#USA #Montreal #Yoshua Bengio #AI Risks #AI Safety Report

The 2026 International AI Safety Report: A Changing Landscape

The 2026 edition of the International AI Safety Report was released today, offering a comprehensive international evaluation of general AI capabilities, emerging risks, and current risk management practices. Under the direction of Turing Award recipient Yoshua Bengio, this report consolidates insights from over 100 international experts and receives guidance from a committee made up of representatives from more than 30 countries and organizations, including the EU, OECD, and the United Nations.

The report's findings are timely, as they will be fundamental in discussions at the upcoming AI summit hosted by India later this month. Here are some of the key points highlighted in the report:

Advances in AI Capabilities

The capabilities of general AI have accelerated at an extraordinary pace, particularly in mathematics, coding, and autonomous operations. The year 2025 witnessed AI systems achieving gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, surpassing the performance of Ph.D. experts in scientific benchmarks, and executing certain software engineering tasks independently—tasks that would take human programmers several hours to accomplish. However, it's noteworthy that performance remains inconsistent, with systems occasionally struggling with seemingly straightforward tasks.

Uneven Global Adoption of AI

Unlike any previous technology, AI has seen rapid adoption globally, with over 700 million people utilizing advanced AI systems weekly. In certain countries, more than half the population engages with AI technologies; however, in many regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, adoption rates fall below 10%—showcasing a significant digital divide.

Rise in Deepfake Incidents

The report also identifies a concerning increase in incidents related to deepfakes. These AI-generated manipulations are increasingly employed in fraudulent schemes, and non-consensual intimate images disproportionately affect women and young girls. Notably, a study noted that 19 out of the 20 most popular