New York: Is artificial intelligence a significant risk for human survival? Does it pose what has been described as a "real and imminent threat" to humanity? The UN Security Council on Wednesday held a hearing on these questions and the consequences of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the possibility of developing a regulatory framework that would both create safeguards against the misuse of AI and about the dangers of creating an intelligence that could harm human life in the long run.
The UNSC was briefed by some of the world's top AI executives on the benefits and risks the technology presents, with warnings mounting that the world may be losing its grip on systems built to outthink us. Yoshua Bengio, one of the godfathers of machine intelligence, said the dangers of AI beyond human control represent an unprecedented threat for countries “that none can contain alone and that does not respect the borders we defend."
The leaders of major tech companies like OpenAI and Anthropic spoke to and highlighted the potential and the problems inherent in emerging technology. Council members differed over how the international community should respond when international security is at stake.
Many countries believe international institutions should play a role in governing this rapidly developing technology but some, liek the US said they opposed any attempts to impose international controls. China, another leader in the field, said it was concerned that the technology remained captured by wealthy countries and urged democratisation in the industry.
China's permanent representative, Fu Cong, said his country rejected the notion of “certain major Powers’ attempt to maintain their technological edge through monopoly in their quest for digital hegemony," adding that incompatibility between systemic approaches risked “putting global security in serious jeopardy.”
The UN established a high level advisory board on AI in 2023 and formulated Global Digital Compact in 2024, which is a framework to foster cooperation in governing digital technology and AI. The technology has come under increasing scrutiny as countries race to develop autonomous weapons systems and increasingly rely on AI driven intelligence gathering.
