The University of Pretoria’s professor Vukosi Marivate is among 40 leading experts that will serve on the United Nation’s (UN’s) Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
UN secretary-general António Guterres made the recommendation for Marivate and the other panel members to be appointed by the General Assembly.
The panel members are drawn from diverse disciplines and recognised for their expertise in AI and related fields. They were identified from among applicants to an open call that resulted in over 2 600 applications from more than 140 countries, according to the UN.
Founded by the UN General Assembly in August 2025, the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI brings together leading experts to assess how AI is transforming lives.
Additionally, it aims to advance scientific understanding and ensure international deliberations are informed by the best available evidence.
Says Guterres: “The panel is a direct response to the mandate given by member states in the pact for the future to strengthen multilateral solutions for emerging technologies that are reshaping every aspect of our lives.
“It will be the first global, fully independent scientific body dedicated to helping close the AI knowledge gap and assess the real impacts of AI across economies and societies. AI is moving at the speed of light. No country can see the full picture alone.”
The South African government has congratulated Marivate, saying the panel will play a critical role in helping the global community distinguish fact from fiction, and science from misinformation, by providing an authoritative, unbiased reference point.
Marivate is a professor of computer science and holds the Absa data science chair at UP.
He specialises in developing machine learning (ML) and AI methods to extract insights from data, with a particular focus on the intersection of ML/AI and natural language processing.
The UP professor is also credited as co-founder of Lelapa AI, the South African AI research and product lab that develops speech recognition tools for African languages.
As the leader of the data science for social impact research group at UP’s computer science department, Marivate is interested in using data science to solve social challenges and has worked on projects related to science, energy, public safety and utilities.
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