The UN chief said the potential harms of AI include misinformation and disinformation as well as bias, fraud and human rights violations.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of a 39-member global advisory panel to report on international governance. Artificial intelligence and its risksChallenges, and major opportunities.
The gender-balanced, geographically diverse group that spans generations will issue preliminary recommendations by the end of the year and final recommendations by the summer of 2024, the UN chief told a news conference.
The recommendations will be included in a future UN summit, which world leaders will attend in September 2024.
“In our challenging times, AI can fuel extraordinary progress for humanity,” Guterres said. It is also difficult to understand its transformative potential for good, he said.
But he added: “The potential harms of AI span serious concerns over misinformation and disinformation; deepening of prejudice and discrimination; surveillance and privacy abuses; fraud and other violations of human rights.”
AI a threat to democracy?
It is already clear that malicious use of AI can “undermine trust in institutions, undermine social cohesion and threaten democracy itself,” Guterres said.
Guterres said that right now AI expertise is concentrated “in a handful of companies and countries”, which could lead to deep global inequalities “and widen the digital divide.” He said that coordinated global action is needed.
The UN said the formation of the body with experts from government, the private sector, the research community, civil society and academia is an important step in its efforts to address AI international governance issues and help bridge existing and emerging initiatives. Will do.
