Artificial intelligence, if left unchecked, could pose a grave danger to democracy and peace, the United Nations has warned.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the comments as a panel of experts warned of the dangers of increasingly realistic fakes, as well as the development of autonomous weapons and the use of artificial intelligence by criminal and terrorist groups.
The group called for greater global collaboration on the technology and said its development should not be left to market forces.
The panel of around 40 experts from the fields of technology, law and data protection was created by Guterres in October.
The report warned of a lack of global governance of AI, as well as the effective exclusion of developing countries from discussions on the future of this technology.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters ahead of the ‘Future Summit’ on 18 September
Of the 193 UN members, only seven are part of the seven main AI-related initiatives, while 118 are completely absent (mostly nations in the global south).
“There is currently a global governance deficit with regard to AI,” which by its nature is cross-border, the experts warn in their report.
“AI must serve humanity equitably and safely,” Guterres said this week.
‘If left unchecked, the dangers posed by artificial intelligence could have serious consequences for democracy, peace and stability.’
In the context of their clear call, the experts urged UN members to establish mechanisms to facilitate global cooperation on this issue, as well as to prevent inadvertent proliferation.
“The development, deployment and use of such technology cannot be left solely to the whims of markets,” the report said.
First, he called for the creation of a scientific expert group on AI modeled on the expert forum of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose reports are the final word on the issue of climate change.
The panel will inform the international community about emerging risks, identify research needs and how they could be used to alleviate hunger, poverty and gender inequality, among other goals.
The report warned of a lack of global governance of AI, as well as the effective exclusion of developing countries from discussions on the future of this technology (file photo)
This proposal is included in the draft Global Digital Pact, still under discussion, which will be adopted on Sunday at the “Future Summit”.
The report supports the creation of a lightweight “coordination” structure within the UN secretariat.
But it falls short of a fully-fledged international governance body of the kind that Guterres seeks, modelled on the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
“If AI risks become more severe and more concentrated, it may be necessary for Member States to consider creating a stronger international institution with monitoring, reporting, verification and enforcement powers,” the report said.
The authors acknowledge that, given the dizzying speed of change in AI, it would be futile to attempt to compile an exhaustive list of the dangers posed by this ever-evolving technology.
But they highlighted the dangers of disinformation for democracy, increasingly realistic fakes (particularly pornographic ones) and the evolution of autonomous weapons and the use of artificial intelligence by criminal and terrorist groups.
“However, given the speed, autonomy and opacity of AI systems, waiting for a threat to emerge may mean that any response will come too late,” the report said.
‘Continued scientific assessments and policy dialogue would ensure that the world was not surprised.’