UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.’s high-powered advisory body on Thursday artificial intelligence He called for the United Nations to lay the foundations for the first comprehensive international body to regulate the “urgently needed” and fast-growing technology.
In its 100-page report, the group said AI is “transforming our world,” offering huge promise for opening up new areas of science, spurring economic growth, improving public health and agriculture, optimizing energy grids, and more.
But without controls, the benefits of AI could be limited to a few countries, companies and individuals, while even more powerful systems than exist today could “upend the world of work”, give rise to autonomous weapons and pose risks to peace and security, the report said.
The Advisory Panel outlined principles that should guide the creation of a new regime governing AI, including international law, particularly human rights law. It called on all governments and actors involved in AI to cooperate to protect human rights.
The group made wide-ranging recommendations, including establishing an International Scientific Panel on AI to improve global understanding of AI’s capabilities and risks, and holding a global dialogue on AI governance at the United Nations to ground any future institution in human rights principles and international law.
The recommendations also call for a global AI fund to ensure that AI technologies bridge the gap between rich and poor countries and help achieve the UN’s 2030 development goals, as well as the establishment of a “standards exchange” to promote technological compatibility.
As of now, only seven of the 193 UN member states have participated in recent prominent AI governance efforts, while 118 other countries, mostly in the Global South, are “completely absent” from any conversations, according to the report.
Among these efforts are The first legal framework in the European Union The law to regulate AI came into effect on August 1. This month, Group of 20 major world economies They agreed to develop guidelines for the development of artificial intelligence, calling for “ethical, transparent and accountable use of AI” as well as human oversight and compliance with privacy and human rights laws. California State Senator The city of San Francisco, home to many of the world’s largest AI companies, recently passed a bill to regulate AI that is currently being considered by the governor.
The advisory committee’s report reached positive but cautious conclusions.
“As professionals, we are optimistic about the future of AI and its potential,” the report states, “but that optimism rests on realism about the risks and the inadequacies of the structures and incentives currently in place.”
“The technologies are too important and the risks too great to rely solely on market forces and piecemeal national and multilateral efforts,” the committee stressed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed the body in October, saying coordinated action was needed to prevent the threat of artificial intelligence from becoming an uncontrollable “monster”.
The group is made up of 39 prominent AI leaders from 33 countries, selected from more than 2,000 candidates. They represent all regions of the world, serve in their individual capacities, and include experts from government, the private sector, and civil society.
On Thursday, Secretary-General Guterres praised the group’s work and expressed his full support for its recommendations, which “build on existing efforts and provide a blueprint for how we can together shape an inclusive, agile and effective international AI architecture for now and the future.”
When the secretary-general revealed his plans to appoint an advisory body to reporters last year, Guterres said he would respond favorably to a new U.N. body on artificial intelligence, suggesting the International Atomic Energy Agency as a model that would be knowledge-based and have some regulatory powers.
However, he said the advisory body had not recommended the establishment of the agency.
Amandeep Singh Gill, the secretary-general’s special envoy for technical affairs and a member of the advisory body, said at a news conference announcing the report that while there is no need for a body for now, “that is not to say that we will never need such a body.” He said the committee would like to explore the possibility.
The report was released ahead of the Future Summit, which starts on Sunday, where Guterres has called for the world’s divided countries to unite to tackle the challenges and threats facing humanity, from conflict and climate change to artificial intelligence and UN reform.