishes a global framework of values, principles and policy areas aimed at protecting human rights and promoting the ethical development, use and deployment of AI systems.
The rapid development of AI raises questions concerning ethics, fairness, transparency and explainability, particularly in sensitive areas such as employment, education, healthcare, banking and justice. The responsible use of these systems requires appropriate human oversight and involves all stakeholders, from developers and decision-makers to companies and governments.
Against this backdrop, Riyadh is hosting 1,200 participants, more than 100 speakers and over 30 sessions. All 194 UNESCO Member States have been invited, with representatives from 95 countries taking part, including ministers, senior government officials, policymakers and experts from different regions of the world.
Portugal’s participation began on Monday with a high-level ministerial strategic session providing an update on the latest developments in AI, ahead of the public Forum taking place from 15 to 17 September. The ministerial meeting on 14 September included a concise, evidence-based briefing for attending ministers on progress in developing an ethical framework for innovation in artificial intelligence. This was followed by a closed-door session dedicated to strengthening international cooperation in building sustainable, human-centred AI governance.
“The first day, at ministerial level, will be primarily devoted to assessing what different countries have been doing in terms of the digitalisation of society and the development of services supported by Artificial Intelligence, while fully respecting human rights and the specific ethical requirements that arise in this field, such as data protection and respect for privacy, as well as the explainability and transparency of processes. In this area, Portugal has been making commendable progress, with a wide range of initiatives, some linked to the implementation of the European Union’s AI Act and others developed at national level. This path has been pursued with a clear ethical concern, seeking to ensure that technological innovation develops in the service of society,” said Maria do Céu Patrão Neves.
Portugal will be able to present several initiatives already being implemented in this area, some within the framework of the European Union and the application of the EU AI Act, as well as national initiatives such as AMALIA, the first large-scale AI language model developed in Portugal; Mosaico, Portugal’s common model for the creation and evolution of digital public services; and GuIA – Guide to Artificial Intelligence, developed to support the ethical, transparent and responsible use of AI and including a tool for assessing ethical risk.
Portugal’s participation is therefore marked by concrete examples that contribute to the discussion on governance models capable of keeping pace with the rapid transformation of Artificial Intelligence. Among the steps already taken, Portugal also submitted to UNESCO, in March 2025, its national report on the implementation of the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, prepared under the coordination of the Agency for Administrative Modernisation (AMA), in cooperation with other public bodies. The document identifies the initiatives undertaken, good practices, the main challenges and capacity-building needs, as well as the obstacles that remain in the development of ethical and responsible Artificial Intelligence.
The report also provides an indication of the scale of investment made in this field. Between 2013 and 2023, 410 research and development projects related to AI, or using AI technologies and methods, received approximately €74.3 million in funding from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. The programme dedicated to data science and AI in Public Administration funded 40 projects, with a total investment of approximately €9.6 million.
