A proposal by some scientists and experts to create a new international watchdog agency in artificial intelligence gained the endorsement of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
At a press briefing on Monday, Guterres said it's time for the world to heed the advice of AI scientists and experts who say the rapid advances in generative AI technology are both promising and extremely dangerous.
"These scientists and experts have called on the world to act, declaring AI an existential threat to humanity on a par with the risk of nuclear war," Guterres said. "We must take those warnings seriously."
The launch of ChatGPT has brought head-spinning capabilities into daily life along with the perils of misinformation and deepfake images.
Guterres said he would support creating a new U.N. agency for AI modeled after the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 1957, the IAEA was created as a U.N. watchdog agency in response to the promises and fears about nuclear technology.
"New technology is moving at warp speed and so are the threats that come with it," he said. "Alarm bells over the latest form of artificial intelligence – generative AI – are deafening. And they are loudest from the developers who designed it."
The 'risk of extinction'
Among the Silicon Valley and other technology centers of the United States and Europe there have been divergent approachs to global AI governance, including transatlantic data sharing, trade and regulatory oversight.
The U.S. approach to managing the risks has been largely non-central and non-regulatory, while the European Union looks at a sweeping package of legislation that would cover a range of digital risks, processes and transparency guarantees.
The European Parliament is set to debate legislation that also would ban certain biometric systems for use in categorizing people by race, gender and ethnicity, further distinguishing E.U. strategy from those of the U.S. and United Kingdom.
Some E.U. lawmakers also urged world leaders to hold a summit on AI systems. The U.K. government published a white paper in March calling for businesses to act responsibly and for lawmakers to embrace "proportionate" laws, since "a heavy-handed and rigid approach can stifle innovation and slow AI adoption."
Last year alone some 37 AI-related legislative measures were approved globally, according to Stanford University's 2023 AI Index released in April.
During a global tour this month to discuss AI, Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT maker OpenAI, has called for more coordinated international regulation of generative AI – similar to his previous statements to U.S. lawmakers.
In Abu Dhabi, he suggested creating an IAEA-like agency to supervise AI's risks. “The challenge that the world has is how we’re going to manage those risks and make sure we still get to enjoy those tremendous benefits," he said. "No one wants to destroy the world.”
At a forum in Seoul, before meeting with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, Altman said, “As these systems get very, very powerful, that does require special concern, and it has global impact. So it also requires global cooperation."
Altman, Bill Gates and dozens of other experts have signed an open statement warning of the risks: "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."
A code of conduct
Guterres said he will appoint a scientific advisory board and a separate AI advisory board this year to propose U.N. solutions such as an IAEA-like agency.
Social media helps the world body engage people globally, he acknowledged, but also is misused to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate. The answer isn't to shut down the internet or ban social media, he said, but for governments and companies to prevent platforms from contributing to violence and hatred.
He also plans to rely on a new U.N. code of conduct for digital platforms that is being developed and he hopes governments and technology companies will support. It will include a set of principles for voluntary ethical compliance.
Among them, he said, are a pledge to guarantee a free, viable, independent, and plural media landscape, with strong protections for journalists, and to eliminate double standards that allow hate speech and disinformation to flourish in some languages and countries, while they are prevented more effectively in others.
"Disinformation and hate should not generate maximum exposure and massive profits," Guterres said. "We don’t have a moment to lose."
