The rise of artificial intelligence took center stage at Wednesday\u2019s meeting of the U.N. Security Council, with world leaders and diplomats acknowledging AI\u2019s nearly immeasurable capabilities while urging caution about its potential harms in nefarious hands, as well as possible dangers involving military use of the technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is not whether AI will influence international peace and security, but how we will shape its influence used responsibly,\u201d U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks at Wednesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cAI can strengthen prevention and protection, anticipating food insecurity and displacement, supporting de-mining, helping identify potential outbreaks of violence, and so much more. But without guardrails, it can also be weaponized.\u201d<\/p>\n
The session at this week\u2019s annual high-level United Nations<\/a> meetup showcased the global awareness of AI\u2019s power, with leaders addressing the possible benefits in areas like medical research and international, in equal measure with warnings for its ability to create and spread misinformation and other ills.<\/p>\n \u201cDeep AI analysis of situation data holds this promise for peace,\u201d said British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, heralding AI\u2019s ability to keep \u201cultra-accurate, real-time logistics, ultra-accurate real-time sentiment analysis, ultra-early warning systems.\u201d <\/p>\n But Lammy warned of the \u201cchallenges for armed conflict,\u201d such as \u201cthe risk of miscalculation, the risk of unintended escalation, and the arrival of artificial intelligence-powered chat bots stirring conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n AI has catapulted to the top of many conversations<\/p>\n Since the AI boom kicked off with ChatGPT\u2019s debut about three years ago, the technology\u2019s breathtaking capabilities have amazed the world. Tech companies have raced to develop better AI systems even as experts warn of its risks<\/a>, including existential threats like engineered pandemics, large-scale misinformation or rogue AIs running out of control, and call for safeguards. <\/p>\n The U.N.\u2019s adoption of a new governance architecture is the latest and biggest effort to rein in AI. Previous multilateral efforts, including three AI summits organized by Britain<\/a>, South Korea<\/a> and France<\/a>, have resulted only in non-binding pledges. <\/p>\n Last month, the General Assembly adopted a resolution to set up two key bodies on AI \u2014 a global forum and an independent scientific panel of experts \u2014 in a milestone move to shepherd global governance efforts for the technology. <\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s open debate centered around how the Council can help ensure the responsible application of AI to comply with international law and support peace processes and conflict prevention. <\/p>\n Several, including Sierra Leone Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Kabba, stressed the need for the Council to lead the way on ensuring that AI is not used by militaries without human oversight, so as to avert potentially devastating escalations or misfires.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Council can encourage best practices in peace operations, promote safeguards to retain human agency in military uses, and ensure compliance with international law and international humanitarian law,\u201d Kabba said.<\/p>\n Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece, called on the Council to \u201crise to the occasion; just as it once rose to meet the challenges of nuclear weapons or peacekeeping, so too now it must rise to govern the age of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n Another focus among some of the Council members was lesser-developed regions like Africa being left behind in the AI revolution. Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warned of \u201cdigital colonialism,\u201d which he said can be addressed through partnering with initiatives \u201cto help ensure AI is a tool for collective advancement rather than a social side of the division.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahmed Attaf, Algeria\u2019s foreign minister, noted that \u201conly 10 states out of the 55 members of the African Union have adopted the necessary information technology regulations,\u201d for AI, something he said \u201creflects the weakness of our legislative and regulatory frameworks in most African states\u201d and \u201cposes the challenge of digital sovereignty for the African continent.\u201d<\/p>\n More on AI coming up at the UN<\/p>\n On Thursday, as part of the body\u2019s annual meeting, Guterres will hold a meeting to launch the forum, called the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a venue for governments and \u201cstakeholders\u201d to discuss international cooperation and share ideas and solutions. It\u2019s scheduled to meet formally in Geneva next year and in New York in 2027. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, recruitment is expected to get underway to find 40 experts for the scientific panel, including two co-chairs, one from a developed country and one from a developing nation. The panel has drawn comparisons with the U.N.\u2019s climate change panel and its flagship annual COP meeting. <\/p>\n The new bodies represent \u201ca symbolic triumph.\u201d They are \u201cby far the world\u2019s most globally inclusive approach to governing AI,\u201d Isabella Wilkinson, a research fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, wrote in a blog post<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cBut in practice, the new mechanisms look like they will be mostly powerless,\u201d she added. Among the possible issues is whether the U.N.’s lumbering administration is able to regulate a fast-moving technology like AI. <\/p>\n Ahead of the meeting, a group of influential experts called for governments to agree on so-called red lines for AI to take effect by the end of next year, saying that the technology needs \u201cminimum guardrails\u201d designed to prevent the \u201cmost urgent and unacceptable risks.\u201d <\/p>\n The group, including senior employees at ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Google\u2019s AI research lab DeepMind and chatbot maker Anthropic, wants governments to sign an internationally binding agreement on AI. They point out that the world has previously agreed on treaties banning nuclear testing and biological weapons and protecting the high seas<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rise of artificial intelligence took center stage at Wednesday\u2019s meeting of the U.N. 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