UN chief leads calls for ‘united’ response to AI threats

BLETCHLEY PARK, United Kingdom: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for a “united, sustained, global response” to artificial intelligence threats, as world leaders met in Britain to discuss the risks posed by the technology´s rapid development.

The UN chief said the world was “playing catchup” and needed to “get ahead of the wave”, as he spoke at the inaugural AI Safety Summit attended by political, tech and other leaders. The two-day gathering at Bletchley Park, north of London, kicked off on Wednesday with the publication of an agreement signed by 28 countries and the European Union acknowledging the “need for international action”.

But Thursday saw senior representatives from leading nations formally convene to address AI´s most pressing imminent threats, with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US Vice President Kamala Harris in attendance. Guterres said AI risked “possible long-term negative consequences” -- on everything from jobs to culture -- while its concentration in a few countries and companies “could increase geopolitical tensions”.

He also warned that it might “exacerbate the enormous inequalities that already plague our world”, demanding a “united, sustained, global strategy, based on multilateralism and the participation of all stakeholders”. New solutions should be based on existing principles found in his organisation´s 1945 charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he added.