Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday urged countries and companies leading the development of artificial intelligence to work together on safety rules, warning that “the world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety”. He said concerns from people working at the frontlines of AI that its development “is racing ahead of our understanding of the risks” cannot be ignored.
advertisement
Guterres said governments must take primary responsibility for protecting civilians from AI-related threats and that “national action is essential”. “But global coordination is also indispensable,” he told reporters at the United Nations, adding, “We need guardrails to build trust – and that make AI safe, transparent, accountable, with human dignity at the centre.” He said AI would be a major subject in his talks with world leaders during next week’s high-level session of the UN General Assembly.
His remarks came as debate grows within the technology industry over whether the pace of AI development should slow down. Guterres referred to a proposal by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for leading technology companies and governments to coordinate a slowdown to ensure AI safety. OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Elon Musk and other industry figures have in recent days also said AI development needs to slow down. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, distanced the company from that view on Wednesday, saying every AI company must ensure its technology is safe.
Guterres acknowledged that a coordinated effort would face several obstacles, including domestic and international competition, especially involving China, as well as commercial pressures. He also noted political resistance, with President Donald Trump this week calling warnings that AI could destroy humanity “a HOAX” and alleging that efforts to limit the technology are part of a “SICK conspiracy”.
While praising AI’s potential to speed up economic development, improve education and strengthen health systems, Guterres also repeated his warning about the “existential” danger of “runaway artificial intelligence”. He said, “The United Nations will continue to explore practical ideas and approaches in the immediate days ahead. We need a shared understanding of how to advance the safe, secure and responsible development of AI – while identifying when increasingly powerful systems may require stronger safeguards, or additional measures to manage potential risks.”
At Guterres’ urging, the General Assembly set up the first global scientific body on AI in 2025. In a preliminary report issued in July, the 40-member panel warned that the rapid and unchecked use of AI at scale could harm users’ mental health, be used as a destructive tool, affect social, economic and environmental systems, and create challenges in controlling the technology. Guterres said he was aware that geopolitical divisions could make agreement harder, but added that countries “that have the highest capacity in the frontiers of AI” should exchange information and agree on common guardrails “to avoid this race to the bottom that could lead one day to a gigantic disaster at global level”.
Asked whether next week’s meeting of leaders from the UN’s 193 member states could be used for a summit on AI, Guterres said there was not enough time to prepare such a gathering properly. Still, he said, “I think it makes full sense at the right moment to have a serious international summit on artificial intelligence,” adding that it would be “absolutely essential to have everybody on board” – governments, companies, scientists and civil society. In sum, Guterres said AI offers major benefits, but argued that only coordinated safeguards can prevent serious global risks.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
