UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday about the potential risks of the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), telling reporters that the need for increased oversight of AI will be a key topic in his discussions with heads of state and government during the UN General Assembly session, which begins next week in New York.
“We cannot allow ourselves to ignore concerns, especially those of people at the forefront of AI development,” he said, adding that it is the primary responsibility of every government to protect its citizens from everything, including “threats related to artificial intelligence.”
Public concern over the potential danger posed by artificial intelligence increased last week when OpenAI and Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon stated that he resigned in part because “people developing AI honestly believe it could kill us all by the end of this decade.”
Leaders of some of the largest companies in the industry have called for slowing the pace of development of this technology.
US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that the US already has safeguards in place to regulate companies working with artificial intelligence and to legally sanction them, thereby downplaying the concerns raised by industry leaders themselves.
Guterres has long advocated for the establishment of global governance of artificial intelligence. In 2023, the UN formed a 39-member advisory body on AI, including technology company executives, government officials, and academic experts from a number of countries, including the US, Russia, and Japan.
According to diplomats, the UN Security Council could hold a meeting on artificial intelligence next week. The Council discussed artificial intelligence for the first time in 2023.
Guterres stated that countries with the greatest capacities in the development of the most advanced artificial intelligence “should establish mechanisms for contact, information exchange, and certain joint safeguards, to avoid a race to the bottom that could one day lead to a huge global catastrophe.”
Trump pointed out that China would benefit from doubts being expressed regarding the development of artificial intelligence.
He is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington.
Reuters previously reported that the two countries plan a special meeting in mid-September to discuss risks related to artificial intelligence, which would involve lower-level officials.
“We need a common understanding of how to advance the safe, secure, and responsible development of artificial intelligence while simultaneously recognizing moments when increasingly powerful systems may require stricter safeguards or additional steps to manage potential risks,” Guterres said on Wednesday.
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