United Nations (EFE) to control.
Guterres, who in 2021 put on the table the idea of a Global Digital Pact that already advocated promoting the regulation of AI, today detailed his ideas on how to do it in a 30-page document.
A digital agreement with an emphasis on artificial intelligence
The intention of the United Nations is that governments, the private sector and civil society can adopt this great agreement in September 2024, during the so-called Summit of the Future convened by the organization.
Although the Global Digital Pact proposed by Guterres is very broad, one of its most prominent axes is that of artificial intelligence, especially after the rapid advances that have been seen in recent months.
“We are beginning to realize the scale of its disruptive potential, both positive and negative, but we have yet to come together to consider the issues and collaborate on risk identification and agile ways to mitigate them,” explains the Portuguese diplomat.
Guterres, in a speech on Monday, noted that a “digital threshold has recently been crossed, with the widespread use of generative AI in the form of ChatGPT and many other applications,” a technology that will have a major impact, but is unclear. it’s going to be good.
“The prospect of further technological progress now often raises more fear than hope. Even those who have developed AI and who would benefit most from it have expressed deep concern and called, even pleaded, for action on its governance,” he stressed.
An AI controlled by humans to be held accountable
Guterres considers it necessary to ensure that the design and use of AI is transparent, secure and under the control of humans who can be held accountable, so he is committed to combining international guidelines and standards, national regulatory frameworks and technical standards in a framework that facilitates “agile” management of these new technologies.
The recipes he proposes, in general, seek cooperation between authorities and the industry and avoid laws and regulations.
Thus, among the actions that it proposes are the urgent launch of a research work with companies to ensure that AI systems are safe and that they are aligned with human values or the establishment of a high-level advisory group with experts. to meet regularly to address these issues.
In addition, it asks governments to agree with the industry on guidelines that guide the development of artificial intelligence or to reach commitments to reinforce transparency and include human rights and ethics teams in this work.
Finally, Guterres calls for consideration of “prohibitions on the use of technology applications whose potential or impact cannot be justified under international human rights law”, although he does not specify which ones.
For years now, the Secretary General has been warning, for example, of the risk posed by so-called autonomous weapons, military systems guided by artificial intelligence that can make their own decisions when launching an attack.