In 2026, conversations about AI and its impact on people, work, and society are everywhere–at a level that few could have predicted just five years ago. In this moment, we must look ahead and ask:

“What aspects of AI require more public attention and cross-sectoral collaboration now?”

Now in our tenth year, Partnership on AI has a long history of working with our cross-sectoral community on addressing the most urgent questions about AI. From designing best practices on the creation and use of AI-generated media well before the spread of deepfakes, to establishing a working group to investigate AI’s impact on labor years ahead of the gen-AI boom, we recognized early on some of the AI issues that would have profound impacts on society.

With the changing landscape, and the continuous evolution of both AI technology and its use by the public, we established a new advisory body of highly-respected interdisciplinary researchers and subject matter experts to help inform and guide PAI’s work. The SAIGE Council, which launched in 2025, contributes to building shared understanding around AI capabilities, impacts, and risks and to connect PAI’s work to similar efforts worldwide.

Looking ahead to the next wave of impacts, we asked four SAIGE Council members with expertise across philosophy, geopolitics, psychology, and law on what they see as the AI issue that requires more public attention and cross-sector collaboration. The following are their responses.